Read Online The Silent Bride by Leslie Glass - Free Book Online Page B

south as Spuyten Duyvil and up to the Two-forties. The synagogue is up on the parkway, Independence Avenue. You were there yesterday. Yes, thank you."
A very good-looking Latina, young, with about a ton of curly black hair and a red jacket, came in carrying a loaded cardboard tray.
"Right here." Bellaqua patted a space on her desk. "Detective Linda Perez, Sergeant Woo, Lieutenant Sanchez," she did the honors.
"Nice to know you." Detective Perez put the tray down. Three coffees in blue mugs, white-lettered with Bias Unit, a bakery box of assorted Dunkin' Donuts. A container of milk and a pile of sugar packets, both regular and Sweet 'n Low. Napkins, white plastic spoons.
The inspector examined it quickly. "Thank you, Linda. Go ahead, take," to Mike and April.
She grabbed a mug herself, passed on the container of milk, the sugars, and the doughnuts. Dieting, April thought. "You got everything you need here, Mike, April?" she asked.
Mike reached for a jelly doughnut. April hesitated. Bellaqua stared at her until she selected one, then waited for them to flavor their coffees before she went on.
"Okay, so they own a lot of real estate in the area and have become something of a political force out there." The inspector paused to swallow some black coffee, grimacing only a little.
"This is what we know so far. They're Orthodox. Tovah just celebrated her eighteenth birthday two months ago. According to the custom, this was an arranged marriage." Bellaqua paused for effect.
"Wow." April put down her half-eaten doughnut, glanced at Mike again.
"Not an everyday situation, right?" Bellaqua tapped her cheek.
"I can see how it would be a parent's dream," Mike tossed back, clearly referring to April's parents.
"Not many can pull it off these days, though. And something went very wrong here. Who knows, this may be a family thing. It may not be. We're going to have to use our common sense here, go at it several ways. Frankly, they pulled me in on this; but I don't see the profile of a hate crime. I'm sure you've talked about this between you. April, you were on the scene yesterday, any preliminary thoughts?"
"I'm not an expert on bias cases," April murmured. She was way behind the curve on this.
"Well, it may not be a bias case. We'll break it down this way. My people will take the bias angle. We'll canvass the neighborhood. Mike, you and April can start with the families and see what we can come up with there. Finish your doughnut," she directed April.
April took another bite.
Her hostess duties satisfied, Bellaqua went on. "You may want to do some research on customs and practices. But here's the general background the way I understand it. This community is real tight. They keep the boys and girls apart. Marry them young before they have a chance to fool around. They don't go for sex out of marriage. This was confirmed in the prelim report. Tovah was a virgin."
    This Mike had reported. Always fast with the sex details. April took out her notebook and pen.
    "So the way it works is the mothers do the matching themselves when the kids graduate high school. The girls' mothers put out the word their daughters are looking and what they're looking for. The boys' mothers show interest. Both sides have lists of potential candidates. Let me tell you, the background checks are very detailed. If a boy gets into trouble being rebellious at camp or not saying his prayers, it goes on his record that he's a delinquent and it affects his marriage prospects. Same with the girls. They're watched and gossiped about." Bellaqua did not smile. This was no joke.
    "It's very serious business to them and well organized. The kids all have blood tests but don't know what's up until their mothers tell them there's somebody for them to meet. Tovah and Schmuel went through this process two months ago and became engaged almost immediately. Maybe someone was against the match." Bellaqua shrugged.
    "Had they dated anyone else before they met?" April asked.
    "Schmuel