Detective Bauer.â
âWho?â
âI talked to you last night about where your late husband worked.â
âI donât know what youâre talking about.â
âMrs. Morganââ
âI donât know who you are. Good-bye.â A click ended the conversation.
Jane put the phone down, a chill passing through her. Someone had gotten to her. Someone had called and told her to keep quiet about her husband.
Jane checked the address for Morgan. It was in the Eight-four precinct on Gold Street in Brooklyn, not far from where the wife worked. She called their number and identified herself. âI need to have a witness picked up ASAP and brought down to the house. Iâll be there as soon as I can to question her.â
âOK, Detective. You got a cell phone we can call you at if we need to?â
She gave the number, stuffed the rest of her toast in her mouth, finished the coffee in a gulp, and left everything where it was. Fuck the roaches. Then she went downstairs and hailed a cab.
Mrs. Morgan, a smartly dressed graying woman, sat in an interview room looking frightened. She turned as Jane opened the door and entered.
âIâm Detective Bauer, Mrs. Morgan.â
âAm I being arrested?â
âYouâre here so I can talk to you.â
âYou had to send cops so my neighbors would see?â
âI had to be sure we reached you before you left your apartment. I have some questions to ask you.â
âI told you, I donât know anything.â
âWho called you, Mrs. Morgan? Who told you not to talk to the police?â
âNobody called.â She fidgeted, pressed her lips together, and looked worried.
âThatâs not going to cut it. You talked to me last night, and this morning you donât know who I am.â
âWell, maybe I remember now. You called late last night.â
âRight. And I need to know more about where your husband worked.â
âI told you, the Lexington line.â
âBefore that.â
âI donât remember.â
âWho told you not to talk to me?â
âNobody. I just donât remember.â
âWell, start remembering. A manâs life is at stake.â
âPlease. I just donât know. Leave me alone.â
âI donât want to threaten you. I just want to find my partner alive.â She waited.
The woman sat looking at her hands. She took a tissue out of her handbag and blew her nose. âI donât know who called,â she said in a low voice. âBut he scared me. He said bad things would happen if I talked about Curtis, if I said anything at all to the police.â
âDid you tell him youâd spoken to me?â
âYou think Iâm crazy?â
âWhere did your husband work before he was a track man on the Lex?â
âWhat if they come and kill me?â
âWeâll see to it that they donât.â Her cell phone rang. Jane took it out and said a curt, âBauer.â
âJane.â It was Hack. He had probably been trying to reach her since the night before.
âIâm all right. I canât talk now. Iâm at the Eight-four.â
âIâll call in an hour.â
She turned back to Mrs. Morgan. âAnswer my question.â
âWhen I first knew himâit was a long time agoâhe was working on the Second Avenue subway.â
âWhat did he tell you about it?â
âHe talked about the men he worked with, how much progress they were making on the section they were working on.â
âWhat section is that?â
âHe started at Sixty-third Street. They were going to connect up the Lex and the Second Avenue with lines that went east and west. They worked on that tunnel for years and then the money ran out, and that was it.â
âAnd after that?â
âAfter that he worked on the Lex.â
âThank you, Mrs. Morgan. I appreciate your
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