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“We haven’t accused him of anything. We were just looking for information. Maybe when we go see him again, I’ll take just that line. Right now, I’m letting him stew a little. And remember, no one is supposed to know that Hirsh was murdered.”
“How long are you going to keep that up?”
The chief gri
“I don’t read gossip columns.”
“Well, sometimes it pays. The Roundabout asks: Are the police hiding something? Why should the office of the District Attorney be investigating the death of a well-known scientist in a town not many miles from here? Could the death possibly be more mysterious than it appeared? Did the police goof and are they covering up?”
“And this is how the most important business of the community is conducted?” asked the rabbi sadly. “Hints in gossip columns, rumor, speculation? And if Marvin Brown’s secretary and the other people in the office see that item and jump to the conclusion that he’s a suspect in a murder case, that’s just one of the burdens of citizenship, is it? And all because he sold the dead man an insurance policy.”
“It wasn’t just the insurance policy. There was also the matter of selling the widow a grave site. And trying to shunt the body aside in the cemetery. And in this crazy case where we have so little to go on, we check any two facts that happen to coincide.”
“And Ben Goralsky-he is suspect because he got Hirsh a job and because years ago they were partners for a short time?”
“And because he wasn’t at the synagogue either. And according to what I hear, the Goralskys are very Orthodox and very devout. It seems fu
“You also heard, I suppose, that his father was very sick and that he was afraid he might die?”
“Not from you, Rabbi.” And once again, the atmosphere which had warmed somewhat, cooled.
“You said you were first and foremost a policeman. Well, first and foremost I am a rabbi. Mr. Goralsky is a member of my congregation, and I ca
“You mean that if you found a member of your congregation had committed murder you would not inform the police?”
“I am bound by the duties of citizenship just as is everyone else,” said the rabbi stiffly.
“But you won’t help us find him.”
“I will not cast suspicion on i
“Harass them? Do you think we grill them for the pleasure of seeing them squirm?”
“The effect is the same. Marvin Brown was upset-even frightened. I’m sure it wasn’t because he had committed murder and was afraid he might be discovered. He was afraid of the effect on his business and his friends, on his wife and children.”
“But he did leave the temple early and he wouldn’t tell you why.”
“What of it? There were probably lots of people who left the temple at one time or another. It’s a long service, and people get tired. They go out for a breath of air, or to stretch their legs-”
“And would they be ashamed to say so?”
“Of course not. But Marvin Brown might have left for any number of reasons he would hesitate to admit to me. Maybe he went home for a bite, and he wouldn’t like it known that he had broken his fast.”
“And he might have gone to kill Hirsh.”
“Why? Because he sold him an insurance policy? You might as well question anyone else who had the slightest contact with Hirsh-the baker who sold him bread, the butcher who sold him meat, the mechanic who fixed his car, a hundred others. And since most of them probably are not Jews, they would not have been in the temple and a good many probably would be unable to prove their whereabouts.”
“I’m not saying Brown’s guilty of murder because he left the synagogue early. I’m just saying that in a case like this where the weapon was so accessible, and the motive could be almost anything-”
“Aren’t you, perhaps, riding that idea a little too hard?”
“How do you mean?”
“Because there was ample opportunity for the killing you have proceeded on the theory that no strong motive was involved. That may very well be true, but it doesn’t have to be. The killer may have been pla
“I don’t see how that gets us any further.”
“It suggests other lines of investigation.”
“Such as?”
The rabbi shrugged his shoulders. “We know Hirsh worked on the Manhattan Project. Perhaps his background there might be worth investigation. I don’t want to sound melodramatic, but conceivably he had information someone might want, or even might not want him to tell.”
“But that was almost twenty years ago. It’s unlikely such information would have much significance today. Besides, why wait all this time before acting?”
“There may be nothing to it, but can you rule it out for certain? Up till now, he’s been in another part of the country. Now he comes back East-where there is the greatest concentration of scientists. Who’s to say he didn’t run into someone-maybe at Goddard?”
“I suppose we could check the perso
“What about the fact that Mrs. Hirsh is a rather attractive young woman?”
Lanigan looked at the rabbi. “As a rabbi, I wouldn’t think you’d notice such things.”
“Even your priests who are celibate can, I’m sure, distinguish between an attractive woman and a plain one.”
Lanigan smiled reminiscently. “Yeah, I guess Father O’Keefe could, although I have my doubts about Father Chisholm. Are you suggesting that the widow might have a lover-”
“From what I have seen of her I would doubt it, but it’s not impossible. Rather I was thinking that some man, a man younger than her husband, might have been attracted to her and think he’d have a better chance with Hirsh out of the way.”
“It’s worth checking into, I suppose.” He turned to his host with sudden suspicion. “You wouldn’t be trying to tout me off Marvin Brown and Goralsky, would you now, Rabbi?”
“I am merely suggesting that there are other lines of investigation than members of my congregation who happened for one reason or another to have missed the Kol Nidre service.”
“Yeah? Well, that’s as may be. But we’re going to continue to check into the movements and whereabouts of your friends that Friday night regardless of whatever other approaches we make. I’ll bid you good night now, Rabbi, but I don’t mind saying I’m a little disappointed. I don’t suppose I have to warn you that if you tip off Goralsky or anyone else I’ve mentioned, I could consider you an accessory after the fact.”