But she hadn’t known the boyfriend’s name.
Jilly nodded. “She didn’t tell me on purpose. She was on the phone with him, and she was a little upset. I heard her call him Joe and say something just wasn’t right.” She stopped speaking, and her eyes widened. “You can’t believe Maria was in on the robbery! She would never have done anything like that. You didn’t know her. She was the most ethical person I’ve ever met.”
“We’re not casting aspersions on Maria,” Craig assured her. “Okay, so tell me, did you ever see Joe?”
Jilly shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
“You said she talked to Joe on the phone.”
“Yes, her cell phone. Didn’t you find it?”
Craig shook his head.
“I can’t believe Miss Mannerly didn’t have a conniption fit when she didn’t get it back,” Jilly said. “We all have company phones. Cheap pay-as-you-go things. Miss Mannerly gets them for us, and we’d better answer them at all times when we’re working. She’s a jerk. Cheapest service, hardly any data, no games, no watching the latest movie trailers. I’m surprised she didn’t demand that you find it and give it back to her. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad place to work. We’re paid a decent wage, and we even have insurance. But, boy, she’s a tigress when it comes to the rules.”
“Not always a bad thing,” Mike said. “Though she does sound pretty tightfisted.”
“She’s just careful with the company’s expenses,” Jilly said, softening a little. She shook her head. “You should have known Maria. She was wonderful. She’d help anyone in a pinch.” Tears filled her eyes. “I heard that Mr. Belvedere is going to have a funeral for her?”
“When the body is released,” Craig said.
“He sounds like a nice man. Maria liked working for him.” Jilly sighed. “I need to go. I work Sundays for a few hours. Is there anything else? You can call me anytime if you think of something. I’d do anything to help catch Maria’s killer.” She shivered. “I still can’t believe they just shot her that way, point-blank.”
“Unfortunately there are a lot of terrible people in the world,” Mike said. “Thank you for your help.”
“You’re welcome,” Jilly said. “It’s all just so scary, you know?”
She looked nervous.
“We can drive you to work,” Craig said.
“You don’t have to do that. It’s only a few blocks away. And if Joe was somehow involved, it’s not like I’ve ever seen him. Oh, God! Do you think that’s possible? Maybe he got her to disarm the alarm so he could come in and wait for her, when really he was planning to...to...”
“We’ve considered that as a possibility, yes,” Craig told her. “Come on, we’ll drop you off.”
“No, thanks. I’d rather not be seen with the FBI. Just in case anyone’s watching, you know?” she told them.
“As you wish,” Craig said.
When she was gone, Mike said, “Damn. This means dealing with Mannerly again.”
“We have to find out why she never mentioned the phone,” Craig said. He drummed his fingers on the table. “I don’t like this at all. I think Bobby O’Leary was attacked because someone thought he knew something. I’m afraid for this girl, for Alicia Rodriguez, and everyone we talk to now because our killers could think they know something, too. Mike, I think that means we’re getting close to something.”
“Yeah. Too bad we still don’t see what it is.”
Craig agreed with that. “Joe,” he said thoughtfully.
“Yeah, what a great clue. A tall, dark-haired guy named Joe running around New York City,” Mike said glumly.
“We have more than that,” Craig said.
“We do? What’s that?”
“A tall, dark-haired guy named Joe running around New York City—and possibly frequenting a pub called Finnegan’s on Broadway,” Craig said. “It’s only an assumption, but with Bobby being attacked and everything else that’s been going on, it’s a fair one, I would say.”
*
By three o’clock in the afternoon, Kieran felt that she was going stir-crazy.
She’d actually managed to doze on and off for several hours and she felt rested, but also as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof, as the saying went.
She tried to make herself look at things logically. To utilize every bit of training she’d had since she’d decided to go into psychology.
Not to mention calling on all her time in the field—more or less—as a bartender.
She didn’t want to die. She liked living. She loved her brothers and wasn’t sure they would actually make it to old age without her.
But it was also ridiculous to think that she couldn’t go down a flight of stairs to a busy street and hail a cab to go somewhere.
She was surprised, in the midst of her argument with herself, to receive a call.
It was Dr. Fuller, and he sounded impatient. He must have been called off the tennis court, she thought.
“Kieran, it’s Sunday, and I’m sorry as hell to bother you,” he said.
“It’s all right. I’m not doing anything important,” she said. “What is it?”
“Dr. Miro actually tried to deal with this, but...it’s a woman you were doing an assessment on for us. She’s at Rikers.”