Faye Kellerman - Sanctuary

“The Rebbe actually talked to you?”

“I claimed it was an emergency. And yes, he spoke with me. He took his time, too. He’s very…otherworldly. As I spoke with him, I felt I was talking to someone who had a direct line to the heavens. I can understand why he has so many devotees. He’s very charismatic.”

“What did he say about Honey?”

Rina looked pained.

“That bad?” Decker sat up, keeping Rina on his lap. “What?”

“According to the Rebbe, Honey’s assessment of her life was pretty accurate. Gershon was always a…different type of man. Very devout. The type of guy who refused to sit during any portion of davening. You know how long the Sabbath prayers can be.”

He did know. Even for the most no-nonsense of minyans-prayer gatherings-it would take at least an hour, hour and a quarter to say all the required verses. If someone wanted to add cantorial singing, the service could easily be stretched to two or more hours.

He said, “She isn’t running away from a guy because of that, is she?”

“No. I’m just trying to give you some background.”

“Go on.”

Rina cleared her throat. “Now I’ve known people who stand during the entire service. But Gershon went beyond that. On Shabbos, for instance, he’d attend both the early minyan and the regular minyan. And he’d stand through both of them.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. There is certainly no halachic basis for it. You don’t get brownie points for saying the same prayers twice.”

“So the guy’s a fanatic. Some people would call us fanatical.”

“There’s more, Peter. About a year and a half ago, something very traumatic must have happened to Gershon. Like Honey said, he won’t speak about it, but it must have been pretty bad. Because he changed drastically. He was never a friendly sort of guy, but he’d say hello or shalom aleichem. He was polite. Abruptly, he stopped talking to people, Peter. He stopped caring about his appearance. He stopped bathing-”

“How would the Rebbe know about his bathing habits other than through Honey?”

“Because Gershon started wandering the streets at night, talking to himself.”

Decker made a face. “Great. And we’re letting these people stay in our house.”

“Can you let me finish, please?”

Decker smiled. “Continue.”

“The Rebbe said that if anyone ran into him and asked him what he was doing all alone, talking to himself, he would say he was just trying to work things out. He was…coherent when you talked to him. But his behavior…” Rina bit her lip. “No one, including Honey or the Rebbe, was sure what exactly he was trying to work out.”

“Does he hold down a job?”

“Yes, he’s a diamond dealer-”

“That’s right. And he’s still functional as a diamond dealer?”

“Apparently,” Rina said. “They’re not millionaires, but the Rebbe says he does okay.”

“The Rebbe knows his income?”

“Gershon tithes twenty percent to charity. To the penny. He shows the Rebbe his tax statements, then makes out a check for twenty percent of the gross. By law, you only have to give away ten percent. But Gershon took it a step further. The Rebbe wouldn’t tell me how much he makes of course, but he did tell me that he makes money. That’s not the problem.”

“It could be the problem if he owes money to the wrong people.”

Rina paused. “I wouldn’t know. The Rebbe didn’t mention any threatening phone calls.”

“But Honey did.”

Rina nodded. “Maybe it’s true. Maybe it’s on Gershon’s mind. Or maybe it’s all in his mind. There’s more to my tale.” She sighed. “About six months ago, he declared himself a Nazir.”

“What’s a Nazir?”

“Remember Samson of Samson and Delilah fame? He was a Nazir. That’s why his hair was so long. You’ve heard of Jesus of Nazareth?”

“Slightly.”

“Some say Jesus was a Nazir-a Nazirite, I think they call it in English. If I remember correctly, Nazirites take this vow which is: They don’t drink wine or alcohol, they don’t shave or cut their hair, and they don’t defile themselves by contacting dead bodies-”

Decker laughed.

“What?”

“I’m listening to you thinking: Hey, I could manage the alcohol and hair part, but I’m not so sure I could take that ban on dead bodies-”

“No joke. You couldn’t do what you do and be a Nazir, Peter. You come into contact with dead bodies on a regular basis.”

Decker paused. She was absolutely right.

“The ban on dead bodies also means that Nazirites can’t visit cemeteries or hospitals-anyplace where a person might have died.”

Decker held her at arm’s length. “This is for real?”

Rina nodded. “Wait, it gets weirder. Gershon not only took the vows to be a Nazir, he separated from his wife.”

“Ah, so they are in the process of a divorce.”

“Oh, no. I didn’t mean that kind of separation. I meant a physical separation. The Rebbe wouldn’t come out and say it, but I think he meant sex. I think Gershon refuses to have sex with his wife. Now, I’m no expert on Nazirites-you’ll have to ask Rav Schulman for the specific details-but I never remember anything about Nazirites not being allowed to have sex with their wives.”

Decker stared at her. “You know, I meet a lot of strange people in my line of work. But I do believe you’ve introduced me to the strangest.”

“Peter, it isn’t funny. The Rebbe says that Honey is really suffering. She doesn’t know why he’s doing this to her-to himself. Because he refuses to talk to anyone.”

“Did she tell the Rebbe about the strange phone calls?”

Rina nodded.

“What’d the Master say?”

“The Rebbe said that they should be careful.”

“Profound.”

“Peter, I don’t know what to do.”

“What to do?” Decker smiled. “That part’s easy. We’re doing enough by letting this woman and her kids stay with us. We’re not obliged to do anything more.”

“Peter, that sounds so cold.”

“I’m not saying kick her out. I’m just saying don’t be her shrink, okay?”

Rina didn’t answer.

Decker looked her in the eye. “Okay, Rina?”

“I shouldn’t listen to her problems?”

“No, as a matter of fact, you shouldn’t. She came out here to be entertained, so entertain her. Take her to Disneyland or Universal Studios-”

“I’d rather listen to her problems. It’s easier.”

Decker laughed, then lay back down in the hay. “I don’t mean to sound callous, Rina, but you’ve got your health and your family to think about. She sounds like bad news-”

“Troubled news.”

“It’s not what you need right now. It’s not what your kids need.”

“It’s not what you need,” Rina said.

“You’re right about that!” Decker said. “I’m working on five simultaneous cases, one I’m doing on my own time. Because my own lieutenant can’t justify my hours working on a scene with no bodies.”

“You can’t go over his head?”

“No, no, no,” Decker said. “No, you don’t go over your Loo’s head. Not without losing your own. LAPD is a military organization, honey. You either play by the rules or you’re a very lonely person.”

“That’s not fair.”

Decker laughed at her flat assessment. “No, it’s not. But thems the breaks. Anyway, tomorrow at dawn, Marge and I are going for a walk in the mountain passes to hunt for bodies. All this and we’re not even getting paid for the pleasure.”

Rina’s watch suddenly beeped. “Jeez, it’s midnight. If you’re going out at dawn, you need your sleep. Do you really have to get up so early?”

“’Fraid so.”

“Then I’m sorry I kept you up so late.”