Party Crashers

car wasn't calling. "Has the woman in the car been identified?"
    "No. We're still waiting for the medical examiner's report."
    At the abrupt answers, Jolie swallowed. "Is there something else?"
    Papers rattled in the background. "Ms. Goodman, do you know a Roger LeMon?"
    Her heart jumped in her chest. "Yes. How do you know about him?"
    "He came by this morning, said you've been harassing him."
    Her eyes bugged. " What ?"
    "According to Mr. LeMon, you've been following him, asking him questions about Gary Hagan, whom he denies knowing."
    Jolie clenched the phone tighter. "He's lying."
    "You haven't been following him?"
    "I mean he's lying about knowing Gary. He's one of the men in Gary's photos."
    "Is he?" Salyers asked mildly. "You said you didn't know any of Mr. Hagan's friends."
    "I don't."
    "Then how did you find Mr. LeMon?"
    "I went to a party in midtown Wednesday night and recognized him. I asked him if he knew Gary and he said he didn't."
    "What made you think he was lying?"
    "His body language. And when he excused himself, I..."
    "Yes?"
    Jolie sighed. "I followed him."
    "Oh, you want my job, do you?"
    Jolie frowned at her sarcasm. "I followed him because he said he was going to get a drink, but he walked past the bar. When I found him, he was talking on a pay phone. I heard him tell the person my name, and that I'd recognized him."
    She assumed the silence meant that the detective had perked up. "Do you know who he was talking to?"
    "No."
    "Did he see you?"
    "I don't know. I left immediately, but he might have seen me."
    "Hmm. Is that the only incident?"
    Jolie squirmed. "I saw LeMon last night, and he was talking to another guy from the photos, Kyle Coffee."
    "Where was this?"
    "At another party."
    "Another party, huh? You're really torn up over your boyfriend's disappearance, aren't you, Ms. Goodman?"
    Jolie's stomach clenched.
    "In fact, one might think that you aren't worried because you know he's alive."
    Her inclination to tell the detective about Gary's late-night appearance in her car or her possible sighting of him in the store vanished. No way the woman would believe she hadn't helped him.
    "The point is, I'm not harassing Roger LeMon," Jolie said. "In fact, he showed up today where I work. If anything, he's harassing me ."
    "Did he approach you? Threaten you?"
    "No," she admitted.
    "What exactly did he do?"
    Jolie bit into her lip. "He didn't do anything, I guess. He was just...there."
    "Did you tell him where you worked?"
    "No."
    "I don't understand—was he shopping?"
    "No. There was an event taking place in the store, a big crowd."
    "So he was just standing in the crowd at a public event?"
    Coming from someone else, it sounded harmless. "Yes, but..." But what?
    The detective sighed. "Ms. Goodman, do you think maybe you're overreacting? Isn't it possible that Mr. LeMon, a wealthy man who probably shops in upscale stores, just happened into Neiman's to buy something?"
    "Yes," Jolie admitted.
    "Ms. Goodman, let me a give you some friendly advice. I don't know Roger LeMon, but I'm told that he's a wealthy man with a long reach." She lowered her voice. "He even donated money to buy bulletproof vests for the police department—do you get my drift?"
    The woman's "drift" was unmistakable. "Yes," Jolie murmured, trying hard not to feel like a fool. "Was there anything else you wanted to tell me, Detective?"
    "No, except to stay away from Roger LeMon before he slaps a restraining order on you."
    Jolie disconnected the call with shaking fingers and acknowledged an instant headache. She touched her temples, trying to slow her thinking, to make some sense of things.
    If Roger LeMon was up to no good, surely he wouldn't go to the police. She'd been hoping to talk to Salyers about the possibility that Gary had been framed, but the woman wasn't going to listen to a shoe clerk who stalked a pillar of the community.
    She sighed, wishing for divine inspiration. Maybe she should just forget about Gary, forget about her car, and forget about the dead woman, whoever she was. Cut her losses and walk away, before things got worse.
    The idea of going out with the girls tonight and crashing Sammy's party was starting to sound more appealing. What was it that Carlotta had said? That Jolie needed to add the word "fun" to her vocabulary.
    " Fuunnnnn ," Jolie said aloud, testing the word on her tongue. Then she tested a smile, suddenly anticipating the well-heeled pajama party.
    At least tonight she could wear house