Page 77 of High Treason
“Some cases are worse.”
His brown eyes peered into hers. “I’m sorry.”
How much had he learned about her past failures? “I’m ready to knock on a few doors, see what the neighbors have to say.”
“With or without Ali?”
“Now who has the sense of humor?”
“I’m a bodyguard, not deaf,” Ali called. “I’ll help Agent Richardson and his men remove a few baseboards.”
The man might be human after all.
AT APARTMENT NUMBER FOUR,Monica greeted a young mother who had identical twin girls clinging to each leg and crying. “We’re from the FBI.” She displayed her ID. “We’re talking to your neighbors about Parvin Shah. What can you tell us about her?”
The woman took a cursory look at their creds. “Miss Shah never spoke to anyone. I’d smile and say hi. But she had this rock-face thing going.” She touched the toddlers with each hand and quieted them. “I saw men come and go from her apartment. Made me wonder ... you know.”
“What?”
She shrugged. “One man at a time.”
“Did she accompany them?”
“They were alone.”
“The same ones?”
“Pretty much.”
Monica thanked the woman. She and Kord moved on to thefifth apartment. Those they’d talked to previously reported the same thing: Parvin Shah was a loner, except for the men seen coming and going from her apartment.
Kord knocked on the door of apartment number five. An older man with a cane responded. After they showed their IDs, Monica asked about Shah.
He moved into the hall. “You folks alone?”
“Yes, sir. The police are at her apartment,” Kord said. “Is there something you’d like to tell us?”
“She must have been a prostitute ’cause I saw a lot of men comin’ and goin’ from her apartment.”
“Why do you think that?” Kord said.
“She wasn’t ever with ’em.”
“What did they look like?”
“About her height. She must’ve liked short men.”
Shah knew how to play the role of a man ... or were there more involved? “Would you be able to pick out one of those men in a lineup?” Kord said.
“I’d try. Is she in trouble?”
Kord nodded. “She’s dead.”
His eyes widened. “Do you think one of them men did it?”
“We know who killed her.”
“Have you seen the manager?”
