“Twenty-one. Wife’s nineteen, three kids under five. For the most part they stayed asleep while I tried to chat with their daddy. One time the oldest toddled in. I let Vasquez kiss the kid. Kid smiled at me.” He sighed. “Vasquez has no adult sheet, so maybe he’s telling the truth about finding God. The neighbors I’ve spoken to so far say the kids can be noisy but the family doesn’t cause problems. No one liked Peaty. Apparently, everyone in the building’s been jabbering about him, since we met with Stadlbraun.”

He glanced at the old woman. Still hugging herself, staring out at the darkened street. She seemed to be fighting for composure.

I said, “She spread the word Peaty was dangerous.”

Milo nodded. “The ol’ gossip mill was chugging along. Before Vasquez dummied up, he told me Peaty always rubbed him the wrong way.”

“Prior conflict?”

“No fights, just lots of tension. Vasquez didn’t like Peaty living so close. The term he used was ‘fuckin’ crazy dude.’ After he said that, he started moving his head back and forth and up and down. I said, ‘What’re you doing, Armando?’ He says, ‘Crossing myself. You got me cuffed so I’m doing it this way.’ ”

“Did Peaty ever bother his wife?”

“He stared at her, which is consistent with what everyone else says. ‘Fuckin’ crazy stare.’ Unfortunately for Vasquez, it’s not justification for blowing Peaty’s brains out.”

Sean Binchy came over, still looking uneasy. “Need me for anything more, Loot?”

“No, go home. Relax.”

Binchy flinched. “Thanks. Hey, Doc. Bye.”

Milo said, “You did fine, Sean.”

“Whatever.”

When he left, I said, “What’s bothering him?”

“The lad has an overdeveloped sense of responsibility. He worked a robbery case all day, got off at eleven, and decided on his own to watch Peaty. He started here, didn’t see Peaty’s minivan, went out for a burger at a twenty-four-hour spot, got back just after midnight and spotted the van a block up that way.”

He pointed east. “He was looking for a watch spot in the alley when he heard the three shots. Peaty caught all of ’em full-faced. You wouldn’t figure that physiog could get any uglier but...”

“Sean’s feeling guilty about not being here.”

“About the burger. About nothing. No way he could’ve prevented it.”

“Did he arrest Vasquez?”

“He called for backup then went up the stairs. Peaty’s body was out on the walkway between the apartments. At that point, Sean waited for the blues and they went door to door. When they got to Vasquez’s apartment, Vasquez was sitting on his couch watching TV, the gun’s right next to him and so are the wife and the oldest kid. Vasquez puts up his hands and says, ‘I killed his ass, do your thing.’ The wife starts bawlin’, the kid stays real quiet.”

“How’d it happen?” I said.