Murder 101 (6 page)

“Makes total sense.”

Decker paused. “If I brought my wife with me, it would make the visit seem less like an interrogation and more like a fact-finding mission.”

Rina was surprised but tried not to show it. “Sure, I’ll come if you want.”

“The truth is that I don’t have the same kind of manpower that I did in L.A. It’s just me and McAdams and you know way more than he does about detective work.”

“I do?”

“I’ve been bouncing things off you for years. You’ve helped me way more than you probably realize.”

Rina smiled warmly. “I’ve very touched.” She nudged his shoulder. “So where do we begin?”

Decker grinned. “Did I just unleash something?”

“You did.”

“Look, I don’t want you to
do
anything. Just look around while I talk to him. And . . . if he has employees who feel like showing you around, maybe you can feel them out.”

“Not a problem.”

“I mean, don’t go around
asking
questions—”

“Peter, I know the difference between being a curious person and a detective. You’re the latter, I’m the former. I’m just keeping you company. No harm in that.”

“Actually, it might be fun for you. The gallery also sells jewelry, without a doubt beyond my price range.”

She was still glowing from the compliment Peter had given her. “I don’t need diamonds. I don’t need anything. I’m totally happy with what I have.”

“I like to buy you things.”

“Flowers are always in fashion.”

“How about orchids?”

“Orchids are lovely.”

Decker sighed. “Maybe one day the orchids will come with a trip to Hawaii.”

“Maybe,” Rina said. “In the meantime, we can always do a little hula all by our lonesome.”

CHAPTER 6

W
ILLIAMSBURG STILL TEEMED
with black hats, but now the area was divided between the Chasids with their Borsalinos and the fur-trimmed shtreimels versus the hipsters wearing fedoras, derbies, newsboys, and porkpies. Both groups wore full beards, and even the dress wasn’t that dissimilar. There were synagogues, kosher marts, and religious bookstores and dress shops. But the neighborhood also boasted hip bars and restaurants. Even the kosher crowd was getting into the act with establishments serving more exotic things like oxtail soup and grilled chicken hearts.

Sammy Lazarus, and his wife, Rachel, lived a few blocks away from the action in a tiny apartment with their sixteen-month-old daughter, Lily. She was Rina’s first blood grandchild and the Deckers’ first granddaughter. The little girl had a mop of curly blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a perpetual sunny disposition. As soon as they walked into the living room, Lily began running around in circles, flapping her hands in sheer joy. “Yay, yay, Nana, Boppa, Nana, Boppa, yay, yay, Nana Boppa, yay.”

Decker hadn’t had a greeting like that since: well, his memory didn’t go back that far. But it was nice to be wanted. Rachel invited them in with her wide, white smile. Over her clothes, she wore a butterfly print apron that was dusted with flour and her blond curls were pulled back into a “messy” bun. She gave both of them a big hug. “Someone is very excited.” The toddler was running amok. “Can I get you guys something?”

“I’m fine.” Rina gave Rachel a kiss on her cheek then tried to corral Lily. “Well, hello, gorgeous. Does Nana get a kiss?”

The toddler stopped in her tracks, backed up, and planted a wet one on Rina’s lips. Rina picked her up and smothered her cheek with kisses. “Who does Nana love?”

“Lily.” It came out “Weewee.” She reached out her hands to Decker. “Boppa.”

Decker took her from Rina and tossed her in the air until the child was spasmodic with laughter. When his arms felt as if they were falling off, Decker lowered her to the floor. “How about a break, Miss El?” But she was already running in circles again.

“It’s been too cold to go to the park. I think she’s a little cooped up. The sun’s out. Maybe I’ll try to take her today.”

“I’ll take her if you’re busy,” Rina offered.

“If you wouldn’t mind, that would be helpful.” Rachel had taken the time to set up a little spread on their dinette table. She spotted Decker looking at it. “Just a little nibble in case you were hungry.”

“Thanks, honey. I’ll take some coffee.” Rina looked at her watch. It was a little after nine and too early to go out in the cold. Lily had brought out her box of blocks, meaning that they had other vistas to conquer before the park. Rina sat down on the floor, opened the lid, and dumped out the box. “How about if I make a tower and you can knock it down.”

The little girl responded with something approximating “knock it down.” Decker made a cup of coffee for Rina and one for himself. Then he took a minichocolate Danish and popped it in his mouth. He turned to Rachel. “How’s the residency coming along?”

“One more year.” She paused. “I love my profession but sometimes it’s hard seeing sick children, especially now that I have Lily.” Her eyes watered and she quickly blinked. “How’s your new job?”

“It’s slower paced, but it’s better than retirement.”

“Do you miss the LAPD?”

