He countered with, “Then can you explain how you got to know Rabbi Bloom?”
“Last year in November, the synagogue held a rather large black-tie affair for the Rabbi. My husband wanted me to accompany him so as not to insult the Rabbi with my absence. That’s when I met him,” she answered.
“So, have you been seeing the Rabbi since that day?” Pratt inquired.
“Why would you ask me a question like that?” Though the question startled her, she wanted to know.
“A number of congregants at the synagogue seem to believe that you are having an affair with the Rabbi. I thought I would ask you directly,” he replied sternly.
“There is no truth to that rumor. I have not been seeing him. We met each other twice but nothing further. Friends had suggested I go see him for counseling with my marriage, which had more downs than ups. So, I went to him for advice about problems Jules and I were having. The first time I saw him privately was for the counseling; the second time was at the hospital,” she replied.
He stared at her suspiciously. “So, you deny having had an affair with the Rabbi?” He was trying to put the fear of God into her to see if it worked in getting her to admit an affair.
“Absolutely! I was not and am not having an affair with the Rabbi or anyone else, Detective,” she said.
“Do you think the Rabbi will answer the same way?” Pratt asked her.
“I don’t know the Rabbi very well and have no idea what he might try and brag about.”
That was a shoddy and immodest response, Johnny thought, but he told her he had no further questions at this time, and she could leave.
As soon as she left the police station, she called Neil on the prepaid cell phone that he had purchased for her and told him all about the third degree the detective put her through. She was extremely nervous and believed this police officer knew about them.
Neil told her, “That was just a detective’s ploy to see if he could make you talk and obviously you were smart enough not to fall for it. Just take it easy, Honey,” he said. “You were just nervous because you were being questioned by a cop. He doesn’t know anything about us.”
“All right, if you say so,” she conceded reluctantly. “I’ll just continue to go about doing things the way I always do them and even try and make love to Jules more often, even if the thought of it makes me want to gag, just to relieve his mind that I’m not cheating on him.”
“That’s better, though I don’t like the idea of your making love to him either, but at least it’ll throw him off the track for a while,” Neil said in a feigned attempt at a gallant response.
Immediately thereafter she called Jules. She told him the police just wanted to know if she had any idea as to who might have shot the Rabbi. “I told him no.”
He asked her if there were any other questions and she replied, “Pratt asked me if I thought you might know who shot the Rabbi.”
“And how did you answer that?” asked Jules.
“I told him of course not.”
Six
The Rabbi returned to his synagogue on Saturday, six weeks after his release from the hospital, and conducted services as usual. Before he could begin, his congregation gave him a standing ovation. He stood before the podium and began his sermon in English after all the prayers were completed for the morning. “Thank you all for your kindness, flowers, well wishes, balloons, and so much food for just one man. However, I can assure you it will all be eaten. It’s delicious and fattening,” he told his laughing audience. “You have shown me more love than I could have ever imagined, and I’m thrilled to be able to return as your Rabbi.”
“However,” he continued, “I’ve heard that many of you have been gossiping about affairs going on among married congregants with other married congregants. Some of you may have even spread rumors that I have been having a fling with a married woman. Let me assure you all, our Lord looks harshly on the spreading of rumors. God is good, God is kind, God is love, and God is asking for us to believe in him as our teacher and to quote him and not each other. Rumors are not good, they are not kind, and they are not filled with love. God does not start them, but they are started by some of you. Rumors are evil and malicious to the people you gossip about. I am asking you as your Rabbi to stop this talk and return to the true meaning of our faith, love of your faith, family, friends, and neighbors. If you had proof, and I mean real proof, then you needed to bring it to the attention of the people involved and urge them to stop. However, if you have no proof, you must stop spreading such damaging falsehoods.”
After this short reprimand of a sermon, the entire congregation stood, gave Bloom a cheering ovation, and slowly left the synagogue, each person making sure to thank him as he waited at the front door to shake their hands as they were leaving.
Half an hour later Bloom drove to the town of Oak Creek, named after the stream that flowed right through it. He had sent a text message to Carol’s pre-paid cell phone asking her to go shopping for a few hours, signing it “Julie.” They met at the Dunkin’ Donuts in town as usual. They didn’t dare hug or kiss out in the open in case they were followed but agreed to meet at the local motel at the end of town called the Oak Creek Inn. He would check in as Mr. Herman
