She closed her eyes and opened them.

“The changes happened so subtly. I blinked…and the next thing I knew I was married to a stranger. Looking back, I wonder if it wasn’t something organic-a tumor or a mental breakdown. Because a person doesn’t change just like that.”

She adjusted the black scarf that covered every inch of her hair.

“It was so subtle. First it was the davening all day. Then it was him becoming a Nazir. It was only when he started in on the children that I knew it was hopeless. Preaching to them. He’d sit them down and preach to them for hours, screaming at them if they moved a muscle or squirmed or blinked.”

She licked her lips.

“He’d make them wear sackcloth when he sermonized. Then, when he started making them fast once a week, I knew I had…do you know what kind of mental damage he did? Baruch Hashem, the Rebbe was there to neutralize him.”

“Why didn’t you just leave him, Honey?”

“He swore he’d see me dead before he’d give me a get. The Rebbe tried to get a dispensation…you can divorce a crazy person. Unfortunately, Gershon was rational in his fanaticism. If you talked to him, he could answer you back. He was coherent…but he wasn’t.”

“Did the Rebbe talk to him?”

“Of course!” Honey said. “Everyone could see what was happening to him. They all did what they could to try to make Gershon see reason.”

“But he wouldn’t listen to reason. His yaitzer harah had invaded his yaitzer tov.”

Honey broke into tears and nodded.

Decker said, “No one meant any harm, only to get Gershon’s yaitzer tov back.”

“So you do understand.”

“Of course.” Decker spoke very softly. “The Rebbe had no choice. He did what he had to do. What he was allowed to do halachically, what he was permitted by Jewish law.”

Honey’s head shot up. “What? What are you suggesting?”

Her voice had turned cold. She wasn’t about to incriminate her beloved leader.

“Honey,” Decker said. “You may not verbalize what happened. But I know what happened. I know it was probably an accident. But that doesn’t mean it’s not murder. Keeping quiet to protect individuals isn’t going to help anyone.”

Honey hesitated, then said, “Let me put it this way. I know that some…people in my town were going to talk to Gershon, try to convince him to give me a get.”

There was a long stretch of silence.

“That’s why I came out to Los Angeles. So people could talk to Gershon alone.”

“And that’s why you’re here using a false passport?”

“Akiva, I knew that if it didn’t work, Gershon would be furious. I didn’t care for me. But I feared for the kids. I knew I would have to go far away. That’s why I bothered with forged passports.”

Decker sat beside her. “Honey, listen to me. Because what I’m saying is from the heart. I’m sorry for all your tragedy. Because this really is a tragedy. But I think the best way to deal with it is to face it head-on. You get yourself a lawyer, get great legal representation for the Rebbe-”

“He had nothing to do with this!” Honey snapped.

“Okay, okay,” Decker backed off. “Okay, we’ll just stick to you. You get yourself a lawyer and you work out your case with him. Where are the kids?”

“Safe.”

“Here?”

“Yes. With people who love them and can care for them. I don’t have to bring them back to America with me, do I?”

“You want to leave them here…alone?”

“They’re not alone here, Akiva.” Honey blinked and regarded Decker’s face. “They are with three million brothers and sisters. That’s an awfully big family.”

“If that’s what you want, fine.”

“That’s what I want.” Honey looked down at her lap and straightened her skirt. “It’s funny. Originally, I moved with Gershon to the village as a refuge against the outside world. But there’s no escaping evil. It comes at you in many forms. It took me time to realize my strength. And now, like Jacob, I’m ready to wrestle with the Ish. You’re right. I have to face whatever is in store for me head-on.” She stood. “Where do I go from here?”

“I’ll get you an official escort back to the States, Honey. Manhattan police will detain you for questioning. Once in America, you hire yourself a good lawyer.”

“I didn’t kill Gershon.”

“I know you didn’t.”

“Thank you, Akiva. Thank you for believing me.”

Kreisman bit into an overstuffed pita. From the smell, Decker figured it was bologna with mustard. He sipped his coffee and waited for the interview to commence. The sgan nitzav was chewing slowly. Decker wondered if it was on purpose. A waiting game.

But he didn’t mind. In fact, the silence was a welcome respite, a chance for him to digest his thoughts. Honey was now in official hands. He couldn’t get her face off his mind, the plaintive way she had looked at him as she was led away by a gentlelooking Israeli policewoman. Honey’s expression had been agony and anguish. And though anguish wasn’t a viable excuse for murder, he sincerely hoped that things might work out for her. Then Rina had called him, describing her conversation with Gil Yalom. He recalled the crack in her voice as she recounted how the teenager had cried in her arms.

Too much pain. So let Kreisman take his time with his damn sandwich. The sgan nitzav gave a final swallow and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“I got word to be nice to you. That isn’t easy for me. Especially because I don’t fully trust you.”

Decker waited.

“Actually someone called from the prime minister’s office. Some bigwig wants to thank you publicly.”

“You can take my place.”

“Fuck you, Decker. I don’t need to ride the coattails of your glory.”

“Kreisman, I’m not interested in glory. All I want is to collect my suspects, go back home, and sleep for a day.”

“Well, if you’re looking for Milligan or Ibrahim Khouri or Gamal Shabazz, you can stop. They’re gone. However, our detectives did pick up some interesting information from some of the residents of the town.”

“People actually talked to you?”

“We have ways and I don’t mean physical ways.” Kreisman rubbed his thumb against his fingertips. “Works like a charm.”

“Who’s Donald?”

“Donald Haas. He isn’t a Black Muslim, but he is a South African black and a very radical one at that. He’s far left of the ANC and has been responsible for the deaths of at least a dozen people. Some were white, but some were moderate blacks who publicly opposed Haas’s known philosophy of white extermination. The guy did ten years in jail, got sprung shortly after they liberated Nelson Mandela.”

“And what’s the connection between him and Kate Milligan?”

“Pussy connection. They were lovers.”

“Longtime lovers?”

“Who knows? Guess Haas had no problem justifying his inconsistency. A fuck is a fuck. What I don’t get is why a woman like Milligan would go for him? What could she see in him?”

Decker thought about what Rina had told him. How Milligan had slept with Yalom-a Jew whom she probably despised-to get what she wanted. “Maybe she saw a pit bull who could implement her plans.”

“That could be.”

Decker studied his thoughts, recalling his conversation with Marge. Perhaps they had been right all along. Yalom had originally gotten Milligan’s attention by blackmail. Perhaps she and Haas had been longtime forbidden lovers. Had her plan worked, had she been able to raid Palestinian start-up capital, she would have set them both up for life. He said, “Then again, Kreisman, you can’t explain love.”

“Love.” Kreisman made a face. “Milligan’s a cold bitch. She doesn’t have a heart, Decker. She’s just got a pump.”

“Where is Donald Haas? Is he gone as well?”

Kreisman nodded. “They all must have slipped over the Jordanian border last night. From Jordan, they could move freely about the Arab countries without worrying about us tailing them. But that doesn’t mean we’re giving up. We have ways of finding people even in hostile countries.”