LITMIR.BIZ

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a little more private?”

      Sharona took two steps backward. “Who are you?”

      She was clearly spooked. Decker said, “Sharona, we can talk right here. Or if you’d prefer, I’ll come to your home tonight and talk to you with your parents around—”

      “No!”

      Decker was surprised by the vehemence in her voice. “No? Why not?”

      “Just …” Sharona’s voice had become tiny. “Just because. Please don’t make me talk in front of my parents. Please! I don’t want anyone mad at me. I didn’t know what …”

      The girl appeared to be swaying. Decker gently took her arm and led the frail teen to an empty room. He placed her in a chair, then sat across from her, making sure the door was kept open. He took out his pad and a pencil. “Sharona, it’s important for you to tell me everything you know.”

      Sharona’s eyes went from her lap, to the door, to Decker, back to the door, then to the ceiling.

      Decker said, “You care about your cousins?”

      The girl nodded.

      “Talk to me.”

      “He told me not to tell anyone.”

      “Who? Dov or Gil?”

      “Dov. Told me not to tell anyone he called.”

      “When did he call?”

      “Two days ago. Before Eema called the police.” She glanced at Decker, then looked away. “He said he was going away. He didn’t say where. He sounded nervous. He told me not to tell anyone, especially Eema and Abba. I asked him if he was in trouble …”

      Decker nodded encouragingly.

      Sharona met his eyes. “He hung up. That was it.”

      “And you haven’t heard from him since?”

      “I swear I haven’t.”

      “Why didn’t you tell your eema about the call after she called the police?”

      “I don’t know.” Her lip began to quiver. “I was scared she’d get mad at me for not telling her sooner. And I kept expecting to hear from Dov. I didn’t know Dov would be … I didn’t know the whole family …”

      “Yes?”

      “I didn’t think they were missing. I thought Dov had just had enough. I thought he just needed to get away from it all, you know?”

      Decker said, “No, I don’t know. Please tell me.”

      Sharona covered her face, then wiped her cheeks. “My uncle’s a diamond dealer. He’s very rich. Did you see the house?”

      Decker nodded.

      “Isn’t it humongous?”

      Again, Decker nodded.

      “Uncle Arik is really rich. I mean really, really rich! He made a fortune in diamonds during the eighties. Dov told me he made lots of his money selling big stones to the Japanese and the Chinese living in Hong Kong.”

      “Dov seems to know a lot about the business.”

      “He works there. They work there—both of them. My cousins … you’d think they’d be spoiled rotten, right?”

      “Possibly.”

      “Well, they’re not, at all. They have to beg for everything they get. That’s my uncle. Eema used to say he was the same way as a kid.”

      “What does she mean by that?” Decker asked.

      “I think she meant he was always a tightass—” Sharona blushed. “I mean he was tight with a buck.”

      “His kids resent him?”

      The girl looked at her lap. “It’s not like my cousins don’t believe in work. I believe in working, too. Everyone has to work to feel useful. My mom doesn’t have to work but she does. Aunt Dalia certainly doesn’t need to work, but she does. My uncle just overdoes it. Dov and Gil are carrying a full load at school, plus after-school sports and music lessons. Gil’s a top swimmer. They’re both good students. But that’s not enough. Uncle Arik makes them go downtown two days a week and on the weekends to learn about the diamond business. I don’t talk to Gil so much, but I know it’s a big drain for Dov. He’s very resentful.”

      “How does he express his resentment?”

      “Sulks. Escapes into his head. What can he do?”

      “Escapes? You mean drugs?”

      Sharona shrugged. “Maybe a little pot. But mostly I meant escape by being spiritual. He used to be very religious. I think deep down he’s still religious, but …”

      Decker encouraged her to continue.

      “Dov wanted to be more Orthodox … traditional.”

      “I’m traditional, I understand.”

      Sharona eyed him. “You don’t look Jewish, you know that?”

      “So I’ve been told. Go on, Sharona. What happened to Dov’s journey into religion?”

      “Nothing, that was the problem. Uncle Arik is very anti-Orthodox. Dov wanted to try to keep kosher, but my uncle wouldn’t do it. See, Uncle Arik wasn’t simply … disapproving. He was mean about it.”

      “He made fun of Dov?”

      “Exactly. Like his feelings weren’t important.” Sharona shrugged. “To Uncle, they weren’t. He wanted his sons to be clones of himself.”

      Good luck, Decker thought. “What about Gil?”

      “Gil is happy-go-lucky. He can fake things better.” The girl bit her nail. At that moment, she reminded Decker of her mother. Sharona looked up. “I don’t think Gil likes the business any more than Dov does.”

      “Does Gil get along with your uncle?” Decker asked.

      Sharona shrugged. “My uncle gets on Gil’s nerves, too.”

      “Your uncle seems to get on a lot of people’s nerves,” Decker remarked.

      “You mean his partner, Mr. Gold?”

      Decker didn’t say anything, surprised that the kid knew about the conflict.

      Sharona said, “Dov and I talk a lot. He said his father and Mr. Gold were always yelling at each other. And you know what?”

      “What?”

      “Dov said that Mr. Gold was right most of the time. Once Dov agreed with Mr. Gold right in front of his father. His father had a cow. The last couple of months, Dov and his father were fighting all the time.”

      “Gil, too?”

      “Gil has a car,” Sharona said. “Gil avoids fights by escaping—literally.”

      “But Gil has to work in the business, right?”

      “Like I said, Gil can fake it better. Dov has a harder time lying. I told you he’s very spiritual.” Sharona took a deep breath. “So when Dov called me … I thought he was running away to find himself. I thought he had finally had enough of his father and couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t dare tell Eema. But I guess I should have.” The teen’s eyes watered. “If something happened to them—”

      “Don’t torture yourself,” Decker said. “They could be safe and sound somewhere. You thought you were keeping your cousin’s secret. You couldn’t have known that it might be something bigger.”

      Tears flowed down the girl’s cheeks. “You think it might be something bigger?”

      “Yes, I do,” Decker said.

      “Like

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