The Innocent

She nodded. “I’ve been sleeping behind a Dumpster the last couple of weeks. Nights haven’t gotten too cold yet. Last winter was a bitch. Didn’t think I was going to make it. January was my first month on the street.”

“That’s rough.”

“I thought something or someone would come through. Half my friends are like me. The other half will have nothing to do with me.”

“Family?”

“None that are in a position to help anymore. It’s just me now.”

“Where did you work before?”

“Admin support for a construction company. Like the worst possible job to have in this economy. I was just an expense item, generated no revenue. I was one of the first to go even though I’d been there twelve years. No severance, no health care, nothing. Salary stopped but the bills sure didn’t. Then my unemployment benefits ran out. I fought to keep my home for a year. Then my husband got sick. That sucked what little savings we had and left a whole ton of bills. Then he gets better and off he goes. For better pastures, he told me. Can you believe that shit? What happened to the marriage vows for better or worse?”

She glanced up at him, looking ashamed. “I know you don’t need to hear this.”

“I can understand how you might need to get it off your chest.”

“I’ve already vented plenty, thanks.” She finished her breakfast and pushed the plate away.

She took a few moments to collect her thoughts. “I saw the bus come down the street. It was really noisy so it woke me up. I don’t sleep well on the street. Concrete isn’t too comfortable. And it’s just not… well, safe. I get scared.”

“I can see that.”

“And then the bus stopped, right there in the middle of the street. I remember sitting up and leaning around the Dumpster and wondering why it had stopped. I’ve been over to that bus terminal going through the trash cans. It wasn’t a city bus. It goes up to New York. Leaves same time every night. Seen it before. Sometimes I wish I were on it.”

Not that night you don’t, thought Robie.

“What side of the street were you on? Side facing the bus door or the other side?”

“The door was on the other side.”

“Okay, go on.”

“Well, it just blew up. Scared the hell out of me. Saw stuff flying everywhere. Seats, body parts, tires. It was horrible. I thought I was in the middle of a war zone.”

“Did you see anything that might have caused the bus to explode?”

“I just assumed it was a bomb on the bus. You mean it wasn’t?”

“We’re still trying to figure it out,” said Robie. “But if you saw something, anything impact the bus, that could be important. A shot fired into the gas tank, maybe? Did you see or hear anything like that?”

Jordison shook her head slowly. “I know I didn’t hear a shot.”

“Did you see anyone?”

Robie stared directly at her but hid the tension he was feeling.

“After the bus blew up, I saw two people on the other side of the street. Before the bus was blocking my view. But then there wasn’t any more bus. A man and what looked to be a girl, maybe a teenager.”

Robie sat back but kept staring at her. “Can you describe them?”

Better it come out now, he thought.

“The girl was short, wearing a hooded coat, so I didn’t see her face.”

“What were they doing?”

“Getting up. Well, the guy was. The blast must’ve knocked them both down. Maybe knocked them out. I guess I was far enough away and the Dumpster I guess acted as a barrier. But they must’ve been closer. They were on the other side of some parked cars.”

“What happened next?”

“The guy came to first and then he went over and helped the girl up. They spoke for a few moments and then the guy started looking around the parked cars. That’s when the old guy back there started dancing around yelling about s’mores. Then the guy and girl took off.”

“Any idea where they came from?”

“No.”

“What did the guy look like?”

She stared at him pointedly. “He actually looked a lot like you.”

Robie smiled. “I guess I look like a lot of people. Can you be more specific?”

“I’ve got great eyesight. Had eye surgery done before my life fell apart.”

“But there were flames and smoke between you and the man. And it was dark.”

“That’s true. I couldn’t pick him out of a lineup, if that’s what you mean. But the fire really turned night to day.”

“But my height, build, age roughly?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re sure you saw nothing hit the bus before it blew up?”

“Well, I was pretty wide awake by that time. But I didn’t see or hear anything that would have made that bus detonate.”

“Thanks, Diana. If I need to get back in touch with you, will you be around here?”

“I really don’t have any other place to go,” she said, her gaze downcast.

Robie handed her a card. “I’ll see what I can do to get you off the streets.”

Jordison’s voice shook as she looked down at the card. “Whatever you can do, mister, I’d really appreciate it. There was a time when I didn’t take charity. Figured I could get it done by myself. Those days are long gone.”

“I understand.”

Robie drove back to Donnelly’s and was getting out of his car when Vance spotted him.

“We got a break in the case,” she said after hurrying over to him.

“What?”