The silence hung in the air for several moments. Then Donatti forced out a laugh. “Am I supposed to be nervous now?”

“It’s fair warning. And you’re blushing, by the way.”

Involuntarily, Donatti averted his eyes. As soon as he realized it, he stared at her again. “So what happened to Jacob?”

“Happened to him?”

“You said he had to flee from Esau. If I were Esau and somebody stole something from me, I’d go after the son of a bitch with everything I had.”

“As a matter of fact, Mr. Donatti, the two did meet up again. And Jacob was very afraid of his brother. Terrified that he’d steal not only his property but also his wives and children. Especially his wife, Rachel, because she was very beautiful. As I said before, Esau prided himself on stealing married women. When it was clear that the two men had to cross paths, Jacob made elaborate plans on how to deal with his vengeful brother. But in the end, it is written that Esau wept with emotion, threw his arms around his brother, and kissed him on the neck.”

“So Esau forgave Jacob?”

“Looks that way.”

“So Esau turned out to be a pussy, too!” Donatti sneered with contempt. “Someone should rewrite the ending.”

Rina smiled. “Perhaps then I should tell you this. While outwardly there was some kind of reconciliation, Jewish rabbis and sages have a different perspective on the reunion. They say that when Esau kissed Jacob on the neck, he had actually tried to bite him. Not a little hickey, Mr. Donatti. Esau had meant to kill his brother—cut the jugular vein with his teeth. But God had turned Jacob’s neck to stone and instead Esau broke his teeth. Esau got the hint. Vengeance wasn’t the answer.”

“I like that ending better.”

“I thought you might.”

Donatti sipped his coffee. “Maybe vengeance isn’t the answer as a permanent thing. But it does have a soothing temporary effect.”

“Possibly.” She folded her hands in her lap. “Are you and my husband on opposite sides of the fence again?”

“Interesting question. What did your husband tell you?”

“Absolutely nothing! I had no idea you were even in New York. But by your being here, you must have known that I was in New York. This wasn’t an accident. You had to have been following me. So somewhere along the line you must have met up with the lieutenant. Are you two at odds again?”

“Actually, he came to me for help.”

Rina paused. Her first thoughts were that somewhere during the course of Ephraim’s homicide investigation, Peter must have suspected Donatti of being the hit man. But if that were the case—and Donatti knew that Peter was suspicious of him—why did Donatti approach her so brazenly?

Donatti seemed to read her mind. “It’s the truth. Ask the lieutenant if you don’t believe me.”

“Are you going to help him?”

“I haven’t decided.”

Rina felt the heat of his eyes. The warmth of embarrassment was flooding her own face, but she refused to back down. “I’m sure you’ll come to the correct decision.”