For the next hour, Milo did all the right detective things: instigating the BOLO on Jens Williams’s van and the ten-year-old Lexus registered to Meredith Santos, then diving into government paper.

Social Security finally offered up the tidbit that Williams had resided for nearly two years in Miami prior to New York. Milo back-traced his employment records: working as a buffet chef at two resorts.

Both hotels had Williams leaving of his own accord, neither had anything notable to say about him. He’d been driving the same van, hadn’t even racked up a parking ticket.

At Miami PD Homicide he spoke to a lieutenant named Abel Sorriento and inquired about homicides with a culinary aspect.

“Food? Everything’s food here,” said Sorriento. “Plenty of nonsense goes down outside nightclubs and restaurants, but almost all of it’s one idiot shooting another, nothing psycho like what you’re saying.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“Bon appétit.”

A check-in with Sean Binchy revealed nothing encouraging at the handful of New York precincts the young detective had reached.

“There seems to be this general suspicion thing even when you give them a badge number, Loot. A few times, they actually called to verify me.”

“Overcrowding, Sean.”

“Pardon, sir?”

“Urban living,” said Milo. “Put too many rats in a small cage, they get protective of their pathetic millimeters.”

“Ha,” said Binchy. “I’ll remember that the next time Becky gets on one of her I-want-to-travel kicks. You ask me, nothing beats L.A. on a warm day.”

Just before four p.m., Milo tried Frank Gonzales.

The Oxnard D said, “Back on dry land for the rest of the day, had to clear some papers. Corey’s in there, all right, one of my rookies spotted movement behind the drapes. Also, the next-door neighbor stopped by with an envelope, probably the rent check, and got let in.”

“Thanks for taking the time, Frank.”

“No prob. I’ve been thinking about Corey. Guy kills a bunch of women but has no history at all? Just decides to start in middle age?”

“The situation might’ve changed, Frank.” Milo updated him on a possible link between Corey and John Jensen Williams.

Gonzales said, “Corey contracted his wife but this other dude did all the work?”

“Looks that way.”

“Any indication Corey and Williams are still interacting?”

“Not so far.”

“If this Williams got paid, no reason for him to show up,” said Gonzales. “You still see Corey as high priority?”

“You bet.”

“Okay, we’ll stay with him.”

Moe Reed, watching Flora Sullivan, had managed to make it up to her firm’s entrance without being noticed. No sign of Cousin Jens. Same for the parking tiers. Just to make sure, he’d asked Al Bayless to check the new tapes. Zilch.

Milo said, “Any new impressions of Sullivan, Moses?”