“It was a bad idea,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying you’re sorry. It’s pathetic.”

How had he convinced himself that she might understand? “I know that I have no right to ask…”

“I know the bar,” Niki said, in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’ll meet you there at five.”

With that, she was gone.

CHAPTER 18

Max sat on the wall outside of City Hall for several more minutes, watching people in suits and dry-cleaned coats pass on their way to work. He recognized some of the faces, but none looked his way—not that they would have recognized him if they had.

He hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, so he returned to his car and drove to a little diner he and Niki used to frequent called Ida’s, one of those old-fashioned joints with a lunch counter and a single row of booths along the outside wall. They used to go there to comb through homicide cases over coffee and a plate of steak and eggs.

Ida’s was packed that morning, as it usually was for breakfast, and Max took a seat on a stool at the lunch counter. The waitress was a middle-aged woman named Marilyn, who used to flirt with Max back in the day, good-natured teasing to keep a customer coming back and tipping well. He had somehow expected her to recognize him, maybe give him a smile, but all he got was a menu and a flat statement about the specials.

He ordered, and Marilyn took the menu back without even looking at him.

As he waited, it occurred to him that this was the first time that he had eaten at a restaurant in years—he wasn’t going to count his convenience–store hot dog from the night before. He had gotten used to people in Grand Rapids looking at him sideways as he walked the aisles of the grocery store, but sitting in Ida’s seemed to amplify the stares. Every booth in the place was filled, as were each of the stools—with the exception of those to Max’s immediate left and right.

After his coffee arrived, Max noticed a woman at the entrance. Marilyn stood next to her and from the corner of his eye, Max saw Marilyn point to the empty seats beside him. The woman shook her head and waited by the door until a man at the far end vacated his seat.

Max’s first reaction was anger. He wanted to tell that woman that he had once been a police detective, a husband, a respected man—but that urge died away quickly. She had chosen wisely. He was a murderer, after all.

By the time Max finished his steak and eggs, he had made a decision. If Niki was going to help him get a look at that surveillance video, the least he could do was show up looking a little bit professional. Max paid for his meal and left Ida’s in search of a barber.

He drove to three barber shops before finding someone who would agree to tackle the challenge. The first place had a sign that read Walk-ins Welcome, but they told Max that they were too short-staffed. The second place was a lone barber who looked at his watch and said that he didn’t have enough time. The third shop had two barbers, an older man and a kid who looked too young. The kid had an empty chair and invited Max to have a seat.