“Hello,” she said brightly to a bald man who might have been fifty, or seventy. “My niece and I are here to take a look around. Is there anything we should know about this place? Warren Jorgenson recommended it.”

The man, who’d been sitting on a bench wiping his face with a towel, stopped short. “You’re friends with Warren?”

“Not to say friends,” Tabitha said slowly. “More like acquaintances.”

Bald Guy finished wiping his face, then said, “You two look like nice women. If I were your brother or dad, I’d tell you to stay away from Jorgenson.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stirred. “Okay, thanks,” I said. “Um, do you mind telling us why? I’m not asking you to break a confidence or anything, it’s just . . .” I stopped because I wasn’t sure where to go next.

Tabitha picked it up. “It’s just that when you’re two women, living without a man, you need to be careful.”

I slid her a sideways glance. Okay, she hadn’t outright lied, but she’d certainly led him in a direction that wasn’t the truth. Which was what I’d done multiple times when trying to learn more about suspects, so I certainly wasn’t going to throw stones. It was just odd, hearing it from someone else.

“Yeah, I get it.” Bald Guy tossed the towel into a waiting bin. “Okay,” he said, looking around. “Here’s what I know for sure. Jorgenson had a girlfriend, and when she broke up with him a couple of months ago, he turned nasty. She ended up filing a PPO against him.”

The acronym was almost, but not quite, familiar. “A what?”

“Personal protection order,” Tabitha said softly.

“That’s right,” Bald Guy said. “He’s not supposed to come anywhere near her.”

“Do you know why?” I asked.

Bald Guy sort of nodded. “She’s my neighbor. I heard more than one fight. And called the cops when I heard . . . well, when I heard something that sounded like the cops should get involved.” He gave us a long look. “If I were you, I’d stay away. Far, far away.”

Chapter 14

After Mr. Bald Guy’s revelation, Tabitha and I unanimously decided that another trip to the adult beverage establishment was in order. By the time our glasses were empty, we’d come to the conclusion that it was time to talk to our friends in law enforcement about all we’d discovered.

“Fine, but what do we do, just hand over everything we’ve learned?” Tabitha asked.

I looked at my glass, which had formerly held wine, thought about having a second, but decided against it. School night, and all. “Yes. They’re the professionals and we’re not. It’s not like we’re going to arrest anyone ourselves.”