"Are both awake throughout the night?"
A muscle moved near Naomi Hecht's mouth. "If it's quiet, one of them might catch a little sleep."
So Moria could have been awake alone at certain points during that night.
I said, "How long does it take to walk from here to where Dr. Shapira was killed?"
She knew what I was getting at. "What, you think Moria left the ward unattended and went off to shoot Dr. Shapira?"
I didn't answer.
"What if the other nurse had woken up and seen that Moria wasn't there?" she asked.
"Moria would have had some explaining to do."
"Some explaining." She let out a laugh, but it sounded hollow. "She would have been the main suspect, wouldn't she?"
"You'd be surprised at the risks people take to have an alibi."
"She didn't kill him. Trust me, Mr. Lapid, I knew Moria better than anyone. She was a pure soul; she didn't have it in her to kill anyone."
Sometime during this appeal, she touched my hand. Her fingers were cool and soft. My skin tingled at their touch. She pulled them away, leaving a strange absence.
"If you knew Moria, Mr. Lapid, you wouldn't suspect her for a second. Shooting someone, it's ridiculous. I don't think she ever fired a gun in her life."
She must have, or she wouldn't have had one hidden in her bedroom. A keen sense of pity came over me for Naomi Hecht's ignorance of her friend.
"But she did do something she never told you about, didn't she?" I said, my tone gentle, for I did not wish to hurt this woman; all I wanted was for her to help me uncover the truth. "She said so in her note."
Naomi Hecht said nothing. For a moment, I thought she was about to cry, but fury entered her eyes, not tears. She drew a lungful of air, her face became like a shield, and she looked as formidable as any woman I'd ever known. For the second time, I became sure she was going to strike me, but all she did was state, with quiet unbending resolution, "Moria wasn't a murderer. She never harmed anyone. And you're a fool for even considering it." Then she brushed past me and strode off without a backward glance.
Exiting the ward, I heard a voice say, "Thank you for saving me back there."
It was the nurse whom Dr. Leitner had tormented with his self-aggrandizing story. She was coming up the stairs.
"You're most welcome," I said, and then something clicked. "Sarah, isn't it?"
She smiled. She was a pretty little brunette with shining green eyes and plump lips. "Yes. Have we met before?"
"We haven't. I just remembered Dr. Leitner calling you by name."
She made a face. "He doesn't remember, but he's told me that story five times already."
"He must like the sound of his own voice."
She laughed. "He sure does."
"I'm Adam," I said, and we shook hands. She blushed a little.
"Well," she said, "I should get going. Back to the grindstone and all. Just two more hours to go."
There was an invitation there, but I wasn't about to take it. Her mouth compressed in disappointment, and she turned to leave.
"Wait a second. Is your last name Greenberg by any chance?"
She looked puzzled. "How do you know that? I don't think Dr. Leitner mentioned it, did he?"
"He didn't. I saw your name in the shift log. I'm a private investigator. I was hired to investigate why Moria Gafni killed herself."
"Oh." She looked startled. "I... I..." She obviously didn't know what to say and finally blurted, "Well, I don't know why she did it. Not a clue."
"That's all right," I said. "I'm actually wondering about something else. Do you remember the night of November 28?"
"November 28? That was over a month ago."
"It's the night Dr. Shapira got killed."
Her eyes went huge. "Sure I remember. I was working that night. How awful."
"The log says Moria was the other nurse on shift with you. What I want to know is whether you were asleep at some point during that night or if you were awake the whole time."
"Well, I don't remember..." She paused. "Wait a minute, Moria wasn't with me that night."
"She wasn't? But the shift log says—"
"She was supposed to work that shift, but she switched with another nurse."
A frisson of excitement started in my belly and spread over my arms. "Who did she switch with?"
