Free Lineup by Liad Shoham Page B

wasn’t just that he was certain Nevo was guilty. There’d been enough times in the past when he was sure he had his man and he knew the perp could slip through his fingers because of some stupid technicality. But never before had he even considered doing what he was doing now.
    Was the pressure to close his cases getting to him? Was he bitter about being passed over for promotion for longer than he liked to remember? The police force was his life. He’d given it his all. It ate away at him to see other guys being promoted over him, getting jobs that were rightfully his. And there was no point in denying that it was also affecting his family life. He’d married pretty late in life. Even when he was younger, he wasn’t much to look at, and his reserve and serious nature made it hard for him to approach women. It probably put them off too. Leah was the younger sister of a cop he’d worked with in logistics. They’d never been equal partners in the marriage. From the beginning, she’d looked to him to make the decisions for both of them. The division of roles in the family had been comfortable for him, and he imagined for her as well. But things had been changing lately, especially since the last time he missed out on a promotion. Leah had started complaining that he didn’t help her enough around the house, demanding that he do things he’d never been expected to do before.
    The thoughts clogging his brain were giving him a headache. Why was he tormenting himself with this rubbish?
    He read the report he’d written one last time. There were no personal motives behind it. Nevo had raped Adi Regev. Nachum was just doing what he had to do to prevent him from raping some other poor girl. No one could fault him for that, no one at all.

Chapter 13
    YARON Regev didn’t hesitate for a second before assuring Inspector Nachum that he had nothing to worry about, he could count on them not to breathe a word about the first lineup. He was surprised to get the call from Nachum, and even more surprised by the detective’s disapproving tone. He had no idea he’d done something wrong. And he certainly hadn’t meant to do anything illegal or cause trouble for the police. All he wanted was to protect his daughter, to save her from another ordeal, to do what any normal father would do. He made only one request concerning the “proper” lineup Nachum was planning: “Just get it over with as fast as possible.”
    The psychologist had explained that Adi would have good days and bad days, that they shouldn’t regard every little thing she did or said as a sign of improvement or decline. Still, he felt that her spirits were a bit lighter now that they’d caught the bastard. It seemed to give her some relief. He could tell. Despite everything she’d been through on Friday, when the family was sitting around the dinner table that night she’d laughed along with the rest of them at one of Adam’s funny army stories. It lasted only a brief moment. Irit was so relieved to see her laughing at her brother’s anecdote that she burst into tears, and then Adi started crying, and her little sister Michal joined in. He had to admit that even his own eyes were wet. But still, she had laughed.
    He debated telling Irit what Nachum was planning. She had enough to deal with at the moment and he didn’t want to add to her burden. But he decided he had no choice—he needed her help.
    Her response caught him off guard. He knew Irit hated what she called “dirty tricks and half-truths,” but he was sure this time she’d see things his way. After all, it was their daughter they were talking about.
    “You want me to tell her to lie?” she asked incredulously.
    It had obviously been a mistake to tell her. They’d been married for thirty years. He should’ve known better.
    “Calm down. Why do you have to make such a big deal about everything? It’s only if his attorney asks her directly. No one’s telling her to lie. You’re making a