"Don't be. He had it coming, the beast. And don't you worry about me, either. I'm not the sort of woman who goes weak in the knees at the sight of blood." She paused in her mopping and looked at me. "Are you really not going to report him to the police?"

I nodded.

"It's your call, but I wish you would."

"You think she's right?" I asked Michael.

He had lit up another cigarette and took it out of his mouth to speak. "Nothing good ever came out of getting cops involved. That's been my experience, anyway."

Probably born out of his years in the Irgun, when he was among the hunted.

Greta threw up the hand not holding the mop. "Have it your way. But what if he's your killer?"

"If he is, then there isn't any way to prove it," I said. "Not yet anyway. For all I know, his friend will stick by him and his alibi for the night of the murders will hold. Or this woman, Shulamit Hendleman, will corroborate the version he gave us tonight. I could get him charged for assaulting me, but he'll get off relatively easy. And the police might not look kindly on me for having broken his teeth long after he was subdued."

Not to mention the fact that if I turned him in, it would make it harder for Mira to exact her revenge. If I became convinced Davidson was the killer, of course.

"What if he comes after you again?" she said. "A man like that, he doesn't forget easily."

"He's not going to blindside me twice, I promise you that. If he tries, I'll be ready for him." But to be on the safe side, I decided that I would be armed until this case was done.

She gestured at the knife on the table. "What do you want to do with this?"

"Throw it out with the trash."

"With pleasure. Can you get home all right?"

I assured her that I could. She did not seem convinced. To Michael she said, "Can you walk him?"

He asked me where I lived and glanced at his watch when I told him. "I'm already late for my shift, but I can walk you to the corner of Allenby and Tchernichovsky."

"That's close enough," I said.

I squeezed Greta's hand and told her again that I was sorry for bloodying her floor. She told me to hush about that and to come by tomorrow so she could see I was all right. To Michael she said, "Thank you for stepping in when you did. Most men wouldn't have."

He seemed embarrassed by her gratitude, assured her it was nothing, and nodded with a smile at her offer of a free meal whenever he wanted.