C.D. don’t do nothing unless there’s something in it for him.

For right now, it was handy to put Donatti on hold, not to discount him, but to direct the efforts elsewhere. Decker’s second and slightly more viable option was to go back to square one and try to figure out what the hell went wrong. That required another look inside the Lieber family. Help from Chaim and Minda was a lost cause. They hated him with an irrational passion, having converted him into a convenient scapegoat-azazel in Hebrew, the symbolic sheep thrown off the cliff on Yom Kippur that atoned for the community’s past sins. Tackling Minda and Chaim, in such horrendous times, was absolutely out.

But Jonathan was another matter.

Decker thought about Jonathan’s reaction to the news of Shayndie’s death. The surprise and shock were real enough, no debate there, but something about Jonathan’s incredulous response was off, as if he hadn’t even considered Shaynda’s death a possibility. It had been out of character because Jon had been so skeptical during the five days prior to her death. He should have anticipated murder as a possibility, readying himself to help out his in-laws should things go bad. Jon was a clergyman; that was his job. Yet when the news hit, it seemed as if Jon were knocked down even harder than Chaim.

And then there was that irksome suspicion, the tweak in the gut that Decker had had during his shiva call just before his literal run-in with Minda.

Chaim and Jonathan are sitting on something.

Combining their secretive stance with the knowledge that Shaynda had either bolted from Donatti or disappeared, Decker concluded that the girl must have contacted Jon or Chaim somewhere between six in the morning-when Donatti last saw her-and her death roughly four hours later.

So it really wasn’t a matter of going back to square one. What he needed to do was retrace those crucial four hours. Of course, what had occurred during those four hours were probably by-products of the murder five days ago.

He decided to start with the easiest chore: to change the plane tickets.

Decker had to remain in the city, but there was no earthly reason for Rina and Hannah to stay with him. That meant he’d have to convince his wife to go on to Florida with his daughter, and without him. Dealing with Donatti was a cakewalk compared to dealing with Rina. She seemed in constant denial of danger. But while she didn’t have much regard for her own safety, she did care about Hannah. He’d use that angle-that too many deaths were traumatizing, and it was abusive to keep Hannah in such a morbid atmosphere.

He arrived at his car, but before getting in, he placed a call to the Lazaruses on his cell. As expected, no one answered. Rina wasn’t carrying a cell phone, and he had no idea where she was. Presumably, she hadn’t heard the news, because if she had, she would have called him. He had no choice but to wait to hear from her.

The second call was to Jonathan’s cell. The voice on the other end was a mixture of anger and fear. “I can’t talk right now, Akiva. As you know, things are a mess. Getting messier by the moment.”

“Fine. I’ll come out to Quinton. I’ll see you there in an hour-”

“No, don’t do that!”

“Then where-”

“Akiva, I can’t meet you right now. I have Chaim and Minda to deal with.”

“Jonathan, listen to me.” Decker spoke with purpose. “Something was going on this morning before we all heard the terrible news. You know something. Or at the very least, you thought you knew something. Now, you can either deal with me, or I’ll call in the police and you can sort it out with them. Take your pick.”

Silence over the phone.

Jonathan said, “You’re blackmailing me.”

“That’s not fair. But I’ll let it slide because you’re under duress.”

“I didn’t mean… What do you want from me?”

Now it was pure anger.

Decker said, “I’ll meet you in Quinton-at Liberty Park right outside the Community Hall.”

“Not in public.”

Decker held back his own anger. “Ashamed to be seen with me?”

“Akiva, please!”

It was a low blow. Decker apologized, but he didn’t back down. “Jon, you don’t know me all that well, so let me clue you in. You brought me out. Now I’m involved. I don’t get uninvolved just because you and your brother-in-law decide to scrap me. As a matter of fact, that kind of about-face makes me very curious.”

“It’s not what you think.”

“So let’s meet and you can explain it to me.”

Again no one spoke.

Decker said, “Where’d they find her?”

“Fort Lee Park.”

“Where’s that?”

“Jersey.”

Decker’s heart started hammering. “Where? Like the middle of the state?”

“No, Fort Lee is right over the George Washington Bridge… five minutes out of the city. The park is commemorative grounds.”

“Big?”

“Yes.”

“Populated?”

“During the day, yes. It’s a big place.”

Decker didn’t know where he was last night, but he knew he had been more than five minutes out of the city. More like an hour from Manhattan. One possible scenario: Chris had murdered Shaynda after Decker had seen her, then dumped her on his way back to his place. But why would Donatti make the drop somewhere so visible and so close to his digs? He was a pro; he didn’t like to advertise. Unless he was the type who’d do it for kicks-which really gave Decker something to worry about.

Jonathan cleared his throat over the line. “Cops were thinking that maybe”-he cleared his throat again-“maybe she’d been hiding out there. Lots of spaces to hide because it’s so big. Historical… goes back to revolutionary days. That’s why it’s so close to the bridge. Actually, they named the bridge after George Washington because it’s so close to Fort Lee.”

Jonathan was rambling. Decker interrupted him. “I’d like to talk to the Quinton Police again. It’s no problem for me to travel back upstate. If you don’t want to meet with me in public, give me a private place.”

“We could meet in the city. They want me to go to Jersey… to identify the body…” There was a deep, depressed sigh over the line. “Akiva, I don’t know if I’m up for it.”

“Would you like me to come with you?”

“They need a relative to identify-”

“I know, Jon. I’ve never met the girl.” The lie came out as smooth as tanning oil. “I just meant I’d accompany you for moral support.”

“That’s very generous of you.” An exhalation. “Thank you.”

“It’s fine, Jon. When do you want to go?”

“Someone was going to meet me at the… the morgue at about five.”

Four hours from now. Decker said, “That gives me enough time to come out to your neck of the woods. If you want to meet with me, fine. If not, we’ll talk later. I’ll go see the police. When you’re ready to leave upstate, let me know and I’ll follow you into New Jersey.”

Jonathan’s voice dropped to a whisper. There were tears in his words. “I think I might have messed up.”

Decker said, “I’m sure you didn’t. I’m sure you did what you thought you had to do. Let’s meet in Quinton and talk about it.”

“Yes, that probably would be a good idea.” Now the anger was directed at himself. “It’s what I should have done this morning.”

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we all had hindsight,” Decker consoled him. “I know I’m persona non grata at the Liebers’. Tell me where we should meet.”

“I don’t know… my mind’s a blank.”

“Is there a Starbucks somewhere?”

“No, that wouldn’t be good. Someone might see us.”

“How about we just talk in the car?” Decker suggested. “With the windows fogged up, no one will be able to see inside.”

“No, that’s…” Another clearing of the throat. “The only thing that comes to mind is a Tattlers between Quinton and Bainberry.”

“Sounds good.”

No one spoke.

Jonathan said, “Are you familiar with the chain?”