weapon with you. I’d almost guess this was a case where she got him angry to the point where he lost control.”
“Someone in the family thinks she may have promised to lend someone some money. Maybe she didn’t bring it with her or maybe she didn’t bring enough, and that set him off.”
“Could be, but we couldn’t find anyone like that. Most of the neighbors never heard of her, her family all seemed on very good terms with her—they didn’t talk about each other behind their backs—and we really couldn’t find anyone with a grudge.”
“How about the people she worked with? According to her niece, Iris worked on Park Avenue for a man named Wilfred Garganus.”
“No, that’s not true.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“She wasn’t working there anymore. She’d left about a week before she died.”
“Did she quit?”
“That wasn’t clear. I interviewed and reinterviewed people in and away from that office myself. I always had the feeling they knew something that they didn’t want to tell me. For the record, she left voluntarily. Me, I didn’t think it was so voluntary. But I never got anyone to say otherwise.”
“I’m really surprised about that. As far as her family’s concerned, she’d been working there for years and she was still working there the day she died.”
“Either they don’t know or they don’t want to tell you.”
“Do you have the name of the company?”
“Sure.” He looked through some papers and pulled one out. “GAR, Inc. Some multinational corporation. Their headquarters were at 102 Park Avenue, but I can tell you they’re not there anymore. They moved to Long Island about ten years ago. But it’s possible they’ve left some of their corporate staff in that building. You want to talk to them?”
“I was told her boss, Mr. Garganus, died some years ago, but if there was anyone who remembered her, I’d really like to talk to them. Do you mind?”
“Not at all. Just so long as you let me know if you learn anything.”
“That’s a promise. One more thing. Did you learn anything about boyfriends or men she went out with?”
“There was someone. Hold on.” He made a quick search and said, “She’d had like a steady boyfriend at one time, a Harry Schiff. It was a little touchy interviewing him. He had a wife, had her all the time he was seeing Iris Grodnik.”
“That was my impression, too. I guess you didn’t think he was a suspect.”
“Didn’t seem like it to me. He was really broken up about Iris. He cried when we talked. He told me he’d been in love with her for years, but she broke up with him because he couldn’t or wouldn’t divorce his wife. He was a man in his sixties, struck me as a nice guy. I had to consider him, of course, but I didn’t seriously think he’d killed her.”
“Did you hear anything about a newer boyfriend?”
“Nothing we could track down. You know something I don’t know?”
“Iris’s sister said there was a new man in Iris’s life. She has no name. I just wondered if you did.”
“Sorry.”
“I suppose you checked out her finances, whether she was paying money to anyone or getting money from anyone besides her employer?”
“She got her check from the company every week and made her own deposits. She usually didn’t deposit the whole thing, but who does? Was she paying anyone blackmail? Not by check, she wasn’t. Did she have any mysterious income we couldn’t account for? Didn’t look like it. She had some savings, some investments, some interest. Anything else I can tell you?”
“Let me look at the file for a while. I can always get back to you afterwards.”
“Sure thing. There’s an empty desk right over there. Make yourself comfortable.”
“Thanks.”
I spent the rest of the morning looking at the file. There were some ugly pictures of Iris’s body that I only glanced at and then turned facedown. The autopsy report was pretty technical, but I gathered she had died the way Harris
“Someone in the family thinks she may have promised to lend someone some money. Maybe she didn’t bring it with her or maybe she didn’t bring enough, and that set him off.”
“Could be, but we couldn’t find anyone like that. Most of the neighbors never heard of her, her family all seemed on very good terms with her—they didn’t talk about each other behind their backs—and we really couldn’t find anyone with a grudge.”
“How about the people she worked with? According to her niece, Iris worked on Park Avenue for a man named Wilfred Garganus.”
“No, that’s not true.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“She wasn’t working there anymore. She’d left about a week before she died.”
“Did she quit?”
“That wasn’t clear. I interviewed and reinterviewed people in and away from that office myself. I always had the feeling they knew something that they didn’t want to tell me. For the record, she left voluntarily. Me, I didn’t think it was so voluntary. But I never got anyone to say otherwise.”
“I’m really surprised about that. As far as her family’s concerned, she’d been working there for years and she was still working there the day she died.”
“Either they don’t know or they don’t want to tell you.”
“Do you have the name of the company?”
“Sure.” He looked through some papers and pulled one out. “GAR, Inc. Some multinational corporation. Their headquarters were at 102 Park Avenue, but I can tell you they’re not there anymore. They moved to Long Island about ten years ago. But it’s possible they’ve left some of their corporate staff in that building. You want to talk to them?”
“I was told her boss, Mr. Garganus, died some years ago, but if there was anyone who remembered her, I’d really like to talk to them. Do you mind?”
“Not at all. Just so long as you let me know if you learn anything.”
“That’s a promise. One more thing. Did you learn anything about boyfriends or men she went out with?”
“There was someone. Hold on.” He made a quick search and said, “She’d had like a steady boyfriend at one time, a Harry Schiff. It was a little touchy interviewing him. He had a wife, had her all the time he was seeing Iris Grodnik.”
“That was my impression, too. I guess you didn’t think he was a suspect.”
“Didn’t seem like it to me. He was really broken up about Iris. He cried when we talked. He told me he’d been in love with her for years, but she broke up with him because he couldn’t or wouldn’t divorce his wife. He was a man in his sixties, struck me as a nice guy. I had to consider him, of course, but I didn’t seriously think he’d killed her.”
“Did you hear anything about a newer boyfriend?”
“Nothing we could track down. You know something I don’t know?”
“Iris’s sister said there was a new man in Iris’s life. She has no name. I just wondered if you did.”
“Sorry.”
“I suppose you checked out her finances, whether she was paying money to anyone or getting money from anyone besides her employer?”
“She got her check from the company every week and made her own deposits. She usually didn’t deposit the whole thing, but who does? Was she paying anyone blackmail? Not by check, she wasn’t. Did she have any mysterious income we couldn’t account for? Didn’t look like it. She had some savings, some investments, some interest. Anything else I can tell you?”
“Let me look at the file for a while. I can always get back to you afterwards.”
“Sure thing. There’s an empty desk right over there. Make yourself comfortable.”
“Thanks.”
I spent the rest of the morning looking at the file. There were some ugly pictures of Iris’s body that I only glanced at and then turned facedown. The autopsy report was pretty technical, but I gathered she had died the way Harris
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