of their words drift down and settle around our ankles like the ashes of a fire gone cold. Then I said I had to ask a few questions. Marie agreed.
“When did you notice she was missing?”
“Early this morning.”
“Didn’t you hear us calling her name all over town?” said Janek.
“As a matter of fact, I did,” I said. “How early?”
“Before sunrise.”
I didn’t want to press her, but I had to ask for specifics. “How much before sunrise?”
“She doesn’t have to answer that,” said Janek.
“No, she doesn’t. In fact, you can throw us out anytime you want. But we’ll get to the bottom of this one way or another, and it would go a lot quicker if you’d help us.”
“It’s all right, Viktor,” she said. “It was about an hour before sunrise. I got up to check on her and…”
“Had her bed been slept in?”
“Yes.”
“Where is it?”
Marie Janek glanced at her husband before answering. “She sleeps in our bedroom. We draw a curtain between us at night.”
Someone stole your child from your own bedroom and neither of you woke up? I couldn’t quite picture a pair of burly cutthroats tiptoeing up the stairs without making a sound. It was possible, of course, but something about it didn’t smell right.
“Did you leave her bed exactly the way you found it?”
I saw the pain in her face as she pictured her child’s empty bed.
“Yes, I did.”
“May we examine it?”
“All right, that’s enough.” Janek bristled. “I want you both out of here. Now!”
“Were any of your locks tampered with? Any windows broken?”
Marie looked like she was seriously considering the question, when Zizka said, “Let’s go, Jews.”
I asked Janek what he and Federn had been arguing about on Wednesday, just before Janek threw us out into the street.
“Nice work, Jew. We could have had another ten minutes in front of that nice warm fire,” one of the guards complained.
We tried to question Janek’s neighbors, but it was a waste of time, and we came away with nothing, the doors closing behind us with a heavy thud.
“Time’s up. Back to the ghetto, Jews,” said Zizka.
We trudged over the cobblestones toward the East Gate, and it seemed like Rabbi Loew questioned me the whole way.
“What did we learn from that experience?”
“I’d say that we need to look at the father’s motives more closely,” I said, keeping my voice low.
“How are we supposed to do that?”
“I know it sounds crazy, but we need to find a Christian who is willing to help us.”
“And how likely is that under the current conditions, Ben-Akiva?”
“What about one of the Rožmberks?”
“Hiring Jewish musicians to play at your cousin’s wedding is not the same as granting us equal rights before the law, but I’ll make some inquiries.”
He sighed with frustration.
“What is it, Rabbi?” I asked.
Rabbi Loew said, “How can we expect to solve the riddle of the universe if we can’t even solve this petty crime? The answer should be right in front of us, but we have to open our eyes to it. And unless we read the signs before the ultimatum comes due—”
“What kind of signs?”
“I already told you that every act leaves a trace. Just go and look among Federn’s circle of friends and acquaintances, and see if they can help you find a willing Christian, and when you come back, tell me everything that you have seen and I will tell you what is a sign and what isn’t a sign. I will know them when you describe them to me.”
“All right, but if I’m going to be your legs, Rabbi, there’s one thing you’ve got to do.”
“What?”
“Hire me.”
“We’ve already hired you. You’re a public servant.”
“That just means everyone in the Yidnshtot gets to boss me around. You know how people are. If they know I’m working for you, and you alone, they’ll show me some respect. It’ll be a lot easier to get them to talk to me if I’m acting as the High Rabbi Loew’s personal investigator.”
“Personal what?”
“Like an Inquisitor of sorts—only for our side.”
“You’re certainly not afraid to ask the hard questions, which may be just what we need in a case like this.”
“We can draw up a contract of some kind stating that I’m authorized to act on your behalf. A formal-looking parchment with your signature on it would open a lot of doors.”
“Very well. But we haven’t discussed your fee.”
“Have you got a kreuzer?”
“Yes, but—”
“Give it to me.”
Rabbi Loew smiled wearily. He plucked a coin from his purse, and placed it in my open hand.
“Here’s