Reading over the specifics:a white Jewess, well developed, well nourished, 155 centimeters in height, with a weight of 45 kilograms.“They specified her religion?”
“There’s a shock.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m surprised they didn’t write her up as ‘Jewess dog.’ ”
“But 1928 was pre-Hitler.”
“In Germany, yes. He didn’t come into official power until 1933. But Munich was a different story. In the late ’20s, Hitler was a very strong force. Munich was where his family had originally settled from Austria. That’s where he led the famous Beer Hall Putsch in the early ’20s.”
“Sorry. I slept through world history. What’s a ‘putsch’?”
“A ‘putsch’ is like a… It’s like a coup… an insurrection. The Nazis tried to take over Munich. It was unsuccessful. They threw Hitler into jail. That’s where he wroteMein Kampf.Any of this sound familiar?”
“I knew Hitler was from Austria. I also know he was a failed artist. You might have to give me a crash course in prewar Germany.”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“No, Rina, it might be important. Maybe the murder was an act of anti-Semitism.” Decker skimmed through the sheets for several minutes.
Rina let him read, then said, “Anything in there to verify your theory?”
“Nothing so far. I have to study this in detail.” He backtracked several pages. “Yeah, definitely this guy Berg was working on several female homicide cases. And they considered your grandmother to be a possibility. Except in these two cases-Durer and Gross-they were strangled… and your grandmother was bludgeoned on the back of the head.” He closed the file and connected with Rina’s eyes. “Do you really want to find out about this?”
“I know it’s weird, but yes.”
“It’s not weird, Rina. But you’re getting into some very strong material.”
“It can’t be worse than the camps.”
“You have a point, but things that are less than horrendous can still affect you deeply.” Decker tapped the ends of the sheets to even them up. “I’m a little tired now. But I’ll read it over carefully tomorrow night and let you know what I come up with.”
“Thank you.”
Decker thought a moment. “Don’t underplay the historical context, Rina. I think the anti-Semitism is going to be very relevant somewhere down the line.”
“I’m sure you’re right.” Rina sighed. “And that’s really sad.”
It was after midnight by the time I crawled into bed, but Dad was a night owl. I phoned his business number and he picked up after two rings.
“Decker.”
“It’s me. Did I wake you?”
“No, you caught me just in time. Why are you calling my work line?”
“I thought if I called the private line, I’d scare you.”
“You would have. Good thinking. Thank you. What’s up?”
“A couple of things. First off, can I come over Friday night for dinner?”
“Of course. You don’t even have to ask. The boys are home, you know.”
“No, I didn’t know. What’s the occasion?”
“Summer vacation.”
“It’s only mid-May.”
“Both got their finals over with very early. Lucky me.”
I smiled. “Poor Dad. So beleaguered.”
“Nah, I’m just joking. It’ll be wonderful to see my entire family in one sitting. Any particular reason why you’re coming?”
“Not really.” An out-and-out lie. “But I was thinking about bringing a friend. But if it’s too much work for Rina, we can make it another time.”
A momentary pause. “Of course, you can bring a friend. Is it a he or a she?”
“It’s nobody serious, Daddy. I just met him a few days ago.”
“And already you’re bringing him to your parents’ house for Shabbat dinner?”
“My father’s house. Mom doesn’t know about him because it’s not relevant. I’monlybringing him because he’s traditional. His family lives in Israel and I thought it would be nice for him to have a real Shabbat.”
“An Israeli?”
There was excitement in his voice. I could picture the smile on his face. I wondered how wide it would stay once he saw Koby’s complexion. I should have said more, if nothing else than to prepare him, but then I figured why should I? My parents had raised me without prejudice. Now was the time to test their theoretical tolerance.
“He’s lived here for eight years. This is stupid, Dad. He’s just a friend, all right?”
“I hear you, Princess. Sure. Bring him over.”
“I have another reason for calling.”
“Uh-oh, this sounds more serious.”
“It has to do with business. Imighthave tracked down a good candidate for the baby’s mother.” I told him everything I had found out. “What do you think?”
“I think you’re terrific.”
He was still thinking about my “friend.” I could hear it in his voice.
“I gave the information to Greg Van Horn, but he’s going on vacation. He told me to check the lead and see if it goes anywhere. If it does, he told me to play it by ear.”
“He’s giving you opportunity to flex your muscles. He’s being nice, Cin.”
“I know that. I thanked him. He’s giving me a chance and I don’t want to mess it up. You wouldn’t happen to have a spare morning, would you?”
His laughter was immediate. “Now, what good would it do if I tagged along?”
“You could poke me in the ribs if I get off track?”
“Go get a pencil.”
“Okay.” I pulled out a pencil and a pad of paper from my nightstand. I always kept them there in case I thought of something inspirational. “I’m armed and ready.”
“Listen up! You want to find out about this girl, but you have to go through the sister. What you don’t want to do is alienate the sister. First you introduce yourself. You ask if you can come in and say that you won’t take very long. That’s important. If they think you’re going to take a long time, it makes them even more nervous. You act casual. You tell them you’ve been doing a little searching that led to the Fordham home. The girl… What’s her name?”
“Sarah.”
“Sarah hasn’t been in school for a while. Is everything okay? The sister may not answer the question. She may ask, ‘What is this all about?’ You say, you’re coming to that. How is Sarah? Now the sister will probably say something about her health. ‘Yes, she’s fine,’ or ‘No, she hasn’t been fine. What’s going on?’ ”
“Wait, wait, wait.” I was writing so fast that my hand was cramping. “Okay. Continue.”
“When she asks about your business the second time, you get to the point. It should go something like this.
“You say: ‘A couple of days ago, LAPD found an abandoned baby in a Dumpster. Maybe you read about it in the paper?’
“She says: ‘Yes, that was terrible, but I still don’t understand why you’re here.’
“You say: ‘Mrs. So and so-’ ”
“I don’t think she’s married,” I interjected. “The name is Sanders, by the way.”
“Okay. So say something like… ‘Ms. Sanders, I think you might like to know that we’re actively looking for the mother of this child. It’s very important that we find her, not topunishher, but tohelpher.’ By now, if she has any brain in her head, she knows what you’re getting at.”
I wrote furiously, then put the pencil down for a break. “Well, then, let’s hope she has a brain.” I laced my fingers together, flipped them around, and stretched out my arms until my knuckles cracked.
Dad continued. “Cindy, it’s very important that you talk to Ms. Sanders and get her on your side before she brings in Sarah. She’s probably used to treating Sarah like a child, so her first reaction might be to yell at her or confront her… Don’t let her do this. Calm Ms. Sanders down first and then interview Sarah. It’s very important that no one feels threatened-the sister or the girl. When people are defensive, they don’t talk.
“There’s another possibility-that the sister will be completely protective and not let you get within ten feet of Sarah. If this happens, you calm the sister down and assure her that you have Sarah’s medical and psychological interest at heart.”