Faye Kellerman - Sanctuary

“Both.”

“What’s the problem?”

Orit appeared to be thinking. “Shaul’s…slow, not slow, but…”

“Deliberate?” Decker tried.

“Exactly. Shaul’s deliberate. Arik has creativity-all the ideas. Some work, some don’t. The boys are a perfect mix for business, but they get on each other’s nerves. Shaul’s always mad at Arik for being careless. Arik’s always mad at Shaul for slowing him down. But they don’t give up on each other. They’re too smart for that.”

Decker didn’t know if it was a language problem, but Orit’s choice of words seemed telling. “What do you mean by Arik being careless?”

Orit said, “What do I mean?”

Marge picked up on Decker’s drift. “Is Arik careless with Shaul’s money?”

Orit shook her head. “I don’t mean careless. It’s a difference in personality. Arik wants to go, go, go. Shaul says, ‘Now, wait a minute.’”

“Does Shaul have a last name?” Decker asked.

“Gold. Shaul Gold.”

“He didn’t know where Arik was?”

“No,” Orit said. “He was angry that Arik didn’t come to work.”

Marge looked up from her pad. “Shaul was mad at Arik?”

“Very mad,” Orit said. “And that made me worried. Why didn’t Arik show up? Despite what Shaul says, Arik is very responsible. I called the police. They send two men who looked at me like I’m crazy.”

Marge said, “The policy is to wait twenty-four hours before reporting an adult missing.”

“This is not just an adult, this is a whole family.” Orit started to bite her nail, then stopped herself. “When Sharoni-that’s my daughter-she tells me the boys weren’t in school, I start to get real nervous. That’s when I called the police again and asked for someone else. You think there’s something wrong, too, no?”

Decker said, “It’s unusual for a family to leave without notifying someone.”

Marge said, “You haven’t heard from your brother or sister-in-law in two days?”

“Or my nephews.” She shuddered. “God only knows where they are.”

“What do you mean?” Decker asked.

Orit bit her lip. “I mean if something happened to Arik, why take it out on the boys?”

“What could happen to Arik?” Marge said.

Orit looked over her shoulder, then leaned toward Marge. She was squirming, Decker noticed. As if the place was bugged. Maybe it was.

Or maybe she was squirming from guilt.

Orit said, “Suppose someone wanted to rob my brother. You know, force him to go down to the vault in the Mart. Maybe they would take Dalia as hostile.”

“Hostage,” Decker corrected.

“Yes, hostage, I mean. So they take Dalia. But why take the boys? Why not just leave them in school and leave them alone?”

“Maybe they were home when it happened,” Marge said. “Maybe they were witnesses.”

“But they’re boys!”

Marge didn’t answer. Orit threw up her hands. “I’m sick with worry. Those boys are like my sons.” Suddenly, she sprang up and began to pace, chewing on a nail as red and lacquered as a candied apple.

Marge said, “Have you asked Shaul if he’s seen Arik?”

Orit turned to Marge. “If he…” She punched her hand in her fist. “No, he wouldn’t. I talk crazy.”

“He wouldn’t what?” Marge asked.

“If he hurt my brother, I’ll kill him.” Orit nodded forcefully. “I’ll chop his head off.”

Again, Marge and Decker traded looks.

Marge said, “Do you suspect Shaul has something to do with Arik’s alleged disappearance?”

“Do I suspect?” Orit sighed. “I don’t know. They have been partners for years. But times change, people change. Diamonds is a moody business. You win big, you lose big. Shaul is very dark and moody. You will talk to him?”

“Definitely,” Marge said.

Decker said, “Anyone else we should know about, Orit?”

Orit paused, then shook her head.

“I hate to have to ask you this, Ms. Bar Lulu,” Marge said. “But do you know if either your brother or sister-in-law was having an affair?”

Orit’s eyes widened, then she clucked her tongue. “Oh, you people are terrible.”

Marge and Decker said nothing.

Orit let go with a faint smile. “Not that I know. Arik’s a very handsome man. When we were little in Israel, he had many girls. I’m sure he could if he wants. But he is devoted to Dalia, takes good care of her.”

“That doesn’t mean he can’t have someone else.”

“Maybe. But I don’t know if he does.”

Marge said, “Do they have any close friends we should know about?”

“I’ll get you a list of all their friends I know.”

“That would be helpful,” Decker said. “Does Ms. Yalom have family here?”

“All in Israel,” Orit said.

“And your parents live in Israel?” Decker said.

“Yes.”

“Have you called your parents-”

“They are not there,” Orit interrupted. “I am sure.”

Decker paused. He didn’t like her adamant tone of voice. Was she hiding something? He’d deal with it later. “Do you have any other family in the States?”

Orit shook her head.

“Do you have an address and phone number for Shaul Gold?” Marge asked.

“Just the number downtown,” Orit said. “At the Diamond Center. I give you my brother’s work number. I don’t know if Shaul’s there or not.”

Marge said. “We’ll find him. Tell us a little about Dalia and the boys.”

“What’s to tell? She’s sweet. They are good kids.”

“You say the younger boy is friends with your daughter?”

“Yes. Dov and Sharoni are friends.”

“I’d like to talk to your daughter, Ms. Bar Lulu,” Decker said.

“Of course,” Orit said. “Go to the school. Talk to her now. Maybe she knows something I don’t!”

Decker hung the mike back onto the car radio. “Secretary says Gold’s in a meeting and won’t be back in the office until tomorrow morning.”

“A ruse?” Marge asked.

“Who knows?” Decker lowered the unmarked’s visor, trying to block out the western sun. “We’ll find his home number and try him tonight. If he split, we’ll have either our first suspect or another victim.”

“What do you think about Gold and Yalom not getting along?” Marge asked. “Think she’s setting him up?”

“What do you think?”

“She seemed nervous.”

“Yes, she did. But her brother’s missing.”

“You think she’s clean?”

“I’m reserving judgment,” Decker said. “Bar Lulu’s right about one thing. The boys missing means something’s wrong. Either the family took off in a hurry or someone herded them as a unit to parts unknown. We don’t get any action on this by tomorrow, we may want to contact the media for help.”

“You’re really bugged about the boys.”

Decker said, “My sons are around the same age.”

Marge looked at him. “You have kids about every age, don’t you?”

“A young adult, two teens, and an infant. I’m raising my own grandchild.”

Marge smiled. “Should we go back to the station and file for a full-blown MP case? Then we could come back and check out the neighbors. Find out what they’ve heard over the past couple of days. Or over the past couple of years. Maybe the neighbors, unlike Orit, were aware of something fishy. They pick up on things like that.” She paused. “Except the ones that thought the serial killer was a nice, quiet guy.”

“Just a regular Joe except for the vats of hydrochloric acid kept in the basement.” Decker turned the unmarked onto Devonshire, headed toward the station house. “We have enough of a case to ask Davidson for time to canvass the area, check out the parents’ workplaces.”

Marge clapped her hands. “Let’s do it.”