I took two steps in and waited until my eyes adjusted, pupils spiraling down from the brilliance of the sun outside.There were three humped backs at the bar, men with their shoulders turned in as though the light that came through the door was a cold wind. There was a blonde head moving beyond them. Her hair was pulled back tight. Marci, working the day shift just as Laurie had told me over the phone. The manager had offered quickly that the girl had just asked to switch her shifts and get off the eight-to- two for a few weeks. Laurie became even more suspicious when I said I needed to talk with the girl and would rather do it in private.“She came in with the strangest look. Said there was nothing wrong but I knew there was. Is she in some kind of trouble with the police?”I told her again that I wasn’t a cop and that I was only a consultant when detective Richards and I had met with her.“But you didn’t say that then, did you?” she reminded me.I apologized for leading her on.“It’s OK,”
