Another Three Dogs in a Row by Neil S. Plakcy

Author:Neil S. Plakcy [Plakcy, Neil S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Samwise Books
Published: 2020-04-08T22:00:00+00:00

13 – Agitation

Rick and Rascal arrived a short while later. “Any news on the death of the rabbi’s brother?” I asked, after I’d given him a beer and Rascal and Rochester both got treats.

“I tracked down the driver of the bus that night,” he said. “The regular driver was sick and he was filling in. He thinks he remembers a homeless-looking guy get on at the train station, and then getting off at the synagogue. He does remember that two guys got off there, but couldn’t identify a photo of Joel Goldberg. He wasn’t paying attention, just wanted to finish the run and go home.”

“Someone else got off at the synagogue with Joel. Maybe this other guy saw something.”

“If I trust this driver’s memory. There are a couple of developments within walking distance of that bus stop, so it could have been some guy on his way home. I’m going to meet the bus tomorrow night and see if maybe this guy is a regular, and if he or anyone else saw anything that night.”

He sighed. “I don’t have much to go on, and the chief is not happy. There hasn’t been much in the press beyond a single mention in the Courier-Times, but because this is a township crime, he’s getting pressure from over there, as well as from our side. It’s possible that someone meant to rob the temple, and Joel got in the way. Which means there could be a burglar slash killer loose in town. No one likes that idea.”

I served up the lasagna, and as we ate I told him what Daniel Epstein had said about the paper I’d found at the synagogue. “He says it’s written in Yiddish, a lot of names. He’s going to translate it for me and mail it back to me.”

“There’s no indication that Joel could understand Yiddish, is there?”

I shook my head. “Rabbi Rob says their parents didn’t speak it to them.”

“So it’s unlikely that could have set him off, isn’t it?” Rick said. “What about the photograph? Aaron is a pretty common name, I guess, but what about the other one – Kalman?”

“I don’t think it’s that popular,” I said. “But we can look it up.” I got my laptop and did a search for the name. Kalman was a Yiddish given name that came from the Hebrew, and farther back from Greek. It was also a Hungarian name given to children to ward off evil spirits. It had never been a popular first name.

“Can you search anywhere else?” Rick asked. “I mean, legally?”

“Sure. I can go into some of the immigration databases. Maybe I can find a pair of brothers named Aaron and Kalman.”

I sat back in my chair. “I think Joel Goldberg saw something that upset him in the ruins of the old synagogue,” I said. “It made him agitated and sent him off to see his brother.”

“That’s one theory,” Rick said. “But remember, the guy was schizophrenic. We don’t know what was going on in his brain.

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