“My mother loved me. Always.”
“Yet you had no problem lying to her. You converted before she died, but kept it to yourself.”
That revelation surprised her, too. “How do you know that?”
He ignored her question. “You’re a hypocrite. You tell me what a worthless father and husband I was, yet you’re nothing but a liar yourself.”
They stood in the living room alone, Inna’s two children in their rooms. They should have gone outside to talk, but he felt safer out of sight, tucked inside one of the countless apartments that lined the street.
“Who is that woman in the kitchen?” Alle asked.
“A friend.”
“You had lots of
“Is that supposed to be an insult?”
“It’s what it is. I saw the pain on Mother’s face. I watched her cry. I saw her heart break. I wasn’t a child.”
She spoke of a reality he’d learned not to deny. “I was a bad person. I did bad things. But I never stopped loving your mother. I still love her.”
“That’s a joke.”
He heard Michele’s bitter tone in her rebuke, saw her anguish in Alle’s eyes. He knew he bore a lot of responsibility for that anger. He hadn’t taken Michele’s advice and mended his strained relationship. Instead he’d wallowed in self-pity while his only child learned to hate him.
“Are you going to tell me what you found in Grandfather’s grave?” she asked.
He decided to let her read it for herself. He found another copy of what he’d given Simon and handed it to her. She glanced up after reading, her youthful eyes full of questions. “He told you all about me.”
He nodded. “Even old Abiram, at the end, had regrets.”
“Is this what you gave Zachariah?”
The use of a first name was more a sign that this young woman was not to be trusted. “The same.”
He’d retyped the original in Jacksonville, using the library’s computer and printer to produce two copies. It had been easy to edit out the portions pertaining to where the golem slept, the rabbi’s name, the coded directions, and all references to the key. He hadn’t been sure what might happen in Austria, but he’d been ready.
“This says little to nothing,” she said.
“So tell me. Was it all worth it?”
———
ALLE WASN’T SURE IF HER FATHER WAS LYING. HER GRANDFATHER had clearly left a message. There were references to the Temple treasure and a great secret a Levite had kept. But would he not have revealed that secret? Written all he knew? Explained everything? Was Zachariah right? Had the wording been changed?
“Aren’t you concerned,” her father asked, “that a man died back there?”
“He kidnapped me. Threatened to kill me more than once.”
“He said he was an American agent.”
“I was told he worked for a man named Bene Rowe.”
“Who told you that?”
She decided not to answer.
“Zachariah again?” He shook his head. “Why do you think this man Brian let you go to Simon in the church? If he wanted to hurt you, he would have just done it himself.”
“You heard him. Zachariah made a deal for my release.”
“Do you pay attention to anything?”
She resented his condescending attitude, but could think of no good defense.
“I didn’t get that sense from him at all,” her father said. “That man, Brian, didn’t want to hurt either of us. He was there to help.”
Inna stepped from the kitchen and told them that she’d prepared some food. Her father seemed appreciative, but Alle could not care less. She still held the note.
“What are you going to do now?” she asked.
“Go back where I came from.”
“Aren’t you the least bit curious about any of this?”
“I came because I thought you were in trouble. I’ll leave the saving of a religion to you.”
“You really are worthless.”
“And you are an insolent little bitch,” Inna said to her.
Her spine stiffened.
“Your father came here thinking you in trouble. He did what he did to save you. Risked his life. And that’s all
