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“Andrew Manley,” I said.
“No. Sorry. You have the wrong house.”
“I know he’s here. His bike is outside. I need to talk to him.”
“Honestly, he really isn’t here.”
“How about Duncan Dugan? Is he here?”
“No,” she said.
I showed her my credentials. “As a representative of Duncan’s bail bonds agent, I’m legally authorized to search your house.”
“Okay,” she said. “But they aren’t here.”
“Do you know where they are?”
“Not exactly.”
“When will they be back?”
“I don’t know,” she said. “They might not be coming back.”
I did a fast walk through the house. It was obvious that Nutsyand Dugan had been staying there and either intended to return or else had to leave in a hurry. Someone had been sleeping on the couch. Probably Dugan. Two pillows and a quilt were still there. A box of Kleenex, some hand sanitizer, and the television remote were lined up on a small table next to the couch. Very neat. One bedroom belonged to Sissy. The second bedroom, which was very small, was a disaster. Bed incredibly rumpled. Candy wrappers, socks, underwear, and crumpled pieces of paper were on the floor, scattered around the small room. This would be Nutsy’s slob cave.
I returned to Sissy. “Talk to me,” I said.
“I don’t know anything.”
“I saw you in the street when Duncan fell off the ledge.”
“We’re friends. We used to work together at the button factory, but I got fired. Duncan fired me. I missed too many irregular buttons.”
“But you were still friends?”
“He was right. I didn’t have what it takes to sort buttons. I’m one of thosegood enoughpeople and buttons have to be perfect. So, I got another job, and we stayed friends. My new job is much better. I do customer service for a hospital supply company. I can work at home most of the time.”
“Were you in a relationship?”
“With Duncan? No. We were just friends. I’m not perfect enough for Duncan. Everything always has to be perfect. Like the buttons.”
“Is Duncan perfect?”
“I thought he was,” Sissy said, “but things haven’t been going right for him lately.”
“Why did he rob the jewelry store?”
“I honestly don’t know. It was so out of character for him.”
“He’s friends with Andrew Manley.”
“Yes. That was a surprise. I didn’t know he had other friends. Actually, that’s not accurate. He spends a lot of time online. He has cyber friends. I guess originally Andrew was one of Duncan’s cyber friends, and then they connected somehow. It’s weird because they’re like the Odd Couple. Duncan is a neat freak and Andrew is a total mess, but they like a lot of the same things. Like old movies. That’s why Duncan was sleeping on the couch instead of in the bedroom. He likes to watch movies late at night on the classic movie channel.”
“Does Duncan have any other interests? Hobbies? Sports?”
“He plays games with his cyber friends. And he reads people’s blogs. I don’t think he has his own blog, but he follows Andrew’s. I don’t know much about the games and blogs. I don’t even Twitter. Or tweet.”
“What are your interests?” I asked her.
