Raisins and almonds - Poisoned Pen Press (UK)

Raisins and Almonds
Mrs. Rabinowitz was small and would have been stout if she
had been properly fed. She was wiping her wet hands on her
skirt as she came to the door. When she saw Phryne she stared
in astonishment. The Rabbi waved a hand at her.
‘This is Miss…Miss…it is of no importance. She has a
translation task for me; can you come and sit with her? I must
consult my books.’
Mrs. Rabinowitz tugged off her apron, put her door key in
her pocket, and picked up a covered plate. She accompanied the
scholar and Phryne on a long climb. The old man was short of
breath, and stopped to pant at every landing. Phryne, trying
not to shame him with her own health and strength, fell behind
with Mrs. Rabinowitz.
‘There isn’t any trouble, is there, Miss?’ asked the older
woman in a whisper. ‘He’s a holy man, no one to care for him;
if it wasn’t for his students he’d have nothing but his books, he’d
be a great teacher if he would take more than a few pupils, but
he won’t. And he forgets to eat, so I bring him a little something
when I can. You’re not looking for…magic, are you Miss?
Fortune telling, is it?’
‘No, I need him to read some mysterious papers for me. Does
he tell fortunes?’
‘Everyone knows he can see the future. But telling fortunes,
that’s against the law. He never tells fortunes,’ emphasized Mrs.
Rabinowitz, making Phryne certain that occasionally the Rabbi
did tell fortunes. ‘He’s studied all his life, never eats meat or
drinks wine. But here he is, no one to care for him since his wife
died last year—she was an angel, that woman.
Eventually they reached the Rabbi’s door, and then had to
wait while he searched all of his pockets for his keys. Phryne
heard babies crying and smelt old boiled cabbage and ancient
ghosts of long dead fried suppers. Her miserable childhood
came back with a rush. Young Phryne had played up and down
steps like these, cold dirty cement. She had lived in a flat like
this, so old and grimy that it could never be made clean. Her
scalp itched as she remembered filth and headlice, and she was