CHAPTER SIX
"Okay, Mrs. Levinson, what can you tell us?" asked Munch. Then, as an afterthought, he added to Olivia, "Wait, where's Rivky? We didn't see you at the apartment."
"She's here, she's in the back room," said Olivia.
"Sorry, Mrs. Levinson, please continue," said Munch politely.
"Please, call me Devorah. I…I heard about what happened to Rivky and it's so terrible. But then I heard that you were questioning my father."
"That's not to say we suspect him," said Fin quickly. "It's just that we have to establish alibis for everyone who could have been there last night."
"No, I was going to say I can understand why. I'm sure Rivky told you already."
The detectives looked at each other. "Uh, well, no, she didn't say anything, actually," said Fin.
"Really? I always told her…well. All right, I'll tell, then."
Devorah adjusted her scarf delicately and sipped her coffee primly. She had the grace of a member of the royal family.
"Our father is an unusual man. He's always put so much emphasis on us being proper young ladies…he never had a problem with me. I was too afraid to be anything else," she continued.
"Afraid? What do you mean?"
"One of my father's punishments for breaking a house rule was to hit our hands ten times with a yardstick. After that happened to me twice, I never did it again."
"A yardstick?" said Olivia.
"That was for something simple, like not tidying up after ourselves."
"What about bigger things? Like, say, if you broke a curfew?" said Munch.
"I never broke curfew, so thankfully I never had to go through it. Rivky, on the other hand, stayed out until three in the morning once. She told me to lie for her, and I was going to, but when my father asked me where she was…I just couldn't. I told him she was at a party at a friend's house."
"When was this?"
"Last year, before I was married. She was thirteen. When Rivky came back, we were all waiting for her. My father had insisted that we all stay up and watch as she was punished. I felt terrible for her. She came back in wearing jeans and a sleeveless shirt…her hair was loose and she had on all this makeup…and we could tell she had been drinking."
"What did your dad do?" asked Fin.
"What didn't he do? First, he slapped her across the face, hard. He said it was to smack off the makeup. Then, he kicked both her legs, then he pinched her arms so hard they bruised. He pulled her hair…and then he made her swallow almost half a bar of soap."
"So the punishments went along with the specific rule she broke?"
"Yes. And then he made her sleep in the closet. She couldn't come out until six the next night."
"Devorah, do you think your sister has had sex?" asked Olivia.
"No. She tells me everything and she said she hasn't. But…but she was seeing someone."
"Who?"
"His name is Jason. I don't know his last name. He doesn't go to her school."
"He wasn't Jewish?"
"No. She was so afraid to tell our father, but I told her that she could stay with me and my husband if she wanted to."
"Rivky was going to tell your dad that she was dating a goy?" said Munch.
"A goy who was three years older than her," said Devorah, sighing. "And yes, she was definitely going to tell him. Rivky is a good girl. She's made a few mistakes before but you can't blame her. She's so spirited. All she's ever wanted was to be a normal girl, and our father never allowed her to even have coloring books to express herself. He wanted her to be a perfect housewife, not waste her time being artistic. But she's a good girl. She couldn't lie to him for so long."
"Okay, Devorah. Thank you very much. This really helps us."
"Could I please see Rivky now?"
"Sure," said Olivia. "I'll show you where she is."
Olivia led Devorah to where Rivky was. Fin and Munch looked at each other for a long moment.
"Want to do the honors?" asked Fin.
"Very much," said Munch, making sure his handcuffs were in perfect condition.
