Thursday The Rabbi Walked Out

42

IN SPITE OF HIS CHAGRIN, MCLURR AS A GOOD POLICEMAN, reported to Lanigan the next day on the results of his conversation with Henry Maltzman. If he expected the chief to be indignant, he was disappointed. Quite the contrary, both Lanigan and Jennings derived considerable amusement from the recital, they even seemed to take a kind of satisfaction in their fellow townsman standing up to and outwitting him, the outsider.

"He actually told you it was none of your business?" Lanigan chuckled. "Well, that's Henry Maltzman for you. You probably got his dander up in the way you approached him, well, don't worry about it. I'll drop in on him one of these days and get a statement from him, just to tidy up our records."

"Just to tidy up your records, huh?" McLure was nettled. "You don't see him as a possible suspect?"

"No. I don't." said Lanigan judiciously. "I'm wondering why you do."

"Because he's a Jew."

Lanigan's voice had an edge as he asked. "And what's that got to do with it?"

"It's got everything to do with it. I've been checking up on Jordon, and doing a lot of listening, he didn't like Jews, and he showed it, and it wasn't by just making an occasional remark, he owned a lot of property in town, and he wouldn't sell to them. I've even heard talk about a Gentlemen's Agreement. Now, that's against the law, and keep in mind that Maltzman is in the real estate business. I know lots of Jews. For the most part, they're good, law-abiding people. When they go bad, it's usually a white-collar crime. But there's a new breed among them, like these Israelis, who don't hesitate to hit back, that's how Maltzman struck me, a Jewish captain in the Marines, he'd be one of them. If he went to see Jordon and there was a row, he wouldn't just walk out meekly, he'd hit back."

Lanigan nodded. "I won't say it's unthinkable. What's more, Henry has a temper, as a Marine. I'm sure he learned how to handle a gun. But the pattern of the shooting doesn't fit him, and he has an alibi, we know he was at the temple when the murder was committed."

McLure lumbered to his feet. "I wish I had a dollar foa every airtight alibi I’ve cracked. If you don't mind. I'm going to keep checking on Brother Maltzman."

When McLure left them. Jennings said. "You know. Hugh, there's something that bothers me about Maltzman at the temple that night. Let's see the file, will you? Yeah, here it is. When we asked the rabbi's wife if Maltzman had been at the temple, she said. 'I believe so. Yes, I'm sure he was.'"

"Yeah?"

"Well, when she said she believed so, doesn't that mean she wasn't sure?"

"Oh, I don't know, that's just a manner of speaking."

"But that was something she should have been sure about. Hugh. You ever been to one of their services?"

"No, I can't say that I have."

Jennings smirked his satisfaction. "That's because you Catholics wouldn't join this Visit a Church program we had a couple of years ago. Your Father Regan was all for people coming to visit his church, but he wouldn't encourage his people to go and visit other churches. You see. Hugh, you Catholics tend to be kind of narrow-minded about certain things, whereas we Methodists—"

"Get to the point, Eban, get to the point."

Jennings turned pale blue eyes on his chief and said, in tones that were both hurt and forgiving. "That's what I was doing. Hugh. You see, they have this kind of platform, and in the middle of it, they have this Ark where they keep their holy writings. Now on either side of this here Ark, they got these fancy chairs, two on a side, the rabbi and the president of the congregation sit on one side, and the vice-president and the cantor sit on the other side, except when he's singing, the cantor. I mean, which is most of the time, and then he stands up front—"

"Get on with it, Eban."

"Right. Hugh. So what I'm saying is that Maltzman is the president, so he'd be sitting right next to Rabbi Small if he was there, and the rabbi's wife wouldn't have any doubt about it, because he'd be up there on the platform in plain sight."

"So maybe that night he didn't sit up there, but sat down

with the rest of the congregation."

"That's what I think. Hugh. Like if I ask you if Father Regan was in church Sunday, you'd say., 'Of course he was.' But if I ask you was Mrs. Murphy in church Sunday, you might say, you think so, and then maybe you'd remember and and you'd say, 'Yeah, I'm sure she was.'"

"Who is Mrs. Murphy?"

"Oh, you know. I just took her like an example."

"All right, what's your point?"

"My point is—well, why wouldn't Henry Maltzman be sitting in his regular place? Maybe that night he was kind of nervous and uncomfortable and didn't want to be sitting up there, right in front of everyone."

"More likely, I'd say, he may have come in late, after things got started and—yea-ah, maybe he came in late." Lanigan drummed the table with his fingers. "If he came in late, he wouldn't want to walk all the way down to the front and then go up to the platform—"

"Especially., if he was kind of nervous and uncomfortable."

"All right, we didn't ask Miriam what time he got there, so she didn't say, not knowing why we were asking in the first place. Okay, Eban, there must have been at least a hundred people there that night, so someone must have noticed when Henry arrived."

"We have a man on duty directing traffic into the parking lot Friday nights, maybe he noticed."

"Right. Check around, and when you find out, then I'll go to see Henry."