She was looking at me as if she was desperate for my approval. "You did the right thing keeping quiet about it," I said, "and the right thing when you told me about it now."

19

When I left Elena Warshavski's apartment, I was carrying two small paper bags, both given me by Elena. One contained half a dozen rugelach, the other the pictures I'd taken from Manny Orrin. At the door, Elena shook my hand. "I'm glad you stopped by, Adam."

"I am too."

"Drop by again sometime, and we'll talk of other, nicer things."

"I will. Goodbye, Elena."

I knocked on some more doors, but learned nothing new. When I finally left Lunz Street, now carrying just the one paper bag with the pictures—I had consumed all the rugelach and tossed the other bag in the trash—it was a quarter to two. The heat was so ferocious that I felt caught between the hammer of the sun and the anvil of the baking sidewalk.

I trekked west, every few seconds tugging my shirt free of my sweat-sticky skin. At home, I dropped the bag with Esther's pictures on the table and drank a tall glass of water. I took a long shower and did not bother to towel my hair dry.

After washing my shirt at the sink and hanging it up to dry, I got into fresh clothes and headed out. In my pocket were the two pictures I had shown Elena, alongside the picture of Esther and Willie I had taken from the police report. At the Levinson Drugstore, I placed a call to Reuben Tzanani.

I asked him to check whether Manny Orrin, Alon Davidson, or Natalie Davidson had a police record, and read him the list of women I'd assembled from Orrin's albums. I said that I wanted him to check whether any of these women had died a violent death.

"Why?"

"Because then I'd have my killer."

I heard a shifting sound, as if Reuben had adjusted his posture. "Who?"

I hesitated, knowing that Reuben would feel obligated to pass on this information to his superiors. I didn't want anyone to interfere with my investigation. "Manny Orrin," I said and explained about the pictures. "But I don't want you to share this with anyone else just yet. Okay?"

"If this man's killed multiple women, Adam, I can't just sit on it."

"Agreed. But so far I don't know that he's anything but a harmless peeper. This is why you need to check if any of these women have been murdered. If they haven't, I doubt he's my man."

"What he's doing is still wrong."

"It is, but even if it's illegal, I doubt it's a serious offense."

Reuben sighed. "I suppose you're right, but I feel strange not doing anything about it."

"Let me wrap up this investigation and then you can do what you feel is right."