Everyone knew Bracha was crazy. She had periods where she could function—she even taught for a while in the local girls’ school. But she was always very bizarre. Aunt Bracha used to dress in ten layers of clothes. Aunt Bracha used to shave her head and wear terrible wigs—long witchlike things, the black tendrils falling down to her waist. Aunt Bracha never threw anything away. Her house had been crammed with every shopping bag, every receipt, every box she’d ever taken home from a store. Her closets were stuffed with every article of clothing she had ever worn, every pair of shoes that had ever graced her feet. Aunt Bracha was also so fearful—crazy fearful. If a dog or a cat got within petting distance, she went meshugenah. She’d lock herself inside her room and wouldn’t come out for days. Even the sight of a fly could throw her into a panic. She eventually lost her job because of that. You couldn’t teach and go crazy every time a fly buzzed by.

Aunt Bracha and Uncle Perry lived in a big house in Kew Gardens because Uncle Perry didn’t want to live where people knew Aunt Bracha’s history. He used to keep the drapes drawn, the lights out, and the door locked and tell everybody in the neighborhood that his wife was very, very ill.

“Which was true,” Big Hersh said. “She is sick.”

“How were you related to them?” Decker asked.

“My mother and Peretz Schaltz were brother and sister,” Big Hersh said. “Bubbe and Zeyde Schaltz were the nicest people on earth. Simple people. Zeyde was a fish vendor. I took over the business after he died and I turned it into a business. Zeyde, alav hashalom, used the business for charity. Give this away, that away. And people took terrible advantage of him. If a lady said a price was too high, he’d lower it. If another said the fish wasn’t fresh, he’d give her a refund even if the woman’s husband ate the fish for dinner. And he never raised his voice in complaint. I think Zeyde was the only one of the bunch who really cared about Hersh. He used to drive over to Kew Gardens on Sundays and pick him up to work with him. He made like he needed Hersh in the business, but that also was charity. Zeyde felt sorry for Hersh. And he loved him. I think Hersh loved Zeyde. Zeyde was the only person Hershie was ever close to. But Zeyde was close to everyone. Everyone loved him—really loved him.”

“Did Peretz love his father?” Decker asked.