“She knows that I have an interest in taxidermy. She does not know about the extent of my collection or the rental unit. I used to keep a few of the pieces here, in the basement, but she didn’t like looking at them when she came down to do laundry. She wanted me to sell them. I told her that I did.”

But he hadn’t. In fact, it sounded as if he’d obtained more since that conversation.

“You look as if you disapprove, Detective,” Troy said, a challenge in his tone.

“Just don’t think lies are the best foundation for a strong marriage. But that falls outside the scope of this investigation. Have a good night, sir,” A.L. said. Then he walked out of the house and across the small yard. Sunset had faded into full-blown darkness. The end of another day.

But not for him. Even though his conversation with Troy had left him with a bad taste in his mouth, there were more people to talk to.

Gi-Gi was short for Georgiana. “My father had been George and was attached to the name,” Gi-Gi Thompson explained. She, Barrett and A.L. were sitting at her kitchen table.

After learning that he was a police officer who wanted to talk about an incident that had happened at Garage on Division, the Thompsons had sent their two grade-school children upstairs to finish homework. Even though he’d arrived well after dinner, dirty dishes were still on the counter and the smell of tuna and noodle casserole lingered, at odds with the gleaming stainless steel appliances, the quartz countertops and the four thousand feet of living space.

“Tell me about your recent interactions with Garage on Division.”

“We’re pretty unhappy with the work that got done on our vehicle,” Barrett said. “It put my wife and my children in a bad spot. A dangerous spot. Are you here about the report that we filed?”

“In a way,” A.L. said. “I recently had a conversation with a few people who mentioned the incident.”

Barrett looked at Gi-Gi. “I told you it was a mistake to post something about it.” He looked at A.L. “She loves social media.”

“That’s not where I got it,” A.L. said. “But if you could walk me through your experience, I’d appreciate it.”

“My wife’s car had been running rough for a couple weeks. We had used Garage on Division before and had been happy with the work. On September 9, we dropped it off and they had it for hours. Five hundred and sixty-two dollars later, I was promised that the vehicle was ready for pickup,” Barrett said.