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father?”
    â€œOnly if someone has called her. I don’t even know where she lives.”
    â€œHe’s really dead?” she said.
    â€œThat’s what the police said.”
    â€œIt’s funny, isn’t it? We were so angry at him for what he did to my mother. I must have wished him dead a hundred times. Now you tell me it’s happened and I feel— I don’t know how I feel. Certainly not happy.”
    â€œI’m sure it’ll take some time for you to accept that it’s happened. You can call the police and talk to them. Marnie went to identify him yesterday. I haven’t seen her since.” I stopped, and then, before she could say anything, I said, “Mrs. Silverman, why are you in Jerusalem now?”
    â€œI—I wanted . . .” It was clear she had no answer. “If you want to know the truth, I wanted to see the party without being part of it. They’re all my family. I just couldn’t bring myself to be a guest.”
    Something about what she said and the way she said it had the ring of truth. “I can understand that,” I said sympathetically.
    â€œWell. Thank you for coming.” Her voice had become brisk. She stood and offered her hand. “I’m sorry I wasn’t very helpful. This is quite a shock. I’ll have to make some phone calls now, if you don’t mind.”
    â€œI understand.” I shook her hand and went to the door. I could hear her bolt it as I stepped into the hallway.

8
    I called Mel from a phone in the lobby and told her I was finished talking to Judy.
    â€œWhen are we visiting the Old City?” she asked.
    â€œTomorrow, if the guide is available. I can call Jack later. It’s Officer Davidson’s wife who’s arranging this.”
    â€œI can’t wait. Want to do some more sightseeing today?”
    â€œIs that a euphemism for shopping?” I asked, laughing.
    â€œUh, not exactly. I wouldn’t mind some more shopping, but I’d really like to see the Israel Museum. Hal took the kids there and he wants to take them somewhere else today. He’s having such a good time, I’m afraid he’s going to give up his law practice and become a stay-at-home father. It’ll be the end of our marriage.”
    â€œIt’ll wear off, Mel. But I’m definitely up for the museum.”
    â€œGood. Can you find your way to my hotel?”
    â€œI’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
    The museum was spectacular, situated on a hill and reached by walking up more stairs than I could count. Along one side was the Billy Rose Sculpture Garden, which we decided to walk through on the way out. But before we even got near the main building, we detoured for a permanent exhibit, in its own wonderful low, dark building, of the Dead Sea Scrolls. I nearly had to pinch myself to believe that I was standing a few feet away from those documents. I started thinking of the way we use the word
old
. I know people who have an old house: it was built around the turn of the century. But here were artifacts that were two thousand years old. It was mind-boggling.
    When we finished, we continued up the stairs to the main museum and decided to stop in the cafeteria for lunch. While we ate, I told Mel about my conversation with Judy Silverman.
    â€œWhat you’re telling me is that you believed her,” Mel said.
    â€œLet me just say that she sounded believable.”
    â€œBut what was she doing there? She went all by herself, without her husband, stayed in the same hotel where she knew her father’s big party would be. That’s no coincidence.”
    â€œOf course it’s not a coincidence. She’s conflicted, Mel. She feels she’s hated her father since he and her mother split up, but something in her wanted to be part of his celebration.”
    â€œYou need a more suspicious nature, Chris. Judy Silverman wasn’t there to share her father’s celebration;