“You’re thinking like a pro,” Decker said. “You bet he did. Christine was the primary beneficiary, but old Hersh was Number Two on the list. Insurance has been dragging its feet because we’re talking about a policy of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars owed to a young man with a police record. Insurance has managed to stall Hersh, but it can’t last much longer. Pretty soon, Hersh/Tony/Heinrich/Hank is going to be a rich kid.”

“And Hersh was cleared of wrongdoing?”

“Well, he wasn’t anywhere near the place when it blew,” Decker said. “That was checked out first. Whether he hired a firestarter or not, who knows? Hersh dealt a little, knew disreputable people. He could have hooked up with a bomber or an arsonist. The company tailed him for a while, never came up with anything incriminating. And Hersh hasn’t pushed for the money. He keeps in contact with them, asking when are they going to deliver. But he hasn’t hired any legal mouthpiece to pour on the heat.”

Rina was silent.

“Maybe it was an accident,” Decker said. “Or maybe the motive was revenge rather than money. Hersh’s life seemed to fall apart after the father left. People who knew the family said after the divorce Hersh and Mom were the proverbial wandering Jews.”

“Is Mom still alive?”

“I think so,” Decker said. “Jonathan went poking around Williamsburg for me yesterday—”

“You enlisted Jonathan in this thing?”

“It’s his nephew, Rina.” Decker smiled. “And I needed somebody who could speak Yiddish. Jonathan was happy to help out.”

“You two seem to be building quite a relationship,” Rina said.

Decker tossed her a look that told her to drop the subject. Quickly Rina asked, “So what did Jonathan come up with?”

Decker said, “A few former neighbors have reported seeing Mrs. Schaltz in Williamsburg from time to time. Apparently, she’s become a bag lady.”

“That’s awful,” Rina said. “I’m beginning to see where the present Hersh came from.”

“Yep,” Decker said. “Although sometimes rotten kids come from nice homes and loving parents.”

“Look at it from Hersh’s point of view,” Rina said. “His mother’s a bag lady, his religious father deserted the family to marry a Gentile. I talked about the hypocrisy I felt in my home—it wasn’t really hypocrisy, just little inconsistencies. I can just imagine how Hersh might have felt.”

Decker nodded.

“Still,” Rina said, “a normal person doesn’t blow up his father just because he’s a hypocrite.”

“Who said Hersh blew them up?” Decker said.

“What do you think?” Rina said.

“I think…” Decker paused. “I think it’s not a good idea to make Hersh mad.”

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