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“She didn’t say if she was meeting someone or traveling with them?” interjected Kelly.
“No, again, we didn’t really discuss it.”
“Did she have any friends who lived here?” asked Jamison.
“Not that she mentioned to me.”
“Not to sound like a cliché, Ida,” said Kelly, “but have you seen any strangers lurking around? Or did Irene mention she was having a problem with anyone?”
“No, nothing like that,” replied Simms, looking alarmed. “This is a good town. Safe for the most part. Oh, I know some of those bozos lose their tempers and get in fights and somebody ends up dead, but, well, people don’t go around murdering each other on purpose.”
“Until now,” said Decker. “I think it’s time we went over her room.”
* * *
The apartment was neat, perhaps too much so, thought Decker. The furnishings looked like they had come with the apartment, a fact that Simms had confirmed for them. The tiny kitchen was utilitarian and appeared as though it had never been used. The bedroom held a bed and not much else. There were no books, photos, or mementos. No desktop or laptop computer. And no power cords showing she had such devices.
Decker eyed Kelly. “Simms said that she never saw Cramer go out at night, presumably because she went to bed too early.”
“She would have hit the streets long after Simms was in bed.”
“Simms also said that she wasn’t aware of Cramer’s having any friends in the building. But she could be wrong about that, too,” remarked Jamison.
Kelly said, “But would she bring her clients back here or sleep with someone in her own building? The jig would be up.”
Decker shook his head. “But what if she just had someone over for consensual sex?”
Kelly looked intrigued. “Maybe she had a boyfriend that Simms didn’t know about.”
“She ever mention anyone like that to you?” asked Jamison.
He shook his head. “But it’s not like she would have.”
Decker said, “Has this place been dusted for prints?”
“No, because it wasn’t the crime scene.”
“It needs to be done,” said Decker sharply.
“We’ve got one tech, and he rides the circuit for a few other police forces around the area. I’ll get him to make this a priority for us.”
Decker said, “What about her car? I didn’t see a Honda parked on the street.”
“We’ve got a BOLO out on it, but nothing yet.”
“If she was working through a website she probably had a laptop. And she had to have a phone,” said Jamison.
“I’m sure she did but we haven’t found either one,” replied Kelly.
“Where would she typically meet up with the men? You mentioned you met her at a flophouse?”
“Yeah. We can go there next.”
Decker said, “And we’ll need to talk to the Brothers, obviously.”
“I don’t believe they could have had anything to do with this. They’re a pacifist group.”
“Pacifists or not, it only takes one bad apple in the bunch. And there’s almost always one bad apple in every bunch.”
