T Is for Trespass

in?”
    “Oh, yes. He lives on his disability checks and seldom goes out.”

26
    Vernon Waibel was a bit more friendly than Melvin’s third-floor neighbor, who’d shut the door in my face. Like Downs, Waibel was in his fifties. He had dark brows and dark eyes. His gray hair was thinning and shaved close, as though to anticipate the baldness to come. Like someone facing chemotherapy, he preferred taking charge of the hair loss himself. His skin was tawny, his neck creased from exposure to the sun. He wore a multicolored cotton sweater in earth tones, chinos, and moccasins without socks. Even the tops of his feet were brown. I wondered how he managed to tan if he seldom went out. I saw no evidence of disability, but that wasn’t my concern.
    I went through the usual, hi-how-are-you stuff. “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”
    “Depends on what you want.”
    “I understand Mr. Downs moved out. You have any idea where he went?”
    “You a cop?”
    “Private detective. He was supposed to be deposed as a witness to an automobile accident and I need to track him down. He’s not guilty of wrongdoing. We just need his help.”
    “I got a little time to talk if you want to come in.”
    I thought about Juanita Von’s rule about no women visitors in a tenant’s room with the door shut. She and I were such good friends by now I thought I’d risk her disapproval. “Sure.”
    He stepped back and I passed in front of him. His room was not as large as Downs’s, but it was cleaner and it had a lived-in feel to it. The furnishings had been augmented with personal items: two plants, a sofa with throw pillows, and a quilt folded over the iron bedstead. He gestured toward the only upholstered chair in the room. “Take a seat.”
    I sat down and he settled on a plain wooden chair nearby. “You the one put that flyer out about him?”
    “You saw that?”
    “Yes, ma’am. I did and so did he. Made him nervous, I’ll tell you that.”
    “Is that why he left?”
    “He was here and now he’s not. Draw your own conclusions.”
    “I’d hate to think I was the one who scared him away.”
    “I can’t speak to that, but if you’re here to ask questions, you might as well get to ’em.”
    “How well did you know him?”
    “Not well. We watched television together, but he never said much. Nothing personal, at any rate. We’re both fans of that channel that runs the old movie classics. Lassie, Old Yeller, The Yearling —things like that. Stories that broke your heart. That’s about all we had in common, but it was enough.”
    “Did you know he was leaving?”
    “He didn’t consult me, if that’s what you mean. Neither one of us was looking for a friend, just someone who wouldn’t hog the TV when we were hell-bent on hogging it ourselves. Shane was another movie he liked. Times we’d be sitting there bawling like babies. Pitiful, but there you have it. Feels good to have a reason to let it all hang out.”
    “How long have you known him?”
    “The five years since he moved in.”
    “You must have learned something about the man.”
    “Surface stuff. He was good with his hands. TV went on the blink, he’d tinker until he got it up and running again. He had a knack for anything mechanical.”
    “For instance?”
    He thought briefly. “The grandfather clock in the parlor quit running and Mrs. Von couldn’t find anyone to come take a look. She had a couple of numbers for clock-repair guys, but one was dead and the other had retired. Melvin said he wouldn’t mind having a go at it. Next thing you know he had it working again. I’m not sure he did us any favors. Middle of the night, I can hear it all the way up here. Times I can’t sleep, I count every chime. Four times an hour—it’s enough to drive me insane.”
    “What’d he do for a living?”
    “Beats me. He didn’t volunteer information of that type. I live on disability so maybe he thought I’d feel bad, him working and me not. He was paid in cash, I know that much, so it might have been something under the table.”
    “Someone suggested yard work or maybe household repairs.”
    “I’d say more skilled, though I couldn’t tell you what. Small appliances, electronics, something like that.”
    “What about family?”
    “He’d been married once upon a time because he mentioned his wife.”
    “You know where he was from?”
    “Nope. He did say he had some money saved and he had his eye on a truck.”
    “I didn’t think he drove. Why