New York Dead

like.” Morgan appeared to wither under this barrage.
    Stone tugged at an earlobe.
    Dino caught the signal. “Where’s the men’s room?” he said to Morgan.
    “Down the hall to your left,” she replied.
    “I thought you’d know,” Dino shot back as he left the room.
    When he had gone, Stone closed the door. “I’d like to apologize for my partner’s conduct,” he said to her gently. “He’s under a lot of pressure on this case — we both are — and he sometimes gets a little worked up.” Morgan looked relieved. “I understand,” she said. “It’s been a strain on me, too.”
    Has it? Stone wondered. “I take it you knew Sasha quite well,” he said. He had no reason to suppose that; it was a shot in the dark.
    Morgan nodded, but did not speak.
    “Did…” Stone stopped. Another stab. “Were you in love with her?” he asked softly.
    Morgan nodded again, and tears rolled down her cheeks.
    “I’m sorry,” Stone said. “I know how hard all this must have been for you.” Yet another stab. “Was Sasha in love with you?”
    Morgan wiped a cheek and looked directly at him. “Yes,” she said firmly.
    “Did she tell you so?”
    “She showed me,” Morgan replied.
    “How long had the two of you been… seeing each other?”
    “A couple of months,” Morgan said, drying another tear. She was composing herself now.
    “And when was the last time you saw Sasha?”
    “The night before she… disappeared.” She was calm now, and ready to talk.
    “Where did you see her?”
    “At my apartment. We always met there.”
    “Did she stay the night?”
    “Most of it. Sasha always left around four. She couldn’t be seen…”
    “I understand.”
    “Ms. Morgan, do you think Sasha might have been inclined to try to take her own life?”
    “I… I don’t know. She was up and down a lot. She’d have these highs, when nothing could get her down; then she’d sink into these depressions. They never lasted long, but they were intense. She could be difficult to be with during those times. Maybe, in the depths of one of those, she might have… impulsively… done something. I just don’t know.” “Would you characterize these mood swings as manic-depressive?”
    “I’m not sure. From what I know about that condition, people who have it are unable to function when they’re depressed. Sasha could
always
function, and function brilliantly, no matter what her mood. She had a will of iron.” Stone looked Hank Morgan up and down. She was five nine or ten, a hundred and forty-five, with an athletic, even muscular build. She looked as though she worked out regularly. “Ms. Morgan,” he asked, “where were you after midnight the night Sasha fell?” “I was at home in bed,” she replied firmly.
    “Were you alone?”
    Now Morgan looked away. “No.”
    “I think I’d better have the name of that person,” Stone said.
    “Is it absolutely necessary?”
    “I’m sorry, but it is. I want you to know, though, that I’ll do what I can to keep this information from becoming public. I understand your position.”
    “Her name is Chelsea Barton. She’s a set designer here.”
    “I’ll have to speak with her.”
    “Her office is the other side of the reception area, on this floor.”
    Dino came back into the room.
    “I think we’re about finished here,” Stone said. “Thank you, Ms. Morgan. I very much appreciate your cooperation.” Dino stepped back into the hall, and Stone followed, then stopped. He turned back to the woman. “Ms. Morgan, was Sasha seeing anyone else that you know of?” Morgan flushed. “Yes, she was. A man. She would never tell me who, but I had the feeling it had been going on for a long time.”
    “Do you think it might have been someone she worked with?”
    “I honestly don’t know. Sasha didn’t give much away.”
    “Thank you again.”
    On their way down the hall, Stone filled Dino in on his conversation with Hank Morgan.
    Dino whistled. “So Sasha swung both ways, huh? How about that?”
    “There was nothing in her diary to indicate it,” Stone said.
    “She had a lot to lose,” Dino replied. “She wouldn’t have written that down.”
    They found the office of Chelsea Barton. A rather dumpy young woman looked up from her desk as they knocked.
    Stone started to introduce himself.
    “Yes,” Barton said, interrupting him. “I was with Hank Morgan. All night. Anything else?”
    “Thank you,” Stone said, “no.”

    Back in the car Dino turned to