Decker came back in, sat down at their cherry breakfast table—a bit scarred but still rock solid. When he carved it, he had used the best-quality wood he could find, and it showed. He took off his blue suit jacket and draped it over the back of his chair. He loosened his tie, then ran a hand through rust-colored hair heavily streaked with white. “What’s with the Levines?”

“It’s not the Levines, Peter; it’s Jonathan’s in-laws, the Liebers— Raisie’s family. There’s been a terrible incident. His brother-in-law Ephraim was found dead—”

“Oh no!”

“Murdered, Peter. They found him in some seedy hotel room in upper Manhattan. To add to the confusion, he was with his fifteen- year-old niece—his brother’s daughter. Now, she’s missing. The family’s in shambles.”

“When did all this happen?”

“I just hung up with Jonathan about five minutes before you came home. I think they found the body around three hours ago.”

Decker looked at his watch. “Around 4 P.M. New York time?”

“I guess.”

“What was this guy doing in a ‘seedy hotel room’ with his fifteen-year-old niece in the middle of a school afternoon?”

A rhetorical question. Rina didn’t answer. Instead, she gave Decker a slip of paper with Jonathan’s phone number.

“It’s horrible.” Decker fingered the paper. “I feel terrible for them. But this call… Is it just a comfort call? I mean, Jon doesn’t expect me to do anything, does he?”

“I don’t know, Peter. I suppose he’d like you to work miracles. In lieu of that, maybe you should call him up and listen to what happened.”

“He can’t expect me to go out there.”

“I don’t know. Maybe. You have a pretty good track record.”

“A prisoner of my own success. I have a job, Rina. As much as my heart goes out to them—it truly is horrible—I can’t leave at a moment’s notice and run off to Boro Park.”

“Actually, Chaim Lieber and his family live in Quinton, which is upstate. His widowed father lives there as well. Jonathan’s wife, Raisie, is Chaim’s younger sister. It’s Chaim’s daughter who’s missing.”

“In upstate?” Decker thought a moment. “Is the family religious?”

“Yes. Quinton is a very religious enclave. The family’s black hat, superreligious except for Raisie. She’s Conservative like Jonathan.”

“The outcast,” Decker said.

“She and Jonathan were lucky to find each other.” Rina got up and poured two cups of coffee. “They both came from the same background and have altered their lifestyles for similar reasons.”

“And her father lives in Quinton. By himself?”

“I believe so. Raisie’s mother died around ten years ago. Don’t you remember their talking about her memory at Jonathan’s wedding?”

“No, but I wasn’t paying close attention.” Decker stared at the number. “Why don’t you tend to Hannah while I do this?”

“Don’t want me hanging over your shoulder?”

He stood up. “I don’t know what I want.” He gave Rina a kiss on the forehead. “I know what I don’t want. I don’t want to make this phone call.”