Decker studied his thoughts, recalling his conversation with Marge. Perhaps they had been right all along. Yalom had originally gotten Milligan’s attention by blackmail. Perhaps she and Haas had been longtime forbidden lovers. Had her plan worked, had she been able to raid Palestinian start-up capital, she would have set them both up for life. He said, “Then again, Kreisman, you can’t explain love.”

“Love.” Kreisman made a face. “Milligan’s a cold bitch. She doesn’t have a heart, Decker. She’s just got a pump.”

“Where is Donald Haas? Is he gone as well?”

Kreisman nodded. “They all must have slipped over the Jordanian border last night. From Jordan, they could move freely about the Arab countries without worrying about us tailing them. But that doesn’t mean we’re giving up. We have ways of finding people even in hostile countries.”

“Is the PLO helping at all? Because Milligan’s stunt must be an embarrassment to them now.”

“Not helping, not hindering, so far as we can tell. Yeah, Milligan’s an embarrassment to Arafat. Every time someone in any of the Arab organizations fucks up, it lessens his chance of becoming king of Palestine.”

Kreisman waved his hand in the air.

“Yeah, we’re still hunting, but your part in all of this is over. You got the Yalom boys. Take them home and let us do our job.”

“Sounds good. I’ll need my papers back.”

Kreisman stood. “I’ll get them for you. Maybe we’ll meet again down the line.”

“Maybe,” Decker said. “But I hope not.”

Kreisman smiled. “You’re blunt.”

“I speak my mind.”

“I can see that. You’d make a good Israeli.”

PART 3

AMERICA

39

Marge said to Decker, “You look great! Are you sure you didn’t go there on vacation?”

Decker put his feet up on his desk. Man, he’d missed her. True, he had had Rina, and she’d been great. But he had worked with her only out of necessity. He valued their marriage vows as bonds of intimacy. Rina was his life partner, not his business associate.

But now he was back in the groove and, happily, so was Rina. She was thrilled to get home to the baby and the boys. Decker had wondered when she had hugged the kids if her mind hadn’t been on Honey Klein’s loneliness.

“You know, Dunn,” Decker went on, “I bet I’m the only religious Jew who went to Israel and missed the Wailing Wall. That’s how dedicated to work I was. Only sightseeing I did was accompanying Rina to her late husband’s grave. You can imagine how much fun that was for me.”

“Then why’d you do it?”

“I did it for Jake and Sam. I sure as hell wouldn’t want my kids to forget about me. I can’t let my boys forget about their father.”

“You’re a good guy, Pete.”