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that anyone might phone or knock at our door. Your father is a policeman. Madness from time to time comes with the badge.”
    “Not when my children are in danger,” Lisa said.
    “They weren’t in danger,” Lieberman said. “The only one in danger was Kim, the young man with one arm.”
    “Why was a one-armed Chinese man at your door?” Lisa demanded.
    “He’s Korean,” Lieberman corrected. “I remind you, you lived through many a colorful visitor to our home.”
    “And that contributed to the confused and bitter person I became,” said Lisa.
    “We’ve had this conversation before,” said Bess. “Let’s get back to your father calling your husband.”
    Bess went into the kitchen through the door and Lisa sat, not in the same seat she had been in before, but at the opposite end of the table.
    “Coffee?” Lieberman asked.
    “Killers bring in killers,” Lisa said. “In your house, my mother’s house, the house where my children are sleeping, the house where I grew up.”
    “My house is safe,” said Lieberman. “I keep it that way.”
    “With a gun,” she said.
    “Like Fig Newtons,” he said. “The gun is a last resort, and I’ve never had to take it out of the drawer in my bedroom where I lock it every night.”
    “And you wear the key around your neck,” she said. “I know.”
    “You want me to call Marvin now?” Lieberman asked. “Or do you want to complain further about my lifestyle?”
    “Call,” she said, glaring at her father.
    “Give me the number again.”
    She did and he dialed.
    The phone rang five times before Marvin Alexander picked it up and said, “Hello.”
    “Shalom,” said Lieberman.
    “Shalom, Avrum,” said Lieberman’s son-in-law.
    “Do I have to tell you why I’m calling?” asked Lieberman.
    “Lisa wants to come back,” said Marvin. “She says I threw her out.”
    “Yes.”
    “I didn’t throw her out, Avrum. I found out about her and the intern and talked to her on the phone, told her we had to discuss the situation. When I got home, she was gone. She left a note. That was yesterday.”
    “And?”
    “I talked to the intern,” said Marvin. “He was frightened. He was apologetic. He promised to stay away from Lisa. He swore that they had never — to use a biblical phrase — consummated their relationship. In fact, that’s not the issue. Part of the blame is mine. I’ve been caught up in some forensic cases and I haven’t spent much time with Lisa. Her work is basically nine to five. Mine is whenever someone dies. Much like yours, I imagine.”
    “I understand,” said Abe, looking at his daughter, who was trying to figure out from her father’s minimal dialogue what was happening.
    “I love Lisa,” said Marvin. “She is not easy, but I love her. Tell her to come home. We’ll talk. I know a good marriage counselor.”
    “You want to talk to her?”
    “No, just tell her to come home. And, Abe, I’d still be happy to have Barry and Melisa live with us, but, just between us, for now at least I still think they’d be better off with you.”
    “I think you’re carrying understanding a bit further than a saint,” said Abe.
    “Someday I’ll tell you my life story. I think it might help you understand. Meanwhile, you might still qualify for special treatment from your God. Remember Abram became Abraham when God told him he would be a prophet and renamed him.”
    “I don’t think that’s going to happen to me,” said Abe, “and I’m afraid of what God might rename me and what he might tell me to do.”
    “Tell Lisa I love her. Good-bye, Abe. To tell the truth, I don’t have the heart for a discussion with Lisa right now, but I’ve got a homicide victim who needs attention back at the hospital.”
    “Good-bye, Doc,” Abe said, and hung up.
    Father and daughter simply looked at each other as Bess came out of the kitchen with a microwaved Sara Lee coffee cake and three plates, three forks, and a knife.
    “Well?” asked Lisa.
    “He