“Not back to Quinton,” Decker told him.

“No, not unless you want to be detained for hours.”

“Do you know where Chaim would be hiding, Jon?”

“No idea. My first thoughts were maybe one of his stores—in Manhattan or in Brooklyn. I’m sure both places are swarming with Feds right now.”

“So that would be useless.”

“I think so,” Jonathan agreed. “Maybe we should meet Hershfield down at the airport.”

“Did he ask you to come meet him?”

“No.”

No one spoke.

“Well, what the hey!” Decker slapped his wet thigh. “Sure, let’s try the airport.”

“Think they’ll tell us anything?”

“No. But if they have Weiss, Harabi, or Ibn Dod in custody, I’ll call up my brother. Those guys are wanted big time in Miami. If I get him on the phone, and he starts in with official extradition processes, it’ll give us some credibility.” Decker regarded his sodden lap. “Before we do anything, I need dry clothing. Since Quinton by now is Fedland, how about the Bainberry mall? Something over there should still be open.”

Jonathan turned the van around.

They rode a few moments in silence. Decker leaned forward and stared out the windshield.

“Your brother will be happy then,” Jonathan said. “That the police captured these guys… if they did capture them.”

Decker didn’t answer.

“But Chaim wasn’t a part of their Miami ecstasy ring, so far as your brother knew, right?”

Still no response.

“Akiva—”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Silence.

“Akiva, did you hear what I—”

“Just a minute…”

“What is it?”

“Hold on…” Decker’s eyes swept from the windshield to the rearview mirror, to the side mirror, then out the windshield again.

“Akiva, what’s going on?” Jonathan asked.

“I’m not sure.…” Decker’s mind was reeling. “There were headlights behind us before you made a U-turn. One headlight, not a pair… which I thought was peculiar because it’s pouring outside.” Without thinking, he reached into his pocket and pulled out the snub-nose.

“Wha… when did you get that?”

“It’s a long story, but right now I’m glad I have it. Can I dry the grip off on your jacket?”

“Hold on, I’ll take it off.”

“Don’t bother, I just need the hem.” He wiped moisture off the gun. “Since the vehicle was in the distance, I thought maybe it was a car with a busted headlight. Now you just turned around, so it should be facing us. But it’s not there.”

Outside, the world was shades of charcoal and black. Even the sky failed to bring forth any illumination, the cloud cover blocking out the stars and the moon.

“Jonathan, cut your lights. Then coast a minute or two and pull over.”

The rabbi killed the beams. They were encased in total darkness. Decker turned on the flashlight and shone it out the windshield. It wasn’t much, but it was better than a blackout. “Coast a few minutes, then pull over.”

A warm flush swept through Jonathan’s body. His hands were shaking. “Here goes nothing.…”

The van bumped and dipped and finally stopped, askew in the mud, just inches from a tree trunk.