stutter-stepped a little, so she wouldn’t fall over.
At around eleven, Alan watched as two gray sedans pulled up on Bury Street, parking side by side at an angle, both cars jutting into the street. He knew it was police, even before he watched a tall woman in a dark suit emerge from one of the vehicles and two uniformed cops from the other. The three conferred briefly, then crossed the courtyard and entered the lobby. Alan recognized the female detective from before. He assumed that they were returning to Audrey Marshall’s apartment for whatever reason. His eyes went to her windows, the interiors dark. Even so, he caught a flutter of movement, as though someone had just let go of the curtain in the bedroom window. He sat up straighter and stared hard at where he thought he’d seen the curtain move. He could make out a reflection of the enormous rustling maple that loomed behind the apartment building. Was that what he had seen? The movement of a reflected tree?
He shifted his eyes back to the living room window that was directly across from him, the curtains partway pulled. He waited for the police to enter. If there was already someone in there, then they’d find him or her. Most likely, if there was someone in there, then it was probably another police officer. Alan told himself to be rational, even though he wasn’t feeling particularly rational.
After a few minutes, it became clear that the police had not arrived to re-search Audrey’s apartment. So where were they? Were they back at Kate’s place, maybe searching it again?
Alan was so fixated on Audrey’s windows that he almost missed the man coming out from the lobby and walking briskly across the courtyard. Alan didn’t recognize him as someone who lived in the building. His hair was red, and he was wiry and small. He fit the description of Jack something-or-other that Kate had given him. The man who claimed he’d been Audrey’s ex-boyfriend. Had he been the one in the apartment? Still, he’d been moving too fast for Alan to catch up with him, even if he’d wanted to. He turned his attention back to Audrey’s windows. Still no activity. Alan looked out toward the street, where the police vehicles had left just barely enough space for a passing car. Near the vehicles was the man he’d just seen coming out of the apartment building. He was standing on the sidewalk and staring up at the building, staring up at exactly where one of Kate’s windows would be.
Alan pulled his shoes on, grabbed his keys and his leather messenger bag, and went out the door. Even though he hadn’t decided yet exactly what he planned on saying to this guy, it felt better than just sitting by a window waiting for something to happen. He bolted down the steps but walked casually through the lobby and courtyard, not wanting to look insane. On Bury Street he turned right, but Jack had disappeared. He looked toward Charles Street and spotted him loping along the sidewalk. Alan followed.
Jack—if it was Jack—turned left onto Brimmer Street instead of continuing all the way down to Charles. Alan sped up a little so as not to lose him, but when he turned left on Brimmer there was no sign of anybody. Alan continued to walk, looking left and right in case he’d ducked between one of the buildings, but Brimmer was almost entirely lined by redbrick apartment buildings. There was nowhere to hide.
“Are you looking for me?”
Alan turned at the sound of the voice. Jack was behind him, and Alan scanned the street to see where he might have been hiding. There was one large tree—a ginkgo—and maybe Jack had been behind it.
“I am,” Alan said, and was embarrassed to hear that his voice quavered a little. “Can I ask your name?”
“You can ask me, but I don’t know if I’ll tell you.” He smiled, showing off prominent canines. His short messy hair moved in the wind.
“It’s Jack, right?” Alan asked. “You were Audrey Marshall’s friend.”
“How did you know that?” Jack asked, still smiling, but now with a perplexed look in his eyes.
“I guessed. I saw you leaving the apartment building. I live there, too, and I’d heard about you. You’ve come to the building before, right?”
He hesitated a fraction. “Yeah. A couple times.”
“Right. I’m Alan.”
Jack held out his hand, and Alan took it.
“Did you know Audrey, then? I don’t remember her mentioning you.”