“Yes. And I tried to call for backup, for help, but my cell was dead. And you didn’t have yours because you didn’t want the intrusion. Just stick to the facts.”

“Except that I was driving.”

“Exactly.” I blew out air. “Yaakov, I’msosorry-”

Before I could continue, he grabbed my neck and kissed my mouth-long, slow, and hard. “We’re whole, Cynthia. Nothing…nothingelse matters. I say ‘meqseft yasferawal’ in Amharic, I say ‘Gomel’ in Hebrew atbeit knesseton Saturday, and in English I say ‘thank you,Hashem,for saving us from catastrophe.’ God has choice of languages. Now let’s get out of here.”

34

The adrenaline was pumpingfull force. So intent on the task at hand, Decker almost missed him when he walked into Hollywood. But his peripheral vision took in the figure sitting on one of the blue hard plastic chairs, his face drawn and tired. With effort, Koby got to his feet.

“She’s with the detectives, I think.”

The desk sergeant looked up from his perch. Decker showed him his shield, exchanged a few words to be polite, then counted to five. He blew out air, then looped his arm around Koby. “How are you?”

“Not so brave as your daughter.”

“What happened?”

Briefly, Koby told him what had occurred.

Decker took in his words and listened intently, but something was off. Not that Koby wasn’t good because he was: straight face, loose posture, and good eye contact. He had probably fooled the detectives to whom he spoke. But Decker knew bullshit when he heard it, specifically because he knew his daughter. He heardherwords andherphrases, not Koby’s punctuated speech patterns.

Decker gave him a hard eye. “Let’s take a walk.”

Koby eyed him back. “Thank you, but I think I shall stay here.”

Decker grew testy. “Five minutes.”

“I’m fine, sir. I want to wait for Cindy.”

“She’ll be there for hours.” Decker was all business. “Take a walk with me.”

“I will wait here, sir,” Koby said. “And if necessary, I will wait for hours.”

The lad had spoken.

This was just great. Decker was now in a pissing contest with his daughter’s boyfriend. And of course, that was the problem. Decker could bully his daughter. He knew all the tricks that parents knew. He knew when to go full force, he knew when to hold back, but eventually he could always make her come around because they had a history together. Koby was not just his daughter’s boyfriend. Koby was a thirty-two-year-old man with lots and lots of survivor skills and-Cindy’s father or not-he’d be damned before he letanyoneshove him against a wall.

It was time to go back to the basics. Build some rapport and that meant finding a common denominator. That part was easy. Decker took a step back, giving him some personal space. He kept his voice low and urgent.

“Son, you want what’s best for Cindy, I want what’s best for Cindy. If she’s having a difficult time with those guys in there, you can’t help her. ButIcan. Please. I’m asking you for help for Cindy’s sake. Come outside and take a walk with me.”

Koby looked away. Then abruptly, he picked up his leather jacket. Decker held the door open and they took a few steps away from the station house onto Wilton Place. At this time of night, there was no car or pedestrian traffic. The darkness was gloomy, the air damp and gelid. Decker gave off a shudder from the chill.

“Let’s talk in my car. It’s warmer.”

Koby regarded him suspiciously.

“What?” Decker narrowed his eyes. “You think I’m going to roust you?”

“I don’t trust cops.”

“You’re dating one.”

“She is not a cop; she is Cindy.”

“And I’m her father.”

“Even more reason not to trust you.”

Decker glared at him, then shifted his eyes away and broke into laughter. “Okay. Then we’ll freeze our asses off and talk out here.”

The silence between them matched the silence on the street.

Koby ran his hand over his face. “My God… I’m sorry.”

“No, no”-Decker threw his hand on his shoulder-“I’m being pushy because I’m anxious. Koby, I’d like to talk in my car because it’s more private and it’s warmer. But if that’s not what you want, I’m fine here.”

“Where’s your car?”

Decker pointed to his vintage black Porsche 911 Targa parked by the curb. Koby’s eyes widened. “That’s yourcar?”

“No, that’s myhobby.I usually drive a ’99 Toyota Camry, but I wanted to get here in a hurry and this baby moves.” Decker clicked the unlock button on the remote and held out his arm. “After you.”

Koby went into the passenger’s side. Decker sat behind the wheel. He said, “Son, I am going into the interview room. I’m going to hear what my daughter has to say. Now in order tohelpher, I need to know the truth. Whatever you tell me stays between the two of us.”

Staring out the windshield, Koby said, “I told you what happened.”

“No, you told me anapproximationof what happened. Koby, I’ddiefor Cindy. I certainly would have no qualms aboutlyingfor her. We’re on the same side. But to help her as much as I can, I’ve got to know what really happened-in your words, not Cindy’s.”

Koby ran his hands down his face, then blew out air. “It was like I told you-”

“No, it wasn’t-”

“Let mefinish… please.”

“Sorry,” Decker said. “Sorry. Go on.”

“It was like I told you.” Koby spoke softer this time. “We were driving when Cindy noticed a car following us. We pulled over to get the license, and then as we pulled out, the car came after us and opened fire. We fired back…” He regarded Decker. “I fired back. She was driving. I did the shooting.”

“With her gun?”

“Yes, of course-a Beretta nine-millimeter semiautomatic. I don’t own a gun.”

“Go on.”

“When it was over, she said it will look bad for her if they find out that I fired her weapon. If there is death or injury in the other car, I would get into bigger trouble than she would. So we switch places in the story. I don’t want to do it. I tell her that I will take responsibility. She begged me to listen to her. So I listened.”

“She was right.”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“I know how the system works. I’m telling you she was right.”

“I don’t need her to cover for me.”

“Actually, what you both need is to get out of this as cleanly as possible.”

“I hide behind her skirt,” he whispered. “It’semasculating!”

“Fuck that!” Decker told him. “You helped my little girl! To me, you’ve got a fine set ofbaytzimin your jeans, and right now I’m the only one you have to impress. The rest isbullshit!”

Koby looked at him. “You know Hebrew.”

“Selected words.”

“Ishould be talking to the detectives, not her.”

“Koby, she’dstillbe talking to them because she’s thecop.”Patience,Decker told himself. “She did the right thing. But even if she was wrong-and she’s not-but even if she was, it’s too late. So let’s move on, okay?”

He rubbed his forehead. “What next?”

“First let me ask you a couple of questions,” Decker said. “Why was she driving your car?”

“We switched places after she noticed the tail. She said she knew how to pop the clutch to get maximum pickup if we have to make a quick exit. I think she wanted to drive, so I don’t argue.” Koby ran a finger across the hammered metal dash. “Over the years, I’ve found it is not so good to argue with women you like.”

“I’ll second that.”

“I really, really like”-he regarded Decker-“Iloveher, Lieutenant. I cannot tell her no.”

Decker smiled. “You’re in trouble, guy.”

“I know. It is not good to feel so strong about a woman.” Koby leaned forward onto the dash and regarded the empty street scene. “Ye-isat gize.What can I do? I am weak.”