Page 221 - LEIBY

Chapter 29 221

in place, he’d be able to check out the box of clues from the
farm.

Leiby’s thoughts raced. Had everyone really died? Where was
Miriam? Was it possible that she had survived the attack and
had run away? He replayed the memorial ceremony in his
mind. No victims’ names had been mentioned, no pictures had
been displayed, and certainly no relatives had been present.
They had spoken about twenty-nine casualties, but no reference
whatsoever had been made to any young girl. Perhaps Miriam
hadn’t been there after all?

Sounds of merriment and clinking glasses filled the smoky
room and Leiby decided that this was the opportune time
to open and check out the evidence chest. He jumped out of
the window and found himself in the courtyard. A tarpaulin-
covered jeep and a small army truck were parked there. A pale
moon lit up the velvety, dark night sky, and Leiby, who was
used to scouting in the darkness, could clearly see everything
he needed.

The box was neither in the jeep nor in the truck, the detectives
evidently having taken it with them inside the tavern. Leiby
was disappointed and frustrated.

He entered the tavern again and immediately spotted the box,
sitting safely on the floor just next to the Jewish detective’s feet.
Their eyes met for a moment, and Leiby hurriedly took on a
blank, offhand expression.

For years, the city of Lodz had been a bustling industrial region.
The chimneys of its numerous factories spewed endless clouds
of thick black smoke into the air, and thousands of articles
of clothing that had been fashioned in its many workshops
arrived in stores all over Poland daily. Since the occupation of