“Not when I’m only three hours away from all the people I love. Moving was a great decision.” He hoped he had sounded convincing. The truth? It was hard to regroup. “Today I’m actually here for work. Nothing crucial so we decided to mix it with a little pleasure.”

“That’s great. We’re always so happy to see you. What kind of work are you doing here?”

“Mostly talking to some people. Actually, I’ve got to be in Manhattan at ten. How long do you think it would take me to get to Columbus Circle?”

“Around a half hour more or less,” Rachel said. “What are you looking into if I can ask?”

“An art theft.”

“Sounds very intriguing.”

“Most intriguing thing I’ve done in six months.” He looked at Lily and Rina.

Rachel said, “I don’t know which one is having more fun.”

“My vote’s with Rina.”

“It’s so nice having both of you on the East Coast. Sammy is so happy.” Again, Rachel teared up. “So we’re all going out for dinner tonight?”

“That’s the plan.”

“It’s ten of us, right?”

“Gabe is out of town and his girlfriend’s working, so it’s only eight.”

“That’s right. You’re staying at Gabe’s apartment.”

“We are.”

“Can we come, too?” Rachel smiled. “I’m kidding . . . sort of. Sometimes this place is very small. I’ll make the rez for dinner. How long are two you staying in the city?”

“Just overnight. Then we’re off to Philadelphia.”

“Give my love to Cindy and Koby. Wow, the twins must be, like, four?”

“Almost four and finally out of diapers, which is good. They’re so tall and big that Cindy was running out of disposable options.”

“Maybe the next time we can all get together.”

Decker said, “That would be great although I’m not sure I could handle all that energy in one room.”

Rina spoke up from the floor. “This comment is from a man who has handled hundreds of homicides?”

“My cases involved a different type of energy. Besides, not one homicide victim has ever given me lip.” He fished out his car keys. “I’ll pick you up in about two, three hours?”

“That should be perfect. Lily will be napping by then anyway.” Rina looked at Rachel for confirmation.

The young woman shrugged. “In a perfect world, that would be a yes.”

IT TOOK A
half hour to reach the apartment building and then another fifteen minutes to find a parking space. When Decker finally nabbed a spot, it was eight blocks away from the Sobels’ address and required him to back the car into a snowdrift that exploded onto his rear bumper. His blood must have thickened. It was cold but not nearly as cold as up north. He didn’t even bother with gloves. Decker had gotten used to the fresh snow crunching under his boots, slow going but pristine. The Manhattan sidewalks were awash in a thin, salty sludge that was often slippery. The current skies were dove gray and while not gloomy, there wasn’t a hint of sunshine anywhere.

Melanie and Rick Sobel resided in a complex between Broadway and Amsterdam. The lobby was small and spare with a black, granite floor and mahogany-paneled walls. A doorman let him in. Another uniformed man who sat behind a desk rang up the Sobel unit. Once given permission to enter, Decker rode the elevator to floor 24 out of 40.

He stepped out of the lift and into an anteroom with two doors. The one on his left was closed, but the one on his right was wide open. He knocked anyway and a female voice told him to come inside. He closed the door behind him and waited in an entry hall. From his vantage point, he could peek into a white space that defined the living room. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows were rooftops and then Central Park, which, in wintertime, was a quilt of snow and brown. On sunny days, the space would be flooded with light and heat. Unfortunately it was steely outside and the cold had seeped through the glass.

Melanie showed up a minute later, dressed in a white tank top and a white short skirt. She held out her hand to shake Decker’s, and then she rubbed her arms. “It’s freezing in here.”

“It’s a little frosty.”

“I’ve been holed up in the back. It’s boiling back there. Absolutely no temperature regulation in the apartment. The boiler doesn’t do anything for the living room and it turns the den into a steam bath. I’ve complained and complained, but I think that’s just the nature of prewar apartments. They just didn’t have the HVAC. Let’s go into the den. I can always open a window if it gets too hot.” She turned and Decker followed.

It was a magnificent walnut-paneled room adorned with carved beams and crown molding. The bookshelves were filled with more knickknacks than books: lots of framed pictures along with lots of models of exotic cars—Ferraris, Maseratis, Bugattis, Porsches, Mercedes, a Delahaye, a Voisin, a Pierce Arrow, and a dozen other makes he didn’t recognize. The furniture was heavy wood and the seating was leather. And, as Melanie predicted, it was warm. Within minutes, Decker was dabbing his forehead. He removed his parka.

“Can I take that from you?” Without waiting for an answer, Melanie called out to Katrina. A uniformed maid came in, took Decker’s coat, and left. Then Melanie cranked open a window and immediately Decker felt a welcome shot of cold air. She pointed to a couch and both of them sat down.

“Are you warm or cold?”

Decker nodded. “I’m comfortable, thank you.”

