Party Crashers

it."
    "Almost?"
    "I called the manager to tell him that Gary was missing when I saw the news about the fire. The manager called me a couple of weeks ago, said he had salvaged a box of Gary's things and if I wanted them, I should stop by." She frowned. "When I got there, he tried to extort the overdue rent but wound up giving me a box of things that probably came from Gary's fireproof desk—photographs, piled-up mail."
    "Did you keep them?"
    "Yes, the box is at my place."
    "The same address listed for you on the missing persons report?"
    "Yes, near Roswell," she said, and she realized she had repeated the name of the area where Gary's car had been found.
    "Would it be possible for you to bring the box by the midtown precinct tomorrow?"
    Jolie nodded.
    Salyers made a note of it. "Ms. Goodman, when did you report Mr. Hagan missing?"
    "The following Wednesday, I believe."
    "That seems like a long time to wait."
    Jolie bristled at the woman's accusing tone. "Gary is an adult. I didn't keep tabs on him"
    "But you still didn't believe he had anything to do with your missing car?"
    "No. I thought it was a coincidence. Gary had a nice car—I couldn't imagine why he would have wanted mine." Then again, it hadn't occurred to her that he'd just rolled his own vehicle into the river and needed a getaway car.
    "It didn't cross your mind that he might simply have sold your car for cash?"
    Jolie shook her head. "He wouldn't have done something like that."
    Salyers pursed her mouth. "How long had you been seeing Mr. Hagan when he disappeared?"
    "About four months."
    "How did you meet him?"
    "I was working for the Sanders Agency. He came in one day to ask for directions."
    Salyers smiled. "And he got your number instead?"
    Jolie nodded, smiling for the first time. "Gary was very...persuasive."
    "Were the two of you serious?"
    "What do you mean?"
    "Did you date other people?"
    Jolie rolled one shoulder. "We never discussed it—I didn't date anyone else, and I guess I just assumed that he didn't either."
    "In the box of personal effects that the manager gave you, do you remember seeing an address or schedule book?"
    "No, but I didn't go through the box closely."
    Salyers frowned. "Really? If my boyfriend was missing, I'd have gone through it with a fine-tooth comb."
    Again, the censure. Jolie tried to ignore the prickly nervousness that gathered around her pulse points. "Gary kept everything in his phone."
    The detective studied her as if she were trying to size her up. Her entire life, Jolie had felt as if people were sizing her up, trying to figure her out. It unnerved her because she wasn't nearly as complicated as people thought she was. She wanted the same things in life that other people wanted, except she hadn't yet figured out how to get them.
    "Has your insurance company paid the claim for your stolen car?"
    "Not yet." Jolie angled her head. "What are you getting at?"
    Salyers sighed and pressed her hand against the table. "Ms. Goodman, this is no longer a missing persons case. This is now a homicide investigation."
    "Homicide?"
    "And your boyfriend is a fugitive."
    "Fugitive?"
    "And if you know more than you're telling, you could be charged as an accessory."
    Alarm squeezed Jolie's chest. "Accessory? I don't know what you're talking about." Her voice escalated until people around them turned to stare.
    Salyers adopted a calming expression. "All I'm saying is that if Mr. Hagan came and knocked on your door that night and asked for your car, now is the time to say so, before this gets any worse for you."
    She knew her mouth was open—she could feel the air on her tongue. She snapped her jaw closed and pushed to her feet. "When I filed the report on my car and the missing persons report on Gary, you people made me feel like an idiot. I was patronized and told that I'd been conned." She was shaking. "I didn't see Gary later that night, or any time after he left my apartment Friday. Now, if you don't have anything else to tell me, I'd really like to go."
    Salyers stood. "Ms. Goodman, I'm giving you this information for your own protection. If Gary Hagan is a dangerous man and he's still alive, you could be in danger yourself." She handed Jolie a card. "If he tries to contact you, call me."
    Jolie stared at the card, seeing nothing. She just wanted to escape to a quiet place where she could think. She shouldered her purse and stalked away, blinking rapidly. Nausea ebbed and flowed in her stomach. After threading her way through