Moshe was uncomfortable. “Yeah, it’s a little weird.”

Ephraim said, “It’s very weird.”

“Shut up, Ephraim,” Moshe said.

Decker said, “Does Noam have a girlfriend? Maybe a secret girlfriend?”

Moshe shook his head. “Not that I know of. Most of the girls I know think he’s a little off. My sisters won’t go near him.”

“Noam ever brag about things he’s done with girls?” Decker asked. “Maybe things he’s done with girls that weren’t even Jewish?”

Moshe paused a long time. Decker knew the teenager was in conflict. He said, “Moshe, if he has a non-Jewish girlfriend, maybe that’s where he’s hiding out.”

“I don’t think he actually has a non-Jewish girlfriend,” Moshe said. “Or any girlfriend. He used to talk a lot about the Italian girls, about things they’d do…I don’t know where he learned all this stuff from. Noam likes to play hotshot. I think all his hotshot talk is made up on the spot.”

“Wishful thinking?”

“Exactly.”

“You ever notice him hanging around the Italian boys?” Decker asked.

“No,” Moshe said. “But I don’t hang around them, so I don’t really know if he was or wasn’t.”

“Did Noam ever try to sell you drugs?”

Moshe shook his head.

“Did he ever sneak drugs or alcohol inside school? Try to get some of his friends interested in getting stoned?”

“Not that I know of,” Moshe said. “Once in a while, he’d smoke in the bathroom. Lot of kids do it. Smoking isn’t allowed in school, but a lot of the rabbis smoke right in front of us.” He suddenly reddened, started to speak but changed his mind.

“What is it?” Decker said.

Moshe focused his eyes on his lap. “It’s really no big…well, it is a big deal if my parents and teachers ever found out. I don’t want you to think I’m a pervert or gross or anything. I just happened to be there when Noam passed around the magazine.”

“A dirty magazine?” Decker said.

Moshe nodded.

Smiling, Ephraim said, “This is interesting.”

“Shut up,” Moshe said to his brother.

From People to porno. Decker said, “Know where he got hold of it?”

“No.”

“How many times did he show it to you?”

This time, the boy was red. “Maybe…a couple of times.”

“A couple is two times, Moshe,” Decker said. “I’m not asking you these questions to get you into trouble or embarrass you. I’m asking them because they help me find out what kind of a boy Noam is and it’s always easier to find someone you understand than a mystery person. See what I’m saying?”

Moshe nodded.

Decker said, “How many times did he show you the magazine?”

“Maybe five times.”

“Very interesting,” Ephraim said.

Moshe lit into him. “You tell Abba and you’re dead.”