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one of my officers is free, he’ll come by and get some preliminary information from you.”
    “Of course. I need to take a quick shower first. Then I’ll be available.”
    “Appreciate it.”
    Unsure what else to say or do, Sharon gave Robin another anxious look, then went back inside and closed the door.
    “Commander, Brooklyn,” Inspector Jaglom said in greeting when he reached the top of the stairs. “This is quite a surprise.”
    Was it a good thing or a bad thing that I was on a first-name basis with a homicide inspector?
    “Good to see you, Inspector,” Derek said, shaking hands with Jaglom.
    After introducing her partner to Robin, Inspector Lee said, “Ms. Tully, I’d appreciate it if you would remain on the premises for a while.”
    “Sure.”
    As Jaglom and Derek spoke with each other in hushed tones, Lee pulled two pairs of disposable rubber gloves from her bag. She handed one pair to her partner, cutting short the niceties. “Let’s do this, Nate. Watch where you’re stepping.”
    “Lead on,” Jaglom said, and the two disappeared inside Robin’s flat.
     
    Within forty-five minutes, the medical examiner and a number of crime lab people were crawling all over the property. Robin’s neighbor Sharon invited us to hang out at her place while the police combed through every inch of Robin’s home.
    After one of the criminologists swabbed Robin’s bloodstained skin and hair, she was allowed to take a shower in Sharon’s bathroom. Nervous to be alone, Robin begged me to sit in the bathroom with her while she showered. We both relaxed a bit once she’d washed all the dried blood away.
    Derek spoke to the police a while longer, then left to go back to my place to shower and dress for work. It was Sunday, but since he’d been gone all week, he’d arranged several meetings that couldn’t be canceled. Once he was gone, I dozed on Sharon’s couch.
    At some point, Inspector Lee took Robin into Sharon’s kitchen to ask her a bunch of questions. After an hour or so, Lee went back downstairs and Robin curled up on Sharon’s recliner. She slept soundly, but not calmly as she tossed and turned and moaned every so often. Poor Sharon didn’t know what to do to help, and truthfully I didn’t either. We commiserated in her kitchen as she made a pot of soup. She said she always made soup when she was worried.
    We’d been there for over three hours and I had thumbed through most of the magazines on the coffee table when Inspector Lee walked into Sharon’s apartment again. Robin was still stretched out in the chair, but I stood and watched the cop as she folded her arms tightly across her chest and flexed her neck muscles. I could tell something was up.
    “I have to ask you to come downtown with me for further questioning, Ms. Tully.”
    Robin blinked, then looked at me in confusion. “What does that mean?”
    “Wait.” I jumped up from the couch. “No. What for? She’s innocent. You can’t arrest her.”
    Inspector Lee thrust her hand out in a gesture of understanding. “I’m not arresting her, Ms. Wainwright, only taking her in for further questioning.”
    “That’s just one small step toward county,” I said, angry now. “This is unacceptable.”
    “Calm down, Ms. Wainwright,” she said in a patient tone she probably used with lunatics.
    “I won’t calm down. This is Robin we’re talking about. She’s a victim here.”
    “Ms. Wainwright, please.”
    I hated that she was calling me Ms. Wainwright, all formal and patronizing. It was not a good sign, and it didn’t bode well for Robin’s future. I was feeling all kinds of betrayal, because Inspector Lee should’ve been on our side. She and I were practically friends, we saw each other so often.
    Okay, maybe not friends exactly. More like crime scene buddies. Why did she need to question Robin any further? Why wasn’t she out trying to find the murderer who’d killed Alex and ruined Robin’s life?
    Meanwhile, Robin could barely move