“Finally!” She began rummaging through a floppy handbag as big as a carry-on suitcase. “You want me to open the door for you? I don’t want to go in the house again. To see it so empty…lifeless.” Her voice faded. “You just tell me everything’s okay, I leave you alone.”

She spoke with a heavy accent.

Marge looked at Decker. The woman suddenly became pale. “You’re the police, no?”

Marge took out her ID. “Yes, ma’am, we are the police.”

“Orit, please. This is my brother’s house. I haven’t heard from him in going on two days.”

“What makes you think something’s wrong?” Marge asked. “Maybe he went on vacation.”

“Impossible,” Orit stated. “Dalia works at my office; she didn’t say anything. The boys are in the middle of school. The school knows nothing. Besides, I come here yesterday. They are still getting the paper and their mail.” She craned her neck to look up at Decker. “My brother’s a diamond dealer. He deals in big stones and lots of cash. It’s hard times. People do funny things. You never know. I’m worried about my brother.”

Marge and Decker exchanged glances, then pulled out their notebooks. Marge said, “You think your brother might have been involved in something…illegal?”

Orit bristled. “Impossible. My family has been in the diamond business for over a hundred years. Our family name is Yalom, which means diamond. My father taught us to cut diamonds before we could read. Arik wouldn’t do shady business. But there are others who are maybe not honest.”

“Are you thinking about anyone specifically?” Decker said.

Orit bit a red bottom lip. “No. No one particular. You go in, okay?”

Marge said, “The officers who were out here yesterday said everything looked fine.”

Orit waved her hand in the air. “I didn’t like them—their attitudes. They looked unhappy to help me. Like why is this crazy foreigner wasting our time.”

“I’m sure that wasn’t the case,” Marge said.

She shrugged. “Fine. You can think what you want.”

“Did you tell the officers that your brother’s a diamond dealer?” Decker asked.

“No. Why should I give personal information to people who sneer at me? You two at least take out notebooks and look like you’re listening. You pretend good.”

Decker smiled. “We’re not pretending. We’re here to serve the community. When was the last time you heard from your brother?”

Orit said, “Two days ago. I called police yesterday, then again today. I don’t like this. I’m nervous.”

“Place seems pretty quiet,” Marge said. “Family have any pets?”