"More or less."
"Sandy, you shouldn't have done this," Ray said. "What'll happen?"
"I'm not willing to lose my job over you, Raymond. Sorry if that sounds blunt. I'll do what I can as quickly as I can. I'm good at this and can accomplish quite a bit while I'm here. Still, criminal investigations can take months, and criminal trials can take years just to get started. You have me for a few more days and that's it. Then I'm gone and my act goes back to Philly."
"Whatever time you can give me I'll appreciate." He knew she owed him nothing, yet here she was.
"I took a lot of crap to move ahead in my job. It's perfect for a law student. I'm not going to screw it up."
"I did screw mine up, it was easy."
Meg said, "No, you didn't screw up your job. You're good at what you do and the company liked you."
"Sandy, I'm going to make this up to you somehow." He thought back to her as a teenager trapped in juvenile rehab, and he hadn't lifted a finger to rescue her.
"Yeah, right, if I ever need a kidney I know who not to call."
She was entitled to the sarcasm. He deserved it. Meg appeared confused at the remark.
"Raymond, I do need to move into your apartment while I'm here. I can't afford the room at the Inn Towner any longer. You have Internet?"
"Sure, and Kagan should be able get my apartment keys back from the police now. If the police left it all messed up, then hire someone to clean it up. Don't you do it."
"Not likely, I get confused operating cleaning apparatus like brooms. Now let me tell you, I've been asking questions at the Inn Towner. The desk clerk on duty that Saturday morning doesn't remember Loraine checking in or out. Guests don't need to go back to the front desk to check out so there's no record of when she left the room. Two maids remember you being there, 'Oh, that's the man in the paper who killed that man. He was with pretty woman in bathing suit muy poquito.' They said the police had been around, but they don't talk to police."
"Did you meet Tammy?"
"Yes. Kagan gave me Tammy and Loraine's addresses. I talked at length with Tammy in her office. She doesn't care much for you but otherwise seems okay. If that girl is a pushover, as Loraine told you, then I'm the Queen of England."
Meg spoke up, "There are rumors of an affair with Towson, but I've never heard any talk about Tammy Jerold being easy. In fact just the opposite, she's a bit reserved."