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Jake lowered himself onto the worn, upholstered, beige couch next to Rose. “I’m all ears.”
“I don’t even know where to start,” she said.
“When did you start seeing Benny?” Jake asked to get things rolling.
Rose took a deep breath, then blew it out slowly.
“Benny knocked on my door a few months ago. The Sopoynik Rebbe told him we might be interested in a security system for our home and the mikvah. You have to understand, I married Muttle because the Rebbe told me to. But after the wedding I quickly realized we weren’t a good match. Muttle was a nice enough guy. He didn’t earn much, but between his sofer business, the free housing, and the small salaries we got from taking care of the mikvah, we made ends meet.
“But I wanted more—I’ll admit it. So I pushed Muttle to make extra money when he could. I really wanted a new kitchen.
“But it wasn’t just about money. Muttle and I just weren’t—. We didn’t—. Let’s just say I’m a passionate person, and Muttle—he was more like a dead fish. I needed more. So I looked for an opportunity.
“The moment I met Benny I felt electricity between us. Things sorta progressed from there.”
“What about the camera in the attic?” Jake asked.
“As I said,” Rose explained. “I wanted things we just couldn’t afford. Benny came up with the idea. He said if I helped him, we could split the profits. I let him put the camera in the attic. He said he was gonna stream video of the women on a membership website. Nobody would know who the women were—nobody would get hurt. It seemed like a good idea.
“But he didn’t make much money at all. He barely got enough subscribers to cover the cost of running the site.
“Nobody would get hurt?” Jake asked. “Really? What about the naked pictures of Dr. Eisenstein’s daughter, and the Rebbetzin?”
Jake realized in his zealousness he revealed something he’d promised to keep secret.
Too late now.
"What!” Rose replied. “Whadya mean?”
“They were threatened to have those posted publicly if they didn’t pay up,” Jake said.
“I swear—I didn’t know about that,” she said. “Benny musta done that without cutting me in.”
“And the diamonds?” Jake asked. “How did Benny get those diamonds?”
Rose shook her head.
“I just couldn’t let it go,” she admitted. “Muttle found them in a hidden compartment in that Torah you brought him. It seemed obvious that nobody knew they were there. It would have been so easy to just take them, and sell them. That could have been a real windfall for us. But Muttle wouldn’t hear of it. He wanted to tell you about them.
"How did you find out about the diamonds?” she asked. “Did Muttle tell you?”
“No,” Jake said. “Benny tried to sell them to a dealer I know. But how did Benny get them? And what really happened to Muttle? He didn’t accidentally fall into the mikvah, did he?”
Jake could see the anger return to Rose’s face.
“After what that bastard did to me...” she muttered.
Rose turned her head to one side as if pondering what to say next. “He deserves everything he’s gonna get.”
“What bastard?” Jake asked. “Benny?”
“Yes! Benny,” Rose said. “I told him about the diamonds. We were gonna get them when Muttle wasn’t home. Benny said we could probably get enough for them to run away together. I got suckered in, and he knew it. Bastard! How could I be so stupid?” she said, spitting the last word.
“So, what happened to Muttle?” Jake asked.
“I told Muttle to go buy some groceries. Benny was supposed to wait for him to leave, and then come get the diamonds,” Rose said. “But Benny had no patience. He arrived before Muttle left, and said he was here to check our alarm system.
"Muttle excused himself to the bathroom before leaving, so Benny rummaged through his workbench. He found the black pouch with the diamonds just as Muttle got back to the room.
“Muttle confronted him.
“Benny grabbed him by the throat, and pinned him against the wall.
“I grabbed an iron skillet, and threatened Benny to stop. But he wrestled it from me, and smacked Muttle’s forehead.
“Muttle slumped to the floor. We thought he was dead,” she explained.
“So, how’d he end up in the mikvah?” Jake asked.
“Benny said it needed to look like an accident,” she explained. “So, we posed him in the mikvah to look like he hit his head, fell in, and drowned.”
Jake shook his head in disbelief. “If you fell so hard for Benny, and were gonna run away with him, why are you telling me all this?”
Rose’s eyes bulged as she stared at Jake, and growled, “Because the rat bastard duped me. He only sold one diamond. He never intended to run away with me. He's got a flight to Hong Kong, but not for me and him—they’re for him and his mother!
“Turns out he’s not only a liar but he’s a real mama’s boy to boot!”
“When’s his flight?” Jake asked.
“In two days,” Rose said.