She looked through the peephole and didn’t recognize the sandy-haired man in the dark suit standing on her porch. She checked to see that the chain was securely fastened before she reached for the doorknob; as an additional precaution, she braced the door with her right foot.

She opened the door until the chain went taut. “Yes?”

“Carlyn Shaw?”

She hesitated. “I’m her roommate.”

“Have you been roommates long?”

“Why?”

The man smiled. “I’ve always heard that people start to look alike when they live together. It must be true—you could be her twin.” He held up a copy of her driver’s license and showed her the photo.

“Okay, so you know who I am. Who are you?”

“My name is Daniel Flanagan.” He held up his FBI credentials. “I don’t like to shout it through a door—it makes the neighbors nervous.”

She checked his credentials and looked at him. “You look pretty young to be an FBI agent.”

He shrugged. “I’m a junior G-man. Want to see my whistle?”

“Thanks, I’ll pass. What do you want?”

“I’d like to talk to you for a moment. May I come in?”

She didn’t answer.

“Look, I really am an FBI agent.”

“I know what you are, Mr. Flanagan—I just don’t know who you are.”

“Good answer. Do you know a Dr. Nicholas Polchak?”

Again, no answer.

“Maybe I should ask your roommate.”

“I know Nick. You already know that—otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”

“Well, I’m Nick’s boss. Nick works for me.”

She looked doubtful.

“We’re excavating a graveyard at the Patriot Center. I’m the special agent in charge. Nick is a forensic entomologist we hired to help with the investigation. He’s a tall man with big funny glasses—a real wise guy. Does any of this sound familiar?”

“So what do you want from me?”

“I want to know what you’ve told Nick.”

“You’re his boss—why don’t you ask him?”

Danny let out a sigh. “Look, Nick is a real smart guy, but he doesn’t play well with others. We hired him to help us with this investigation, but he likes to run his own show—he likes to play games. So he hired you, but he doesn’t always fill me in on what you’ve told him. That’s all I want, Ms. Shaw—I just want to know what you’ve told Nick. If I’m going to resolve this case, I need to know what Nick knows.”

She considered his words.

“I know you spoke with him on his cell phone just this afternoon. May I ask what you discussed?”

“Ask Nick.”

“I did—he told me you called to ask about payment. Was that the entire purpose for your call?”

She didn’t answer.