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peated the dunking two more times, then looked up.
Rina handed her a washcloth that Sarah placed on
her head. After reciting the prayer out loud, Sarah
uttered a few more words to herself and gave the cloth
back. She dunked four more times, each one affirmed
as kosher, then began her ascent out of the pool. Rina
extended her arms and held the sheet open, completely
concealing herself from Sarah s field of vision. When
emerging from the mikvah, a woman was honored
with complete privacy.
After Sarah reentered the dressing room, Rina
cleaned up and shut off the mikvah heater and the
lights. Then she had no choice
THE RITUAL BATH / 49
but to wait with Decker in the reception room.
All done? he asked.
We re just waiting for her to dress.
How s she doing?
I m not sure. Compared to what?
Well, is she talking at all?
She s talking. But not about the& the incident, if
that s what you mean.
Do you think she might be willing to talk to us
sometime later?
That s up to her, Rina answered.
Decker didn t pursue the conversation.
I m not being deliberately evasive, Detective. I just
don t know.
I understand. And I don t want to put you on the
spot. But frankly, without something more concrete,
there s no way we re going to catch this guy.
Rina stood up, walked over to the linen closet, and
busied herself with rearranging the already neatly fol-
ded towels and sheets. A minute later Sarah Libba ap-
peared. Her head was covered with a kerchief her
new shaytel had been confiscated for evidence along
with her torn clothing.
Decker rose and held the door open for the women.
Rina turned off the waiting room lights, and the three
of them walked in silence across the grounds to the
residential area, the women in front, he following.
When they reached Sarah s house, Decker knocked
on the door and Zvi answered. He was still dressed in
street clothes white shirt, black slacks, black oxfords
and yarmulke. His
50 / Faye Kellerman
long, thin face was grim and stoic behind a thick pelt
of light brown beard. After helping his wife in, he
stepped outside.
Thank you, he said politely to Rina.
If she needs anything, Zvi, call.
I will, he said softly, then focused on Decker. Are
you the detective in charge?
Yes, I am. He gave the young man his card.
Zvi looked at it and placed it in his breast pocket.
Detective Decker, you find this thing, he spat out.
You look high and low, and you find this thing. And
when you do, you don t arrest him or put him in jail.
You just bring him here and leave me alone with him
for an hour. That way justice will be done.
Decker let the words hang in the air for a moment.
I m going to need your wife s help, Mr. Adler, if
I m going to find him.
Zvi didn t seem to hear. He stared into space, finally
looked back at Decker. Just find him and bring him
here. He turned abruptly and walked inside.
Rina knew Sarah wouldn t talk. The case wasn t
going to go anywhere. She looked at the detective. He
knew it too, and she sensed his frustration. They began
to walk.
It s been a long night, Rina said.
Yes, it has.
Do you get a lot of long nights?
Lately.
THE RITUAL BATH / 51
You re the detective on the Foothill rapist, aren t
you.
Decker nodded.
It didn t dawn on me before, but now I recall seeing
your name in the newspaper. Rina started to shake.
That nurse who was beaten up, how s she doing?
She s on the mend.
That s good. Rina swallowed a dry gulp. Do you
think there s any connection between this and the
other Foothill rapes?
Mrs. Lazarus, at this point I honestly don t know.
There was so much she now wanted to ask him, but
knew she couldn t. They continued walking, and he
stopped suddenly, a few feet from her door.
You want to help? This is how you can help,
Decker said. First, get a good, solid dead bolt on the
mikvah door in the morning. Second, be very careful,
even a little paranoid, for the next couple of weeks.
Third, you might try to talk Mrs. Adler into giving us
a statement of some kind. If she can t talk to me, maybe
you can convince her to talk to Detective Dunn.
I ll do what I can.
Thanks. Decker brought out his pad and a pencil.
He scribbled a number on it and gave the slip of paper
to Rina. This is my home number. I don t want you
walking alone at night unless there s some sort of se-
curity patrol on the premises. If you can t get anyone
to walk with you, call me. I m only fifteen
52 / Faye Kellerman
minutes away. I d much rather take a few minutes of
my personal time to assure your safety, than to have
to come on official business. All right?
I ll be careful, she said.
Look, I m not telling you how to worship. The rabbi
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