She decided to ignore the question and change the subject. “Do you have other relatives around here?”
“Only Sol, my uncle. Solomon Jacob Levitz, Sophie's—and my mother's—younger brother. Sol used to work right here at the station. He ended up taking an early retirement due to an injury he received in the line of duty. I'll have to introduce you to him, although I'll warn you ahead of time, he's nothing like Aunt Sophie. She's the religious one in the family; Sol's the heathen.” He grinned. “I think you'll like him anyway. He's a bit overemotional and reactionary, but he's been like a father to me since my own parents died.”
“Your parents? Oh, Abe, how awful. I'm so sorry. What happened?”
“Car accident. It was just after I went away to college. They were both killed instantly. It was terrible. Aunt Sophie sat shivah, of course, and I know she spent many hours praying for me—as she still does. But Uncle Sol, he stepped right in and helped me financially so I could finish my education. Eventually, once I had my foot in the door here, he put in a good word for me and helped me get into the detectives' division. I owe him a lot.”
“I had no idea,” she said, her heart constricting with compassion as she realized that this tough, handsome police detective understoodbetter what she was going through than she would ever have imagined. “You must miss them terribly.”
Abe, who to this point had shown little emotion as he related the story of his parents' death, suddenly had tears in his eyes. “Yes. I seldom talk about it. But with you… Well, I guess I knew you'd understand better than most.”
“Don't you have any brothers or sisters?”
“Nope. It's just me.”
Resisting the impulse to reach over and touch his hand, she said only, “Thanks for confiding in me. I've certainly learned a lot about you today.”
Abe's jaws clenched, and it was obvious he was composing himself. “True. You now know my parents are dead, I'm an only child, and I'm Jewish—well, sort of.”
Toni smiled. “How can you be ‘sort of’ Jewish? You're either Jewish, or you're not.”
“In that case, I guess I am. And I guess it's safe to assume that you're not.”
“Well, I don't sit shivah and I don't observe Shabbat.” She took another sip of water and tried her best to sound casual. “But I do worship the God of Israel.”
Abe raised his eyebrows. “Meaning?”
“I'm a Christian.”
“Well, I figured that—especially after attending your father's funeral. It was pretty heavy on the religious stuff. But I can't say that I've ever known a Christian who talked about worshiping the God of Israel, even though I assume you mean that your religion is pretty much rooted in mine—or should I say, in Aunt Sophie's.”
Toni smiled. “The God of your Aunt Sophie's faith is also the God of my faith. They're one and the same.”
Abe looked uncomfortable. “I really don't know enough about any of it to discuss it intelligently. How about if we move on to the second thing you can do regarding this investigation.”
The sudden shift of topic threw Toni for a moment. “The second thing?”
“The first being to contact Julie Greene's grandmother.”
“Oh. Yes, now I remember.”
“The other thing I would suggest—and this is not easy for me to say, but you're the only one who can really pursue this angle right now—is to consider having an autopsy done on your dad.”
Toni was shocked. “An autopsy? My dad's been buried for almost a month.”
“I know. And like I said, this isn't easy—and it may not even work. It's a long shot, but you could talk to the physician who was on the scene when the coroner certified your dad's cause of death and see if you can get him to support you in an attempt to have your father's body exhumed.” He paused. “I'm sorry. I know this is hard, but it's the only way to find out if there was something other than a heart attack involved in your dad's death. If there
“Only Sol, my uncle. Solomon Jacob Levitz, Sophie's—and my mother's—younger brother. Sol used to work right here at the station. He ended up taking an early retirement due to an injury he received in the line of duty. I'll have to introduce you to him, although I'll warn you ahead of time, he's nothing like Aunt Sophie. She's the religious one in the family; Sol's the heathen.” He grinned. “I think you'll like him anyway. He's a bit overemotional and reactionary, but he's been like a father to me since my own parents died.”
“Your parents? Oh, Abe, how awful. I'm so sorry. What happened?”
“Car accident. It was just after I went away to college. They were both killed instantly. It was terrible. Aunt Sophie sat shivah, of course, and I know she spent many hours praying for me—as she still does. But Uncle Sol, he stepped right in and helped me financially so I could finish my education. Eventually, once I had my foot in the door here, he put in a good word for me and helped me get into the detectives' division. I owe him a lot.”
“I had no idea,” she said, her heart constricting with compassion as she realized that this tough, handsome police detective understoodbetter what she was going through than she would ever have imagined. “You must miss them terribly.”
Abe, who to this point had shown little emotion as he related the story of his parents' death, suddenly had tears in his eyes. “Yes. I seldom talk about it. But with you… Well, I guess I knew you'd understand better than most.”
“Don't you have any brothers or sisters?”
“Nope. It's just me.”
Resisting the impulse to reach over and touch his hand, she said only, “Thanks for confiding in me. I've certainly learned a lot about you today.”
Abe's jaws clenched, and it was obvious he was composing himself. “True. You now know my parents are dead, I'm an only child, and I'm Jewish—well, sort of.”
Toni smiled. “How can you be ‘sort of’ Jewish? You're either Jewish, or you're not.”
“In that case, I guess I am. And I guess it's safe to assume that you're not.”
“Well, I don't sit shivah and I don't observe Shabbat.” She took another sip of water and tried her best to sound casual. “But I do worship the God of Israel.”
Abe raised his eyebrows. “Meaning?”
“I'm a Christian.”
“Well, I figured that—especially after attending your father's funeral. It was pretty heavy on the religious stuff. But I can't say that I've ever known a Christian who talked about worshiping the God of Israel, even though I assume you mean that your religion is pretty much rooted in mine—or should I say, in Aunt Sophie's.”
Toni smiled. “The God of your Aunt Sophie's faith is also the God of my faith. They're one and the same.”
Abe looked uncomfortable. “I really don't know enough about any of it to discuss it intelligently. How about if we move on to the second thing you can do regarding this investigation.”
The sudden shift of topic threw Toni for a moment. “The second thing?”
“The first being to contact Julie Greene's grandmother.”
“Oh. Yes, now I remember.”
“The other thing I would suggest—and this is not easy for me to say, but you're the only one who can really pursue this angle right now—is to consider having an autopsy done on your dad.”
Toni was shocked. “An autopsy? My dad's been buried for almost a month.”
“I know. And like I said, this isn't easy—and it may not even work. It's a long shot, but you could talk to the physician who was on the scene when the coroner certified your dad's cause of death and see if you can get him to support you in an attempt to have your father's body exhumed.” He paused. “I'm sorry. I know this is hard, but it's the only way to find out if there was something other than a heart attack involved in your dad's death. If there
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