dead man and place it in his belt. Then he laid the women out on the bed.
“The boy had to hear,” said Mac.
No image of a boy appeared on the screen.
“Maybe,” said Danny, “the boy heard, even opened the door, saw and ran for his bike. Shelton heard him and went after him.”
“The boy was fully dressed at two in the morning?” asked Mac.
Danny shrugged and adjusted his glasses.
Mac sat silently, thinking about the knife, the problems with the scenario he had just witnessed, the leaf of the linden tree in the boy’s bedroom, the leaf with the tiny bite marks of a cankerworm.
For more than an hour, in a small interrogation room, Flack talked individually to all of the nine people who had gone to lunch in the park. Many of them cried, not just the women.
One man, Morley Solomon, in his forties with curly white hair, a weathered face, and a deep white scar on his nose, said, “It’s a test of our faith.”
“By whom?” asked Flack.
“Perhaps Yeshua,” said the man. “Some human instrument of his power, his dominion over the earth. A few will quit, but just a few.”
“Not you,” said Flack.
“No,” said Solomon. “What proof is there of the power of one’s beliefs unless those beliefs are tested? Like science.”
“Science?”
“I used to be a physicist,” said Solomon. “Princeton, theoretical research. I was a Jew. I remain a Jew. I will always be a Jew, but my faith will determine what a true Jew is, not the mandates and dictates of others. We observe the holy days, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year; Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; all of them.”
There was only one person remaining to talk to. Flack told everyone that they could go. All of them looked at Joshua, who nodded, smiled, made it clear that he would be all right.
“His name was Joel Besser,” said Joshua in the interrogation room when the others were gone. “He was twenty-one years old.”
As the others had said, Joshua confirmed that Joel had volunteered to stay behind only minutes before the others had left to have lunch in the park. Joshua also confirmed that Joel was more than liked. He was loved.
“He was murdered not for personality or spirit,” said Joshua, “but because of what he represented.”
“Which was?” asked Flack.
“Heresy in the eyes of the closed-minded and ignorant,” said Joshua. “He was a Jew for Yeshua and that threatened people.”
“People?” asked Flack.
“Need I say it?” said Joshua, closing his eyes. “The Orthodox, not two blocks from here.”
“We’ll look into it,” said Flack.
“When can we have Joel’s body?”
“Up to the medical examiner,” said Flack. “Would you please pull your hair back from your forehead?”
Joshua complied.
There was a swollen and cut red bump at the man’s hairline.
“When did you get that and how?” asked Flack, indicating that Joshua could release his hair.
“About an hour ago,” said Joshua calmly. “I beat my head against the wall. You can see over there.”
Flack turned and saw the indentation in the plaster board. He also saw what appeared to be a slash of blood.
“Why?” asked Flack.
“To show my grief over our loss,” Joshua said. “The congregants watched and wept. When one of our people die, we want to share their pain. The Orthodox tear their clothes.
“We are Jews,” Joshua said, his voice starting to rise, “Jews who suffer from discrimination by other Jewish denominations and by Christians.”
“Where were you when Joel Basser was murdered?” Flack asked.
Joshua smiled knowingly and said nothing.
“Every person in your congregation says you left after five minutes in the park and didn’t come back till it was time to head back to the synagogue.”
“I left Morley Solomon in charge to talk about Einstein and the Messiah,” said Joshua. “It’s a passion of his.”
“And where did you go?”
“A bar,” said Joshua. “Babe Bryson’s. You can ask the bartender. I was there
“The boy had to hear,” said Mac.
No image of a boy appeared on the screen.
“Maybe,” said Danny, “the boy heard, even opened the door, saw and ran for his bike. Shelton heard him and went after him.”
“The boy was fully dressed at two in the morning?” asked Mac.
Danny shrugged and adjusted his glasses.
Mac sat silently, thinking about the knife, the problems with the scenario he had just witnessed, the leaf of the linden tree in the boy’s bedroom, the leaf with the tiny bite marks of a cankerworm.
For more than an hour, in a small interrogation room, Flack talked individually to all of the nine people who had gone to lunch in the park. Many of them cried, not just the women.
One man, Morley Solomon, in his forties with curly white hair, a weathered face, and a deep white scar on his nose, said, “It’s a test of our faith.”
“By whom?” asked Flack.
“Perhaps Yeshua,” said the man. “Some human instrument of his power, his dominion over the earth. A few will quit, but just a few.”
“Not you,” said Flack.
“No,” said Solomon. “What proof is there of the power of one’s beliefs unless those beliefs are tested? Like science.”
“Science?”
“I used to be a physicist,” said Solomon. “Princeton, theoretical research. I was a Jew. I remain a Jew. I will always be a Jew, but my faith will determine what a true Jew is, not the mandates and dictates of others. We observe the holy days, Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year; Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; all of them.”
There was only one person remaining to talk to. Flack told everyone that they could go. All of them looked at Joshua, who nodded, smiled, made it clear that he would be all right.
“His name was Joel Besser,” said Joshua in the interrogation room when the others were gone. “He was twenty-one years old.”
As the others had said, Joshua confirmed that Joel had volunteered to stay behind only minutes before the others had left to have lunch in the park. Joshua also confirmed that Joel was more than liked. He was loved.
“He was murdered not for personality or spirit,” said Joshua, “but because of what he represented.”
“Which was?” asked Flack.
“Heresy in the eyes of the closed-minded and ignorant,” said Joshua. “He was a Jew for Yeshua and that threatened people.”
“People?” asked Flack.
“Need I say it?” said Joshua, closing his eyes. “The Orthodox, not two blocks from here.”
“We’ll look into it,” said Flack.
“When can we have Joel’s body?”
“Up to the medical examiner,” said Flack. “Would you please pull your hair back from your forehead?”
Joshua complied.
There was a swollen and cut red bump at the man’s hairline.
“When did you get that and how?” asked Flack, indicating that Joshua could release his hair.
“About an hour ago,” said Joshua calmly. “I beat my head against the wall. You can see over there.”
Flack turned and saw the indentation in the plaster board. He also saw what appeared to be a slash of blood.
“Why?” asked Flack.
“To show my grief over our loss,” Joshua said. “The congregants watched and wept. When one of our people die, we want to share their pain. The Orthodox tear their clothes.
“We are Jews,” Joshua said, his voice starting to rise, “Jews who suffer from discrimination by other Jewish denominations and by Christians.”
“Where were you when Joel Basser was murdered?” Flack asked.
Joshua smiled knowingly and said nothing.
“Every person in your congregation says you left after five minutes in the park and didn’t come back till it was time to head back to the synagogue.”
“I left Morley Solomon in charge to talk about Einstein and the Messiah,” said Joshua. “It’s a passion of his.”
“And where did you go?”
“A bar,” said Joshua. “Babe Bryson’s. You can ask the bartender. I was there
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