treasure.”
“I heard about that. He get along with his family?”
Roxy pulled a face. “Does anybody get along with their family?”
“Sorry. I forgot about your folks. You ever hear Trey and his brother argue? Anything to make you think Trey held anything against Julius?”
“We didn’t get into that kind of conversation.” Truth be told, her conversations with Trey were mostly about where to put which body part and how fast. But telling Bug might make him blush.
Bug said, “In your acquaintance with Julius, did you ever get a hint that anyone thought ill of him? Might want him dead?”
Truthfully, Roxy said, “He was a pretty easygoing guy, as far as I could see. Paid on time. Enjoyed a dirty joke. Didn’t blow a gasket if Rooney peed on his lawn. I don’t know why anybody would want to kill him.”
“Yeah, that’s what we hear from everybody. So far.” Bug put the papers on his knee. “Okay, here’s the deal. I’m going to report back what you had to say, and somebody else will probably come calling. The two guys running this case are under a lot of pressure to wrap things up fast. Could be you might remember something they think is important. Between now and then, if you think of anything, here’s my card. Call me. I mean it, Roxy. If you’ve got some real information, everybody including you is going to be much happier if you call us, not the other way around.”
He flipped his card onto her desk.
She didn’t reach for it. “Is that a generic threat you use with everybody, Bug?”
“It’s a friendly suggestion, that’s all. I mean, we could put you in one room and Nooch in another and see if the two of you remember the same stuff.”
“You aren’t going to do that.”
“I probably wouldn’t, no, but I can’t speak for the whole department. Nooch is a scary-looking guy, and he hasn’t been an angel all his life. They’re looking at everyone for this murder, Rox. If anything comes to your mind, give me a call. You might spare Nooch an interrogation.”
“Thanks for the preferential treatment.” Roxy used her toe to kick Bug’s crutches toward him.
“You’re welcome.”
After Bug left, Roxy turned up the space heater. She sat in the barbershop and thought about things. The Hydes, damn them. She should have known better than to get mixed up with that family in the first place. It didn’t pay to stray too far out of her own neighborhood.
She unlocked her desk drawer and took a peek inside. Trey’s gun lay there, just where she’d left it. Maybe she should have given it to Bug. On the other hand, the gun might be valuable later. And it would only cause more questions and maybe lead to the statue. She closed the drawer and locked it again.
Her safest bet was to unload the statue fast, before the cops really started nosing around. She reached for her Rolodex and flipped through it, hoping a name might jump out at her.
The desk phone rang. Roxy considered letting it go to voice mail, but what the heck—it might be necessary to eat this week.
“Roxy?” a voice shouted when she’d identified herself. “You there?”
If she were paid a nickel every time she was asked if she was in the office, she’d never have to work. “I’m here, Freddie. What’s up?”
Freddie Manfredo, a guy who demolished buildings for the city, bellowed as if he were standing on the moon. “I’m here at a teardown in East Liberty. We got some kind of pictures in white plaster.”
Roxy rubbed her forehead to stave off a headache. She liked Freddie, and he often called when he found stuff he didn’t understand. She was usually glad to hear from him. Unlike most demo guys, he didn’t destroy everything in his path. “A bas-relief.”
“You’re the best, kid.” The noise of a bulldozer roared over the phone line.
“Thanks. Good condition?”
“Coupla cracks, nothing major. It’s a jazz band or something.”
The neighborhood of East Liberty had been a thriving kind of second
“I heard about that. He get along with his family?”
Roxy pulled a face. “Does anybody get along with their family?”
“Sorry. I forgot about your folks. You ever hear Trey and his brother argue? Anything to make you think Trey held anything against Julius?”
“We didn’t get into that kind of conversation.” Truth be told, her conversations with Trey were mostly about where to put which body part and how fast. But telling Bug might make him blush.
Bug said, “In your acquaintance with Julius, did you ever get a hint that anyone thought ill of him? Might want him dead?”
Truthfully, Roxy said, “He was a pretty easygoing guy, as far as I could see. Paid on time. Enjoyed a dirty joke. Didn’t blow a gasket if Rooney peed on his lawn. I don’t know why anybody would want to kill him.”
“Yeah, that’s what we hear from everybody. So far.” Bug put the papers on his knee. “Okay, here’s the deal. I’m going to report back what you had to say, and somebody else will probably come calling. The two guys running this case are under a lot of pressure to wrap things up fast. Could be you might remember something they think is important. Between now and then, if you think of anything, here’s my card. Call me. I mean it, Roxy. If you’ve got some real information, everybody including you is going to be much happier if you call us, not the other way around.”
He flipped his card onto her desk.
She didn’t reach for it. “Is that a generic threat you use with everybody, Bug?”
“It’s a friendly suggestion, that’s all. I mean, we could put you in one room and Nooch in another and see if the two of you remember the same stuff.”
“You aren’t going to do that.”
“I probably wouldn’t, no, but I can’t speak for the whole department. Nooch is a scary-looking guy, and he hasn’t been an angel all his life. They’re looking at everyone for this murder, Rox. If anything comes to your mind, give me a call. You might spare Nooch an interrogation.”
“Thanks for the preferential treatment.” Roxy used her toe to kick Bug’s crutches toward him.
“You’re welcome.”
After Bug left, Roxy turned up the space heater. She sat in the barbershop and thought about things. The Hydes, damn them. She should have known better than to get mixed up with that family in the first place. It didn’t pay to stray too far out of her own neighborhood.
She unlocked her desk drawer and took a peek inside. Trey’s gun lay there, just where she’d left it. Maybe she should have given it to Bug. On the other hand, the gun might be valuable later. And it would only cause more questions and maybe lead to the statue. She closed the drawer and locked it again.
Her safest bet was to unload the statue fast, before the cops really started nosing around. She reached for her Rolodex and flipped through it, hoping a name might jump out at her.
The desk phone rang. Roxy considered letting it go to voice mail, but what the heck—it might be necessary to eat this week.
“Roxy?” a voice shouted when she’d identified herself. “You there?”
If she were paid a nickel every time she was asked if she was in the office, she’d never have to work. “I’m here, Freddie. What’s up?”
Freddie Manfredo, a guy who demolished buildings for the city, bellowed as if he were standing on the moon. “I’m here at a teardown in East Liberty. We got some kind of pictures in white plaster.”
Roxy rubbed her forehead to stave off a headache. She liked Freddie, and he often called when he found stuff he didn’t understand. She was usually glad to hear from him. Unlike most demo guys, he didn’t destroy everything in his path. “A bas-relief.”
“You’re the best, kid.” The noise of a bulldozer roared over the phone line.
“Thanks. Good condition?”
“Coupla cracks, nothing major. It’s a jazz band or something.”
The neighborhood of East Liberty had been a thriving kind of second
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