I parked the car in the shade and left the air conditioning running while I pondered the problem. I decided that I could probably get the car seat out of the car without waking him, but hauling him upstairs and transferring him to the crib probably wouldn’t work. So I opened all the doors and prepared to wait until he awakened by himself. Just to be safe, I dragged a portable fan and an extension cord out of the kitchen and set them up so the breeze would blow gently across Timmy’s car seat. The resulting breeze was actually a considerable improvement over what the window air-conditioning units had achieved in the house, so I fixed myself a glass of lemonade and settled down beside Timmy to enjoy it.

I had almost fallen asleep when I heard a noise at my elbow.

“Psst!”

I opened my eyes to find Seth Early standing beside the car. I put my finger to my lips and led him about fifteen feet away so we wouldn’t wake Timmy.

“How do I get in touch with Homeland Security?” he said.

“Why would you want to?” I asked. “I mean, what’s up?”

“Remember that guy you told me about? The one who’s been hanging around here?”

“Hanging around here? I only saw him that one time.”

“He’s been hanging around here. Swarthy-looking guy. Definitely not from around here.”

Swarthy-looking? Considering how brown Seth Early was from all his outdoor work, I wondered how deeply tanned someone had to be to qualify as swarthy in his eyes.

Could it be Jasper, Karen’s ex? I called up his image from the photo on her desk.

“Was he tall and skinny? Long brown hair in a ponytail? Weak chin?”

“No, that’s not him. This guy was shortish, with short hair.”

Not Jasper, then. But perhaps one of the thugs who had been hanging around, looking for Karen? And did Seth Early actually know what swarthy meant? Maybe he thought it merely meant thuggish or suspicious.

“Did you call the police?” I asked aloud.

“They said they’d drop by later. They haven’t, though. Wouldn’t do much good; the guy’s gone now. But he’ll be back, I suspect.”

“If he comes back, call them right away,” I said. “And remind them that you live across the street from me, and that I’m baby-sitting Karen Walker’s son.”

“You think that’d make a difference?”

“After today it will,” I said. “Her apartment was broken into. Lots of cops there. At the moment, anything related to Karen is probably high priority with Chief Burke.”

He shook his head doubtfully and ambled off to return to his vigil.

Even though Chief Burke had made Seth Early give up carrying his shotgun around, I felt a little better knowing he was keeping watch across the street.

But he’d ruined my chances of napping. I walked over to make sure Timmy was still cool and comfortable, then sat down under a nearby tree and pulled out my cell phone. I was stuck here until Timmy woke up, but maybe I could make good use of the time.