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Griffin’s head snaps up.
“You said you’d never met him?”
She nods. “Not met. He never said hello. Just saw him the once, going into his apartment.”
“And could you describe him for us?”
The woman shrugs and Griffin suppresses his impatience. “White, black? What was he wearing? You’re sure he was male? Tall, short?”
She frowns. “Yes, a guy. Tall. Hard to say anything else. He was wearing all black—black trousers, black sweatshirt, sneakers. Hood pulled up over his face.”
Griffin stands up; he gestures for Shenton to do the same. “How tall? As tall as me or like my colleague?”
The woman stands up in front of them. She considers them both. “Like him,” she says, pointing to Shenton. “Same build as him too.”
They all sit down again.
“You’re a big bloke, aren’t you?” she adds coyly.
Griffin ignores her flirting. “But you didn’t see his face?”
She shakes her head, another gust of perfume wafting his way. “I said, ‘Hi,’ but he didn’t turn. Just went in next door.”
“I’m sorry,” Shenton says tentatively. “Next door?”
“Don’t be sorry, doll,” she twangs with an oily smile. “Not your fault.”
Griffin looks at Shenton. He’s staring at his notes, running his finger across the page.
“But you live in apartment 215?” Shenton asks. “So this guy was going into …”
“Apartment 214. Right.”
“Fuck,” Griffin mutters under his breath.
“Ma’am?” Shenton says calmly. “We need to know about the resident of apartment 213.”
“Oh.” She sits back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest, bangles jangling. “No. Can’t help you there.”
* * *
Griffin and Shenton walk back, downhearted. Cara meets them in the corridor.
“Anything?” she asks.
Griffin shakes his head. “Thought we did for a second—she had a bit of a description of a guy going into the apartment—but it turns out it was 214.” Cara’s face falls. “You been to see Marsh?”
She nods. “Usual message: Get it sorted.”
“No pressure,” he says sarcastically.
“None.”
They walk back to the incident room together. But then Cara stops them in the doorway.
“Apartment 214?” she asks.
Griffin nods.