“Then you’re a first. No one is comfortable in this place. I would have loved to be able to regulate the temperature, but Rick refused to even consider anything postwar. He had to have his prewar co-op. I admit in general the resale is better—unless you’re at 15 CPW or something—but c’mon, how many more sweltering nights do I have to put up with just to have bragging rights?”

She bent down to pick up something imaginary on the floor and gave him a full view of her cleavage. She was wearing sandals on her feet. Her face was skin stretched over pronounced cheeks, a big forehead, and a sizable chin. She had artificial lips that were puffed out like a sausage. Her complexion was just short of leathery: probably from hours in a tanning bed.

“I don’t know how I can possibly help you. I don’t even know why you’re here. Actually, I do know why you’re here. Max sicced you on me, didn’t he?”

“Your father-in-law gave me a list of people who knew about the Tiffany panels. You’re on the list.”

“Am I the first person you’ve talked to?”

“Third.”

“Who were the two before me?”

“Max and Ken.”

“And I repeat, Max sicced you on me, right? He can’t stand me. The feeling is mutual.”

“What don’t you like about Max?”

“Other than his arrogance, his pompousness, and his bullying, he’s fine.”

Decker took out a notebook and began to take notes. His wont was to sink into the back of the couch. Instead, he chose to be professional, precariously perched on the cushion’s edge, feeling about as balanced as a Cezanne painting. Weird that he should be thinking in art metaphors. “This is the deal, Mrs. Sobel.”

“Melanie, please. Mrs. Sobel is my mother-in-law.”

“Okay, Melanie, let me explain the logic. Detectives always work from the inside out—”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s always the husband who knocks off the wife.”

“I wasn’t thinking about guilt although you’re making a good point. I was thinking those closest to the victims of the crime usually know the most. I started with Ken, now I’m interviewing his children.”

“But there are a zillion people who know about the panels. My father-in-law has two brothers. My husband has cousins. Why start with Ken?”

“First of all, I’ve got your entire family on my list. I started with Ken because he was my first contact. And he seems to be the leader of the family.” Decker waited for her to respond. When she didn’t, he said, “I’m just going down in order. Your husband is working and you were kind enough to let me talk to you at ten in the morning. So here I am.”

She threw up her arms. “I’ve got nothing to hide. Ask away.”

“I’m going to ask some pretty obvious questions, so bear with me. Did you know that the crypt had original Tiffany pieces?”

“Of course. Everyone in the family knows. And probably a lot of people not in the family. Ken is not the model of discretion. And if you’re looking for someone to grill, I would suggest you talk to Max again. It’s like the one thing he wants that he can’t get hold of. I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

Decker tried to keep his face flat. “Really?” She didn’t answer. He said, “I went online and looked at the Stewart and Harrison gallery inventory. The place has things far more valuable than the windows.” She still didn’t answer. “Does Max have any vices I should know about?”

“If you call greed a vice, then yes. With Max, it’s always about having more, more, more. And he accuses
me
of being a spendthrift.”

“He’s a spendthrift?” No response. “Is he in hock?”

Melanie blushed. “I wouldn’t know about that. I mean he has all this jewelry but do you think his wife ever gets to wear anything . . . well, maybe she wears it, but she certainly doesn’t
own
it. I suppose she can
borrow
it if she wants.” She looked at Decker. “The point is that everything that Max and his family own is in that store. I mean he and my sister-in-law own this tiny, tiny duplex where they couldn’t even entertain a gnat. C’mon already. Just sell a couple of lamps and get something decent. Not something where the kitchen has a view of an air shaft. See what I’m getting at?”

“Not exactly.” Decker looked up. “Maybe you should explain it to me.”

“The gallery belongs to Max’s father and his uncle, Joe. Max is nothing more than a glorified salesman. I think it eats at his kishkas.”

“So he doesn’t own anything in the gallery? Is that what you’re saying?”

“I don’t know what he owns or what he doesn’t own. All I’m saying is he always wants more.”

“So you’re thinking that maybe he stole the windows so he could resell them and get some of his own money?”

“I’m not saying that.”

“So what are you saying?”

“I don’t know what I’m saying. You’re twisting my words.”

“I’m not trying to do that, Melanie. Do you think Max was involved with the theft?”

She turned bright red. “Not really.” She sat up. “But if he’s telling you that I was involved, he’s crazy.”

“Why would he think you’re involved?”

“C’mon, I know what he told you.”

“What did he tell me?” Decker prompted.

“Lemme see how I can phrase this so it comes out right.” She stood up and began to pace. “Ken is a great guy, but tight with a buck, a quality that he passed on to my husband. I never ever buy things we can’t afford, but if I can afford it, I don’t see why I shouldn’t buy it. I mean, why do you work a million hours a week and earn all this money if you’re just going to have it molder in stocks and bonds. I realize that it’s Rick’s business, but he does have a family and why should our children do without when we can plainly do with.”