The words hung there in the fetid air of the alley as rush-hour traffic whisked past.

“So, why’d you switch?” Antonio asked.

“Switch?”

“Why’d you change jobs?”

He tossed his cigarette butt down. “The pay’s better here. We have live music.”

“That right? And has Vanessa been by here to catch a show?”

“No. I told you.” He sounded exasperated now. He tucked his hands into the pocket of his apron and looked at Brandon. “Is there anything else? I need to get back to work, so—”

“One more thing. When was the last time Vanessa called you?”

He tipped his head back, exasperated. “Before summer. May, probably.”

A guy turned down the alley. He was dressed like Jason in a black polo and jeans and had AirPods stuffed in his ears. He eyed their huddle curiously and traded nods with Jason as he passed by.

Jason looked at Brandon. “I need to get back to work.”

He eased back. “Sure, hey, no problem. Thanks for making the time.”

Antonio handed him a business card. “Let us know if you hear from Vanessa.”

Jason took the card without looking at it and walked off. They watched him round the corner. Without a word, they retraced their steps to their parking spot on Sixth Street. Brandon was driving today, and he popped the locks.

“You know he was lying, right?” Antonio looked at him over the roof of the car.

“Yep.”

Brandon slid behind the wheel. Antonio got in and slammed the door.

“Why didn’t you call him out on it?”

“Because.” He started the car. “We got him on record with his bullshit story. That could be useful.” He checked over his shoulder and pulled into traffic. “Especially when we figure out why he was lying.”

Antonio shook his head, clearly not convinced. But Brandon was the lead detective, so it was his call.

“Guy’s full of shit,” Antonio said. “There’s no way his prints are on her car window if he hasn’t seen her since May.”

“I know. And he’s the second person to lie to me today.”

Antonio looked at him. “Are you talking about Leigh?”

“I’m talking about Cooper Collins, the other boyfriend.”

“What about Leigh?”

He glanced over. “What about her?”

“She still holding out on us?”

Maybe.

“She never gave us the name of that landlord, did she?”

“No,” Brandon said. “But I don’t think he matters.”

“If he doesn’t matter, why won’t she tell you?”

Brandon shot him a look.

“What? I’m just saying.”

He didn’t answer. And Antonio had a point. He should probably bring it up again and lean on Leigh to give him the name, but he’d been focused on other aspects of the case.

And whenever he saw her, he tended to get sidetracked. Which was a whole other thing he didn’t want to analyze right now.