Orit’s lower lip quivered. “Of course I care about my nephews. I love them.” Tears streamed down her cheeks, dragging with them rills of mascara. “They are my family. I don’t have much family. I only had my brother and…”

She dropped into a chair and cried bitterly. Decker waited her out until she wiped dark streaks off her cheeks with her fingertips. Orit said, “Why don’t you go to Israel? Who knows what you’ll find?”

There was a long pause. Marge finally said, “Are you saying your nephews are there?”

“I’m saying nothing about the boys. I say everyone goes to Israel to try to find something. Maybe you go to try to find God. Everyone else tries, why not you? If you don’t find God, maybe you find my nephews. Now please leave me alone. I’d like to find some peace now.”

24

Hannah was a wonderful baby; she liked her playpen. The boys had never tolerated the confinement for more than five, ten minutes at most. Then they got restless. Not so with Hannah. She was content, sitting in her little space, playing with her busy box or fingering her roly-poly ball that jingled every time she gave it a shove. Once in a while, the baby looked up expectantly at Rina, waiting for Mama to give her a smile. Rina would comply and heap on the praise. Then the baby would go back to work. Hannah’s willingness to busy herself for up to an hour gave Rina a freedom she never knew existed with babies.

Needing a little more time today, Rina opened up a box filled with colorful plastic blocks. She poured them into the playpen and watched Hannah’s eyes go wide. Little fingers reached for multihued squares, cylinders, and triangles. Hannah was a child learning how to manipulate her world. Rina took advantage of her daughter’s rapt attention and ran to the bedroom closet. Standing on a footstool, she reached up and swung down a suitcase from the highest shelf.

This was something she just had to do. As long as those kids were missing, Rina couldn’t find peace.

It had been the Rebbe’s reluctance that had spurred Rina forward. His reticence had been her personal invitation to check out the village. Why else hadn’t he wanted help from Peter? If he was hiding Honey and the children, what had Honey done to need a city of refuge?

But try as she might, Rina just couldn’t believe Honey had anything to do with her husband’s death. When in doubt, do it yourself.

Peter was going to give her grief. He would argue that it would be too much work for her mother to take care of Hannah. Her mother wasn’t young anymore. Hannah needed someone with energy to watch her.