Chapters (43)
Manning’s eyes never leave Ellie Landau’s.
MANNING
(to me)
Detective Dewey, place Rabbi Davidson under arrest. Handcuff her, take her in, and book her.
I reach for my cuffs and start forward.
ELLIE LANDAU
(to Manning)
On what charge, Detective, are you detaining my client?
MANNING
Accessory to murder.
Outside, in the ongoing downpour, I palm the crown of Rachel’s head and steer her under the roofline into the rear seat of Manning’s AV. Ellie Landau’s Escalade brakes at the curb, taking aboard Ellie, Ben-David, and her bodyguard. Her law associate scurries across to Manning, confirming with him the floor and room at DivSix to which Manning will be taking Rabbi Davidson for booking. “Follow us,” Manning tells him.
He gives me my instructions across the Crown Vic’s roof.
MANNING
Identify every “LV” murder in Europe, Russia, Asia, and South and Central America, and don’t stop till you’ve found ’em all. Cross-check dates and cities for flights from the States, hotels, taxis, Ubers . . . search every record including FaceRec videos from street-corner surveillance cameras.
(indicates Rachel in car)
If this woman was anywhere near any of those murders, I wanna know about it in detail.
Ben-David has crossed back to our Crown Vic in the downpour. Rain plasters his hair to his skull; his eyeglasses are fogged solid. Manning steps aside, permitting Ben-David to reassure Rachel that he and Ellie will be at DivSix the moment she arrives and that Ellie is already on the phone arranging a speedy release.
I’m still mystified by the anthropologist’s ardor to defend Rachel. When he bolts back to the Escalade, I turn to Manning.
ME
Why is this famous guy here? I don’t get it. Why does he care so much about this crazy woman?
MANNING
Ben-David in Hebrew means “son of David.”
ME
So?
MANNING
Davidson.
I’m an idiot.
ME
He’s her fucking brother.
18
THAT WHICH GOD HAS HIDDEN
I’M WATCHING MANNING interrogate Rachel. It’s eight hours later, four-thirty in the afternoon of April 23, 2034. Manning is the lone detective conducting the interview. I’m observing from my desk at DivSix via remote camera. Across the table from Manning sit Rachel, Ellie Landau, and Dr. Ben-David, whom for reasons unknown to me Manning has permitted to remain. The room is the same one in which Gleason and Silver interrogated Yoo-hoo Petracek early this morning.
In the hours since the impound lot, I have web-scoured the hell out of Rachel and Ben-David.