trucking firm. Sheâd lived at Bayou Verde Apartments for three years. Children werenât allowed but pets were cool. They used too much chlorine in the pool. This all came out in a nasal twang I knew the drivers made fun of.
Harry shifted to Nelson. While he slow-walked her through memories, I sat quietly and used a yearâs worth of detective experience to identify cat hairs on the couch. Long and white.
âHow well did you know Mr. Nelson?â Harry said. âIâm talking about his past, his friends, his family, his hobbies, and so forth.â
âThose things werenât important to Jerrold and me, Detective Nautilus. It was just us and the things weâd do. I didnât need to know anything else.â
âDidnât need to know or Jerrold didnât tell you?â Harry loosened his tie, spun a crick from his neck, relaxed. He works in reverse of many cops by leaning forward to toss mushballs and lying back to throw heat and curves.
Losidor looked away. âI asked a couple of times. He said they werenât things he liked to talk about; it was painful.â
âSo if you didnât know his friends you probably didnât know any enemies.â
âJerrold didnât have enemies. He was soâso friendly. Always laughing and telling jokes.â A sad smile. âOne of my friends told me, she said, âTerri, that Jerrold makes my mouth hurt with all his smiling.â No one could be angry at Jerrold, Detective Nautilus.â
Harry locked his fingers behind his head and reclined further. âIn May you were angry enough to threaten him with jail. Something about eleven thousand dollars moving from your pocket to his.â
Losidor closed her eyes, sighed, opened them again. âSee, he told me he had a one-time chance to get in on a businessâit would take just fourteen thousand dollars to make at least seventy in a year. All I had was eleven but Jerry said it would still work.â
âWhat sort of business?â
There was a clang from the back of the apartment, like something falling on the floor. Terri jumped.
Harry sat up, wary. âAre we alone here?â
âOh, yes. Just us,â Losidor said, reaching for a cigarette. âThatâs Mr. Puff, my kitty. Heâs clumsy, always knocking things off the sills and shelves. Crazy cat.â
Harry and I listened for a moment. Nothing. Harry settled back into the couch.
âWhat sort of business did Jerrold say your money was going for?â
âSomething to do with computers and how theyâre hooked together. He explained one office might have one kind of computer and another office had another and the computers couldnât understand each other. He had a friend whoâd invented a better way to make them talk. It made sense, since at my office the computers are always messing up like that.â
âYou ever get to meet his friend? Or hear his name?â
âI just trusted Jerry, you know.â
Harry spent one year with Bunco, and this was a familiar conversation. âOnce you gave him the money Jerrold stopped coming by as much, didnât he?â
âI donât knowâhe got busy with things. . . .â Her eyes dropped to the carpet. âYes.â
âThen the business went sour.â
Terri sighed. âHe said some other company came out with the same thing first. Intel. I asked the guy who fixes the computers at our office about it. Heâd never heard about Intel having anything like that; it wasnât what they did. Thatâs when I filed.â Terri sniffled and plucked a pink wad of tissue from her pocket to dab her eyes.
âBut a week later you dropped the charges.â
âHe finally told me the truth,â Terri said, sniffling.
âWhich was?â
âHe used it to buy a share of some cocaine being flown into the countyâitâs like a stock deal. You buy shares. Jerry