“All kinds of things. Glenn had a friend worked at the Wilmington docks who got Stevie a tryout unloading ships—that was a couple of years after high school, when Stevie was drifting. Stevie’s always been super-strong, we thought it would be perfect and everything seemed to be going great. Then Stevie’s supervisor found him smoking pot while driving a forklift. After that he … what did he do? … construction. He’s worked a lot of construction jobs. I’d say construction’s been his main thing.”

“Carpentry?”

“Framing, digging ditches, driving a trash truck.” She smiled. “He did some door-to-door sales—magazines, that kind of thing. Sold clothing that he bought at thrift shops to vintage stores. One time he got hired by a company that guards shopping malls. They put him in uniform and a hat. His hair—he had real long hair back then—had to be bunched up in the hat and he looked like he had an oversized head. Glenn used to say putting a doper in that position was having the fox watch the chicken coop. But Stevie was okay as a guard, he never got into trouble. I guess he got bored with it ’cause he quit. Bored with us, too. One day he just picked up and moved to L.A.”

“When was that, ma’am?”

“Six, seven years ago.”

“Until then he was living with you?”

“He came and went.” Her eyes compressed “Why all these questions about Stevie if you just want to find that girl? Who I’m not really sure, now, was the same one.”

“A man fitting Stevie’s description was seen near the girl on the night she was killed.”

Harriet Muhrmann gasped.

“Ma’am, I’m being truthful when I say that does not make Stevie a suspect. But we would like to talk to him in case he can identify her. Because right now, she’s just a Jane Doe and that makes our job really tough.”

“I’m sure it does but there’s nothing more I can tell you about her.”

“At the very least, we can rule Stevie out and be out of your hair.”

“Well, that would be nice but there’s nothing more I can tell you.”

“That time—eight months ago. Was it a social call?”

She bit back tears. “I can’t hide anything from you guys, can I? No, Stevie needed money.”

“Did you give him any?”

She picked at a cuticle. “His father cannot know.”

“There’s no reason for us to talk to his father unless he can supply details you haven’t.”

“He can’t, Glenn’s been in Eye-rack for two years, on and off. And trust me, all he’d tell you is Stevie’s a doper and a disappointment.” Her eyes misted. “Glenn’s a good man but he’s not always a kind man. But I understand where he’s coming from.”