“What about the other side?” Decker asked him. “The public-school kids.”

Merrin chuckled. “Let me explain. The two sides… no interaction. Even the Jews who live in the north side… no interaction with the Jews in the south.”

“One of the father’s complaints—”

“That’d be Chaim Lieber.”

“Yes, sir,” Decker answered. “One of Rabbi Lieber’s beefs with Shayndie was that she was hanging with some of the public-school kids. Wild kids.”

“See, that’s another problem,” Merrin stated. “That’s his definition… the wild kids. What may be wild to him is harmless to us. He sees a girl in shorts during the summertime; to him, that’s a wild whore of a girl. What do you and me see? A girl that’s dressed for summer. If Shaynda Lieber was really hanging with some wild kids… then I could do something for him. Cause there is a certain element—not a bad element, per se—but a certain element. You know the story—loud, unsupervised parties, fast driving, binge drinking… and yeah, probably a toke or two. See, if I knew for certain that it was those kids, then I could maybe pay them a visit. But I think that to Rabbi Lieber, any kid on the north side is a wild kid.” His eyes went to Jonathan’s face. “See what I’m saying here, Rabbi?”

“We understand.” Decker turned to Jonathan. “Didn’t you say that Shayndie used to hang out at the mall?”

“Yes,” Jonathan answered. “The one in Bainberry.”

“All the kids on the north side hang out at the mall in Bainberry. That’s neither here nor there. Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t all this hullabaloo take place in the city?”

“Yes, of course,” Decker said. “But I’m just wondering if she’s maybe hiding out with one of the north side kids.”

“Why would she do that?”

“I don’t know,” Decker said. “Maybe she saw something. Maybe she’s afraid to come home.”

“Only reason she’d be afraid to come home is if one of her own kind was implicated. Now, you know as well as I know, Rabbi, I could ask those folks questions from today till tomorrow. They’re not going to talk to me. But maybe they’ll talk to you.”

Punting the responsibility back to him—back to the Jews.

Decker said, “You’re probably right. But if you do hear of something—”

Merrin spread his hands out in generosity. “Of course, if I hear of something, I’ll go straight to the parents. I’ve got people on this, Lieutenant. We did search the south side, door-to-door. And maybe you have a point there… her hiding in the north side. You know what I’ll do for you? I’ll have my men ask around.”

Decker knew what that meant. A cursory walk to a couple of houses, maybe passing out a few flyers.

Merrin said, “I’ll have my men and women ask around.” He smiled. “I hope you’re not one of those sensitive types. There are no biases in this department, but old habits…”

Decker nodded. “Thanks for seeing us.”