New York Dead (Stone Barrington 1)

She shook her head. “Nope.”

“How well do you know Hank Morgan?”

“Not very well. We set up this place as condominiums four years ago with some friends. Then the friends got transferred, and they sold the place to Morgan about three months ago.”

“Did you know Hank Morgan before that?”

“Nope. Neither did our friends; a real estate agent found her. I was a little worried at first. Shit, I’m still worried.”

“Why?”

“Have you met Ms. Morgan?”

“Yes.”

“Then I don’t have to tell you she’s a lesbian.”

“No. She was quite frank about it.”

“Well, it’s not just that she’s a lesbian – hell, I don’t have anything against gays in general – it’s that she’s so… involved.”

“Involved in what?”

“Well, she’s apparently in two or three organizations about gay rights, and something to do with AIDS – you know those people who did that sit-in in St. Patrick’s Cathedral?”

“I know the group.”

“Well, she’s always doing things like that; she’s a real activist, which is, all too often, another way of saying ‘pain in the ass.’”

“Why does that bother you?”

“She’s always having meetings upstairs, and, believe me, there are some pretty weird people at those meetings. My God, there have been women in this house who should be playing pro football! It gives me the willies. I’m here by myself a lot; my husband travels in his work.”

&n

bsp; “Have these people behaved oddly toward you?”

“No, it’s not that. I’m not really afraid of being raped, I guess. It’s just that I’m an Italian girl from Queens, a Catholic, and I’m nervous about things like that. I was brought up to be nervous about things like that.”

“Did you ever recognize any of Ms. Morgan’s visitors?”

Ms. Vincent grinned. “Yeah, I recognized Sasha Nijinsky, once.”

“Was she here for a meeting?”

“Nope, she was alone. I guess that means Sasha was a dyke, too, huh?”

“How often did you see her here?”

“Only once, and then through the peephole. It was her, though. She and Morgan were holding hands.” She gave a little shudder.

“Do you remember the date you saw her here?”

Ms. Vincent shook her head. “Not exactly. Must have been a month or so ago.”

Stone finished his coffee. “Do you know any of Ms. Morgan’s other friends?”

“Nope. We don’t socialize. I mean, we’re polite to each other, but it’s obvious we have absolutely nothing in common, except this house.”