“That’s pretty tragic all the way around,” said Decker. “Getting back to the present, what did you tell Detective Green about the night the men’s bodies were discovered?”
“That I didn’t see anything. I had a headache and went to bed early.”
“What time was that?”
“Jeopardy!had finished up, and I was puttering around for a bit, so it was certainlyafter eight.”
“Did you hear or see anything before you went to bed? Even if it wasn’t connected to the house?”
Martin thought about that. “I remember the storm starting to come in.”
“Do you remember hearing some sounds right before the rain started?”
“What sort of sounds?”
Decker thought back, pulling the frames up in his head.
Good question,what sort of sounds?
“I’m not sure. Just some unusual sounds. I was staying at the house behind that one. I also saw a plane flying over.”
Martin shook her head. “I didn’t see or hear a plane. Didn’t wake up until around six the next morning.”
“The police sirens didn’t wake you?”
“I took a sleep aid, so no, they didn’t.”
“Have you ever seen peoplecoming or going from that house?”
Martin drank some more tea and pushed the cookie plate toward Decker, who took one and bit into it.
“There was one thing,” she said suddenly.
“What was that?”
“Well, it didn’t have to do with the house where those men were killed. It was the housenextto it.”
“You saw something?”
“It was a couple ofweeks ago. I didn’t mention it to Detective Green because he just asked me about the night the dead men were found. Anyway, I saw a man enter the house, oh, around eleven at night. Now, I knew the Schaffers, who used to own that house. They died and their children tried and failed to sell it. So it’s been sitting empty all that time.”
“Go on,” prompted Decker.
“Well, this manwas walking down the street. I didn’t see a car. The only reason I saw him was because Missy wanted to go out, and I opened the door and there he was on the street. It was a full moon and really bright, so I saw him pretty clearly. Well, he walked down the street and into the Schaffers’ old house.”
“Can you describe him?”
“Tall, over six feet, I think.”
“White, black?”
“Oh, definitely white. And he was thin.”
“Could you see his face?”
She shook her head. “And then, two nights later, I saw it again.”
“The same man?”