“The gentleman is down for the count. They’ve got him on a ventilator, but when they pull the plug, they don’t expect him to go far on his own steam. We’re still trying to figure out who he is. Guy carried zero ID. Maybe living off the grid. We’ll find him, though. He probably lives near your friend. With break-ins, the perps often live nearby. It’s just a casual, walk-by bit of business. They saw the door ajar as a pleasant opportunity. They surprised her. They went in to take some stuff and then decided to mess with her.”

“When he dies, will I be charged with murder?” As though they’re talking about an episode of a crime show.

“Oh no, lady. You’re the hero in this, not the bad guy.” He shifts in his chair again. He could really benefit from a little yoga. Then she tries to picture him in yoga class.

He pulls her out of her mental drift. “You sprayed the woman with the fire extinguisher. Can you see that? Maybe you’re starting to remember, even a little would be a big help. Could you help me build a rough picture of her?”

Cate shakes her head. “I’m not sure I even registered what she looked like. It all happened so fast.” She is so tired. She doesn’t want to select noses and lips to make a composite. She wants to disconnect from both of them, the huge guy and the crazy lady. The detective isn’t interested in Cate’s reluctance; he turns his monitor to the side so they can both look at the same time, and clicks the mouse to call up a selection of face shapes. Cate watches as the photos flip onto, then off the screen.

“No.”

“No.”

Shakes her head to indicate no.

“No.”

Then, “Do you have a category for really crazy-looking? That was her look, like someone escaping from the asylum.”

“See. Even that’s helpful.” And then he switches back to eyes. “Any of these look familiar?”

“Maybe smaller.”

“Was she white or black or Hispanic?”

“White. But dark.”

“What color was her hair?”

“I’m not sure. Brown? Maybe black. Dirty. Everything about her was dirty. Kind of caked in.”

“Short or long hair?”

Cate shakes her head. “She had a hat or a cap on.”

After reshuffling the component images a few times, what they wind up with prompts the detective to ask, “Was she Hawaiian?”

“I think maybe we’ve reached the limits of this technology.”

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