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you.”
    Joseph listened for a moment, and then his face went completely white. “We’re at Outback Steakhouse. Okay, we’ll wait.”
    He hung up the phone and handed it back to Cindy. “What’s going on?”
    “There’s been another murder.”
    Cindy sat up straight, and her heart pounded. “Did he say who?”
    “No.”
    Deep, paralyzing fear reached inside her mind. Was it someone else connected to Joseph? It had to be if Mark was looking for him. Her mind swirled with possibilities, faces floating in her mind, people from the church, people from the event, Jeremiah.
    Mark arrived within a few minutes and slid into the booth next to Cindy. His face was grim, and she gripped her soda hard, trying to read his expression.
    “Is it bad?” she whispered.
    “It’s bad. You know that guy from the event last night, Randy Garcia?”
    “The one I gave Duchess to?” Joseph asked.
    “Yes. He was murdered.”
    Joseph began to shake uncontrollably. Cindy felt overwhelming relief that it wasn’t Jeremiah or Geanie or someone else she knew. In her relief, though, one question came to her. “How is Duchess?”
    Mark shook his head. “We don’t know. When we got there, there was no sign of her. It’s possible she was taken by the killer.”

4
    J EREMIAH FIXED HIMSELF DINNER BUT COULDN ’ T EAT MUCH OF IT . H IS MIND kept drifting to the man in the park. Had he actually recognized him? What had happened to him? He looked like a homeless person, but Jeremiah had a hard time believing that was true.
    The last time they had met had been five years earlier in Israel. Jeremiah remembered the details clearly. He could only imagine the other man did as well.
    Could it actually be a coincidence, them being here in the same town? If it wasn’t, then he would need to tread carefully. If it was, then what could Adonai possibly have in mind? He bowed his head and prayed, asking for strength and clarity as he figured out what it all meant.
    The phone rang, interrupting his prayers. He answered it and heard his secretary, Marie, on the other end.
    “Attendance was down today,” Marie informed him.
    “It looked a little thin,” he said with a sigh. “But some people are probably getting out of town ahead of the Thanksgiving exodus.” He smiled at his own joke.
    “That better be what it is,” she grumbled.
    “Speaking of, aren’t you leaving soon?” he asked.
    “We’re in the airport right now; we’re taking the red-eye.”
    “Well, have fun visiting with your family.”
    “If I wanted fun, we’d be spending Thanksgiving at Disneyland or The Zone, not Jersey.”
    A thousand retorts filled his mind, about people who would give a lot to spend the holiday with family and that there were far worse places in the world than New Jersey. He bit his tongue, though. “At least have a safe trip.”
    “That would be remarkable. Two years ago everyone got food poisoning at Cousin Tina’s house. It was miserable. You should have seen it.”
    “I’m kind of glad I didn’t.”
    “You’ve got all the keys to the synagogue?” Marie asked.
    “Yes.”
    “You remember where everything is?”
    “I think so.”
    “If you get in trouble, you can call my cell phone.”
    “I’m sure it won’t come to that.”
    “Just promise me.”
    “Okay, Marie, if I get in trouble, I’ll call your cell phone.”
    “And you best be thinking about what we’re going to do to make sure there are bigger crowds during Hanukkah. The numbers today don’t bode well.”
    “Yes, Marie, I’ll be thinking about it.”
    “Good. We can talk about it when I get back. Now, where are you going for Thanksgiving dinner?”
    “I haven’t decided yet,” he said. The year before had been easy; he’d gone to her house.
    “Do you want me to make a couple of calls?”
    “No, I promise I’ll figure it out myself. Be safe.”
    Jeremiah hung up the phone and realized he was more shaken than he had thought. He hadn’t used be safe in lieu of good-bye in a