“My mind is a bundle of very confused neurons at the moment. Things aren’t adding up, Rina. Elhiani kept talking about the stupidity of using a bomb to kill a specific person.”

“For what it’s worth, I think you argued your case very well, Peter.”

“Thank you. I appreciate your loyalty. But this isn’t about egos. It’s about logic. If I were in his shoes, I would have made the same points he made. Bombing is an inexact way to murder.”

“So it was just a coincidence that we were there at the yeshiva?”

“No, not exactly.”

“So it wasn’t a coincidence?”

“No, not exactly that, either.” Decker took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I think the bomb was meant for Gil but in an inexact way. If they got him, fine. If not, that’s fine, too.”

“That sounds really strange.”

“Then this other bomb explodes in the middle of Jerusalem’s marketplace. Someone wants all the attention focused here…in Jerusalem.”

“Peter, Jerusalem is hot property now. The Arabs want to grab the city and redivide it. We want to keep it united and open to everyone. After all, it is the capital of our country. These terrorists will resort to anything to get their way.”

Decker didn’t answer.

“There have always been lots of terrorist acts in Jerusalem,” Rina said.

“I guess I’m thinking like a cop and not like the State Department,” Decker said. “From my limited perspective, I see it differently. You get a lot of action focused on one spot, it takes attention away from the other spots.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Meaning, if you have in mind to bomb something, you want all the bomb experts and all the bomb dogs and all the police and all the other personnel as far away from your target spot as possible.”

Rina was quiet. “You think these bombings were nothing more than a diversion tactic?”

“Possibly.”

“Peter, who are the bombers trying to divert?”

“This is going to sound incredibly arrogant.”

“You?”

“Someone knows I’m here, Rina. Someone knows I’m looking for Gil and Dov Yalom. From the minute Moti Bernstein thought you were my partner, I knew that someone had preceded me at the yeshiva.”

“I can explain that,” Rina said. “There are a few boys in Or Torah whose nonreligious parents aren’t happy they’re there. Sometimes the parents will go to extremes to bring the kids back. They send over deprogrammers.”

“Moti thought you and I were deprogrammers?”

“He heard a rumor from somewhere that a man and a woman were out to bring home a boy to deprogram. So naturally, he was leery. When you rattled off pikuach nefesh, he knew you were legit. He figured deprogrammers wouldn’t know that.”

Decker hesitated, then said, “I know it sounds implausible, but just let me talk this out.”

“Go on.”