I bit my lip. Claudia was street-smart, but she was never a planner. She went on impulse, crashing from one misadventure to the next. There was no way she was doing this alone. While I disliked Tariq, I believed that he was as worried about my sister as I was. Since he wasn’t helping her, that left one major suspect: Martin.

CHAPTER 23

Before I left the police station, Renfrew made me promise not to go into Claudia’s apartment until the Crime Scene Unit was finished. “And no more trips alone at night,” she warned. I got the message. After making a brief detour to the Essex Street Market, always one of my favorite spots in the neighborhood, I returned to my old building. Mr. Pete was on the stoop, a bottle of window cleaner in one hand and a gray cloth in the other. The building was run-down, no doubt about that, but Mr. Pete insisted on keeping it as shiny and clean as possible.

“Miss Lily!” he said grinning at me. “So good you back. Pretty flowers!”

I’d picked up a colorful bouquet at Essex Farm, and a box of truffles from Roni-Sue. That was the least I could do for Sarah. I had to thank her for helping me the night before.

“Detective Norah find sister yet?” Mr. Pete asked.

“Not yet.”

He nodded. “Police slow. They here all the time. Questions, questions. Upstairs now.”

“I know. Detective Norah told me they’re in the apartment.”

“Yes, yes,” said Mr. Pete. Something caught his eye and he waved. I looked around and saw a nondescript, dark-haired man on the other side of the street. He glanced over his shoulder at us and walked away. Mr. Pete squinted after him. “Distant vision not so good. Maybe he not detective.”

“I guess you’ve had a lot of cops come through here now.”

“No, not cop. Gregory Robinson, private investigator. Like Magnum PI.”

“Wait, private investigator?”

Mr. Pete nodded. “Miss Loretta call me to complain. Yesterday, man knock on door, won’t go away. I go up. I make him show ID.”

It took me a moment to remember that Miss Loretta was Mrs. Decarno. “Did you find out anything else about him?”

Mr. Pete rattled off an address in midtown. I wrote it down, amazed at how good his memory still was. I wondered who Robinson was working for, and what he was doing sniffing around the building.

“Video camera fixed,” Mr. Pete announced. “This morning. No good for building not to have.”

I thanked Mr. Pete and walked up the stairs. When I got to Claudia’s door I paused, listening to the heavy footsteps inside. It seemed like a harmless thing to do, but I realized I was mimicking Mrs. Decarno, whom I thought of as a spider. I smoothed my skirt and walked on.