Page 89 of It Runs in the Family

She shrugged. “What Irene does with her sex life is up to her.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Okay,” Boone said with a restrained chuckle. “What time did you hear the wild orgy?”

My neighbor’s cheeks flushed. “She had an orgy?”

“You said you saw multiple guys…” Boone’s voice trailed off in innuendo.

I punched him in the arm and he fought a grin.

She looked up at Boone, then turned to me. “Who’s this guy?”

Boone started to answer, but I interrupted. “He’s the guy who spent nine minutes in my apartment Friday night.”

Her mouth dropped open.

Boone shot me a questioning look, then gave my neighbor his full attention. His tone turned professional. “Mrs. Whittleman, did you happen to get a good look at any of the men?”

She frowned. “You jealous?”

I groaned. “Mrs. Whittleman, Boone’s a cop. He doesn’t care if I had an orgy, which I didn’t, because I wasn’t even here. He’s more interested in finding the guys who broke in and destroyed my apartment.”

She scowled at me. “The supe never should have let you move in.” After she let out a heavy sigh, she gave Boone her full attention. “The first two were shorter than you. They were wearin’ sweatshirts and had hoods pulled over their heads so I couldn’t see their faces or hair. But the next guy was dressed different. He was about as tall as you, but he had a bit of a paunch on his gut. He was wearin’ a dress shirt and nice pants. Kind of business like.”

“What color was his hair?”

“I dunno,” she said, “Kind of a dirty blond, and he had a bushy mustache.” She pointed her finger under her nose. “Oh, and he had a scar over his left eyebrow. He wasn’t there for long, and I don’t think he came back with the others.”

The blood ran from my head to my toes, leaving me dizzy. That man sounded exactly like the man in the Stop-n-Go parking lot. Mannie must have given him my address after all.

“What time did the first two show up?” Boone asked.

“I dunno, maybe around eight or so.”

“Last night?”

“Yeah, and the second guy came about a half hour later. They all stayed about fifteen minutes, then left. The commotion started up around midnight. It lasted about a half hour, then the two guys in hoodies left.”

Boone nodded. “Can you think of anything else? Did you see their cars?”

She shook her head. “Nope.”

“Thanks,” Boone said. “We’ll let you get back to your day.”

Mrs. Whittleman didn’t waste any time slamming the door shut.

We started downstairs, side by side. The man from the parking lot had been in my apartment. What would he have done if I’d been there?

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, Boone said in a quiet voice, “You know who she’s talking about. The guy in the business clothes.”

I stared at him in surprised. “What makes you say that?”

“You reacted when she described him.”

I drew in a breath. “I don’t know who he is, but I met him on Saturday night.”

He stopped in his tracks. “Where?”