Part 22 (1/2)

”Get hold of Garnett and tell him to get a warrant for my apartment building, apartment 1-D,” said Diane. ”Bobby Banks has been living there.”

”At your apartment building? Now, that's creepy,” said David. ”For how long?”

”About a month. Can you and Neva take the scene?”

”Sure. d.a.m.n, I probably interviewed him that night. Everyone was home in your building,” said David.

Her neighbors were muttering to one another when Diane got off the phone. She slipped it back in her pocket and turned to address them. They all looked rather stunned. She could imagine they were. Things just kept happening too close to their home.

”Why did you do that?” asked her landlady. ”What's wrong?” The fear in her dark blue eyes made Diane feel guilty.

”It's all right,” said Diane, although she knew it sounded rather stupid under the circ.u.mstances.

”I demand to know what's going on,” said Ramona.

”It's all right,” she said again, and it still sounded idiotic. ”He is just someone the police want to speak with.”

”About what?” said Ramona. ”You tell us what this is about. We have a right to know. What are you into?”

”My job,” said Diane.

”I have connections in the police department,” said Loyal, her husband. ”They say some escaped convict died in your apartment. It wasn't in the papers because of who you are,” he said.

”Your contact is not keeping up with current events,” said Diane. ”Chief Garnett will be here shortly and will probably want to ask all of you questions about 1-D. Please answer him as truthfully as you can. In the meantime just stay calm. This is nothing to worry about.”

”He said the U.S. Marshals questioned you,” persisted Loyal.

”Of course they did. It was my apartment,” said Diane.

”He said nothing bad is ever written about you in the newspaper because you have connections high up that threaten the newspaper.”

Loyal was just a fountain of misinformation. She wondered who his informant was.

”If you've been reading the paper lately, you know that's not true,” said Diane. She never thought she would have to bring up bad publicity to defend herself.

”Are you calling the police because we voted you out?” asked one of the tenants, a man who owned a small jewelry store in Rosewood. He twisted his ring on his finger nervously.

”No, of course not. I can't get a warrant and mobilize the chief of detectives for something like that. This is an ongoing investigation into the events in my apartment. I can't give you any details, but your cooperation will help a great deal.”

”Would everyone like some tea and cookies?” said her landlady. ”I made some fresh in the kitchen.”

Diane stayed until Garnett arrived so no one would be tempted to leave, though she didn't know what she would have done to stop them. She was afraid the more nervous ones would leave home just to avoid talking to Garnett. Being interviewed by a detective sometimes makes the most innocent feel guilty of something. But this collection of people probably felt so guilty for asking her to move out that they would do what she asked.

When Garnett arrived and took over her landlady's living room, Diane left and went upstairs. As she opened the door to her apartment, the smell of decomposing blood hit her in the face. She covered her mouth and stood in the entrance for a few moments. Looking at the stain and smelling the aroma, she didn't think she could live here again anyway. Even after the cleaning crew got rid of the odor, she would still think she smelled blood.

There was a walkway of boards across the dried blood. Jin and Neva must have put it there after they processed the scene. Diane went into her bedroom and looked in her closet. Neva had taken most of her clothes. Diane took a metal box of photographs from the top shelf. Her caving gear was neatly piled in the corner. She began carrying things to her car. She went back and checked out her refrigerator. Fortunately she didn't have much in it. She poured the milk out and threw the container away. She checked her pantry. It was pretty skimpy. She had been meaning to get to the grocery store. Now she didn't have to.

Diane checked out the bathroom. Neva had been thorough there as well. She had also taken Diane's jewelry box and the picture of Diane and Ariel that sat on the nightstand. Neva had done a good job of collecting the important things. There were her CDs and stereo, of course, but Diane would hire someone to move those and all the large things. She thought she might just dump the sofa and stuffed chairs. She couldn't imagine ever getting the smell out. She found a bottle of Febreze in the cupboard and sprayed herself down.

By the time she left, Diane had already removed herself psychologically from the apartment. It didn't feel like home anymore. But she wasn't sure where home was going to be.

She met Leslie and her husband as she was locking the door.

”I'm so sorry,” said Leslie. ”I don't know what to say . . . just that not everyone voted to ask you to leave.”

Diane smiled. ”Just the majority,” she said.

”They can't enforce it,” said her husband.

”It doesn't matter. It's pretty messed up in there anyway.” Diane didn't want to say b.l.o.o.d.y.

”We are going to miss you,” said Leslie, suddenly hugging her.

”Me too,” said Diane. Though in truth, she hardly ever saw them. ”How's little Bella?”

Leslie suddenly smiled. ”Growing so fast. She already weighs fourteen pounds.”

”She's going to be a tall girl,” said Leslie's husband. ”She's already twenty-five inches.”

”When she's two,” said Diane, ”she'll be approximately one half her adult height. So you'll be able to estimate about how tall she is going to be.”

”You're kidding, at two?” said Leslie.

”Come by and see me at the museum sometime,” said Diane.

”We will. We've visited the museum and loved it. I'm glad there's something like that in Rosewood.”

Leslie looked like she was going to get teary eyed again. Diane could see she was very tenderhearted. It's always uplifting to be around nice people when your job is to hunt so many bad people.

”This is all right,” said Diane. ”There have been a lot of... well, events. And I imagine they've scared some people.”

”Maybe,” said Leslie, ”but to blame you for the explosion. That was ridiculous.”

”Ramona just wants your apartment. She thinks it has two bedrooms. She's the one who spearheaded this,” said Leslie's husband. ”We just now heard her talking to the landlady's nephew.”

”She's going to be in for a surprise,” said Diane. ”It's just one bedroom and has a very small kitchen. I believe it's one of the smaller apartments.”

Diane said good-bye and walked downstairs with a few more items she wanted to take with her. She met Garnett on the first floor. Several of her neighbors were leaving the landlady's apartment. Some were going back to their places; others went out the front door. Only a few met her eyes. Diane guessed those were the ones who'd voted to keep her.

”I didn't get much information from this group. I think Bobby Banks kept a low profile-by the way, he is a he,” said Garnett.

”Oh, he had an Adam's apple?” said Diane.

”A p.e.n.i.s,” said Garnett. ”The men's room has urinals.”