“You’re getting resistance?”

“You’re the first school, so I’ll find out. But I can tell you that no swanky private school will freely admit having vandals in their student body. It doesn’t sit well with the parents who pay enormous tuition bills.” He pointed to his chest. “I can attest to that personally.”

“Are you positive that kids did the crime?”

“No, I’m not. The police are checking out a number of leads. I’ve assigned myself the role of school snoop. Lucky me. This isn’t going to give me status with my stepson—invading the privacy of Jacob and his friends. But it’s worth it if I get results. When other principals see a clergyman not attempting to protect his own, what excuse do they have?”

“The parents are not going to be pleased.”

“Rabbi, I want to nail these bastards. I know you do, too.”

Culter lifted his brows. “So I’m supposed to tell everyone that it’s just a random drug check.”

“If you could do that, it would be extremely helpful.”

“What if…” The rabbi folded his hands over his desk. “What if you find something incriminating on your son?”

“Meaning?” Decker kept his face flat.

“I think you know what I mean. Yaakov has given me the impression that you two talk about personal matters.” A very long pause. He rubbed his nose with his index finger. “Perhaps I just spoke out of turn.”

“You mean drugs?”

Culter shrugged.

Decker said, “Jake spoke to me about marijuana use. If it’s more than that, I don’t know about it.”

The rabbi was stoic. “What are you going to do, Lieutenant, if you find anything in his locker?”

It was a legitimate question, and it churned Decker’s stomach. “I’ll decide if and when I have to deal with it. Right now, I’m willing to take a chance. Because I really want these punks behind bars. Please help me out. Help the community out. Not only do we want to find the perpetrators, but we don’t want this to happen again.”

“I agree.”

“So you’ll help me?”

“With reluctance, but yes, I will help you.”

“Thank you, thank you!” Decker stood. “All right. Let’s get this over with.”

“Are you personally going to do the searches?”

“Yep. If it turns out okay, I’ll take the credit. If not, I’ll accept the blame. Where do you want to be during this fiasco?”

“By your side,” Culter said. “You’re not the only one who believes in justice.”