WHAT WOKE DECKER up was hearing about Rina’s day—the kids, the school, her gardening, her latest seed acquisitions, a new dish she was planning on making for Shabbos, Hannah’s choir practice, Sammy’s applications to medical school. Decker enjoyed hearing the melody of her voice. He loved looking at her. He savored her touch as they held hands across the table. Being other-directed prevented his brain circuits from going into overload.

After working through a sushi roll appetizer, he realized that he was genuinely hungry. He ordered a thick-slab prime rib cooked on the bone and prepared medium rare and it went down very well. They passed on dessert but took their time sipping tea.

Rina eyed him through the steam of her chamomile. “What’s new with you?”

“Nothing much.”

“That’s a fib.”

“Yes, it is.” Decker rubbed his forehead. “Well, this morning I was greeted by a spontaneous visit from Ms. Moneybags Genoa Greeves.”

“The tech billionaire who got the ball rolling.”

“In person. She proceeded to tell me that because my office was small, I was probably incompetent.”

“No!”

Decker smiled. “Something along those lines. We spoke a little and she thawed—but only slightly. By the time we were through talking, she promised to update our computer system for free.”

“The charmster at work, you sly fox, you. What did Strapp have to say about that?”

“He was as political as ever.”

“Figures. How’d you get her to do that? I’m assuming it was you and not Strapp.”

“That’s correct. Honestly, I think she appreciated my candor. She tried to offer me money to solve the case, and I told her she could offer but it wouldn’t help.”

Rina chuckled. “You had to say that.”

“Pretty moronic, huh?”

“You’re a man of integrity.”

“A man of stupidity.”

“How was the memorial?”

“Sad.”

“Did you find the information you needed?”

“I found out that Rudy Banks used to torture Cal Vitton’s son.”

“The music producer in Nashville.”

“No, that’s the older son. Banks used to bully the gay one.”

“I didn’t know Cal Vitton had a gay son. What did Rudy do to him?”

“Aside from the usual bullying, the worst thing Banks did was throw acid, aimed at the kid’s genitals, but he missed and instead the acid landed on Cal Junior’s back.”

“That’s monstrous!” Rina was aghast. “I hope he did some jail time.”

“Nope. Nothing. Cal J never told his old man.”

“But surely his dad knew something!”

Decker shrugged.

Rina was taken aback. “C’mon. When you found out about Sammy and Jacob, you were ready to tear the SOB apart!”

“Vitton is the ‘walk like a man’ type of guy.”

“Acid on the genitals, Peter?”

“If Vitton would have known, I’m sure he would have arrested Banks.”

“That poor boy—Cal J. How did he stand such humiliation and physical abuse?”