“Look, I don’t mean to step on anyone’s toes, but I figured as long as I flew out all this distance, maybe I’ll stick around for a bit.”
“How long?”
“I’ll be out by Friday.”
The two men eyed each other.
Decker said, “Honestly, Mick. By Friday, I’m gone. I have to visit my parents. As it is, they’re going to be pissed that I’ve delayed it for two days.”
“So why do it?” Novack scratched his head. “What are you after, Pete?”
“I failed. I want to go back to the beginning and start over now that I know a little bit more about the family dynamics.”
“Share the details with me, Pete,” Novack said. “That kinda thing makes a primary investigating detective very happy.”
“For what it’s worth, here it is. I know that Chaim resented his brother’s presence in the business. But maybe Chaim had a reason for being hostile.”
“First off, how do you know he was resentful?”
“When the news came down about Shayndie, I was in the middle of paying a shiva call to the old man. I was talking to the father about his son. Trying to be nice. Ephraim was dead, Micky, and Chaim still couldn’t think of anything nice to say about him. Also, Chaim was very concerned about people stealing from him.”
“How do you know that?”
“Talking to store workers at Ephraim’s funeral. They told me that Chaim had concerns about theft. Ephraim was in charge of inventory. Maybe Ephraim was stealing. Have you had a chance to look over the papers you took from Ephraim’s apartment?”
“I skimmed through around half of them. Just lists of items. Don’t mean nothin’ to me cause I have nothin’ to compare it to. I don’t know if the inventory’s being monkeyed with or not. You think Chaim hired someone to off the brother because Ephraim was stealing?”
Decker thought about the question.
It wouldn’t be the first time in Jewish history that brother had been pitted against brother. The Bible was rife with attempted fratricide: Cain and Abel. Isaac and Yishmael. Yaakov and Aesav. Joseph and his brothers. In the Book of Genesis, hatred between siblings was more the norm than the exception.
“Sure, why not?”
“Because it would be easier to fire him, Decker.”
“So maybe it was the other way around. Maybe Chaim was stealing from the store, and Ephraim caught him because the old man had put his younger son in charge of inventory. Maybe Chaim resented Ephraim’s do-gooder stance, especially since he’s been working in the stores for years and Ephraim was a latecomer. Besides, Chaim could rationalize the stealing by convincing himself that the store belonged to him anyway. If he was stealing from anyone, it was the insurance company.”
Novack said, “Chaim was putting in false claims?”
Decker said, “It’s easy to check out.”
“True,” Novack said. “If any of the past news items are to be believed, there are certain Jews who have no problems committing fraud. But if Chaim was going to pop his brother, why put his daughter at risk? Why not catch Ephraim at his apartment or as he’s leavin’ his drug-addict place or when the man’s alone? Why do it when he knew that Ephraim was going to take Shayndie out for the day?”
Decker said, “I’ve been thinking about that very question. The only answer I can come up with is putting your daughter at risk deflects suspicion away from you. If your brother’s a victim, police will investigate you especially if you two work together. But if your teenage daughter is also a victim, well, they’re going to tread lightly.”
“You’re telling me that Chaim set up his own daughter to prevent Ephraim from telling his old man that Chaim was stealing from his own store?”
“I’m not saying I have it down or I have it right. I’m just suggesting possibilities.”
“Don’t get frustrated, Lieutenant.” Novack finished his coffee. “We’re on the same side. Maybe you’re still hungry.” Again he flagged down the waitress. “He needs another bowl of soup, Alma.”
“I’ve got to leave in ten minutes,” Decker said.
To the waitress, Novack said, “Make it quick.”
Alma growled, “There’s a McDonald’s two blocks away for quick.” She gave them her back and huffed away.
Decker leaned over the table and spoke softly. “Maybe Chaim paid the cleaners to pop the brother but to let the girl go. Maybe that’s why there’s no evidence that Shayndie was at the hotel. They let her get away. But something got fouled up.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Maybe she was supposed to come home to her dad in a panic and tell him all about it. Then they’d go to the police together… Chaim doing the talking. Maybe Chaim had concocted a story that would have explained what happened but also would have drawn attention away from him. Instead, Shayndie freaked out and went into hiding. And that made the cleaners real nervous. Maybe they figured she wasn’t trustworthy, so they hunted her down and popped her, too. But that wasn’t part of the original plan.”
Novack didn’t respond right away. “She’d witnessed the kidnapping. So she had to be dealt with.”
“Exactly.”
“Then why did your brother bring you out?” Novack asked.
“I was talking to my brother about this. Maybe I was just a showpiece, something that Chaim put on display to convince everyone that he really cared. In fact, both Chaim and Minda hate my guts and have done nothing but put up obstacles.”
“Interesting.”
The second bowl was plopped onto the table, soup spilling over the rim. Decker tried to thank her, but Alma was gone before he could get the words out.
“Eat,” Novack said. “You can use nutrition.”
As Decker spooned soup into his mouth, he thought about Donatti. The hit seemed too careless for the bastard’s signature. And why admit to Decker that he had her? Why did he let him see and talk to her, for God’s sake, only to pop her?
To throw him off track?
If Donatti did it, he had become boastful and reckless, and that wasn’t him. The man was nothing if not calculated.
Novack said, “Maybe Chaim brought you out because he wanted a couple of things from you. One, he figured you, better than him, could find out what the police knew. You’d report back to him, and then he could figure out his next options. Or two, Shayndie was gone, and he needed you to find her.”
“Seems logical to me.” Decker checked his watch. He had two minutes before he was to meet with Jonathan. “Anything turn up on Virgil Merrin?”
“He worked Charleston PD as a lieutenant for eight years. Before that, he jumped around quite a bit… mostly police departments in Texas. That’s always a little weird, except if you’re a real political type. You know, constantly upgrading until you get the number one spot somewhere. Looks like he met with success.”
“I saw him in a Tattlers today, Mike.”
“Interesting.” Novack raised his brow. “What were you doing in Tattlers?”
“It’s a long story. I was with Jonathan-”
“The rabbi?”
“Yes.”
“Go figure.”
“He wanted to meet at a place where he was sure that no one else from Quinton’s Jewish community would be.”
“That’s what they all say.”
“Or maybe my brother’s a horny guy. That’s not the point. Virgil Merrin is the point. He looked to be a steady customer.”
“I’ll keep digging.”
“Thank you. You’re being more than generous.”
“Yeah, I am. I’m being stupid, if you want to know the truth.”
Decker said, “I think I alienated him. Merrin. I know I did… alienated Merrin.”
“How?”
Decker told him how.
“That wasn’t smart. Whaddya do that for?”
“It bugged the hell out of me… the way he was acting. It also pissed me off that he implied that I was like him.”
“Decker, if you want to get help, you gotta make him think that you twose have something in common.”
“Yeah, I know. It wasn’t smart. I’ve been doing lots of stupid things lately.”