“Me? No. I think she’d come to Austin to grow up, be an adult,” said the man. “You know? Austin…it’s everybody’s dream to get here.”
Salvatore nodded, considering. He got the sense that Jay Cutler knew Lucy better than he was letting on, but direct questioning hadn’t seemed to work. “I guess so,” he said.
“Yeah,” said the landlord. “Doesn’t always turn out like you think it will, though.”
“How long have you been here?” said Salvatore, trying the “buddy” approach.
“Twenty years,” said Jay. “Came from upstate New York to go to UT and never left.”
“Seems like a common story,” said Salvatore.
“Not Lucy, though. She went to Austin Community College.”
“Hm,” said Salvatore. “Any idea what she was studying?”
“I’d guess physical therapy, from all the books,” said the landlord. “You’ll see.”
Salvatore swallowed. So Jay had been in the apartment, had checked out Lucy’s bookshelf. “She was an exercise fanatic,” Jay went on. “Asked me to run with her once, but I knew I couldn’t keep up.”
Salvatore decided to go for broke. “Did you ever suspect Lucy was using drugs?” he asked.
“Is that what happened?” said Jay. “She OD’d?”
“We’re not certain yet,” said Salvatore.
“I don’t know anything for sure…” said Jay, leaning toward Salvatore.
“Any info you could give me would really help,” said Salvatore.
“She wasn’t a junkie,” said Jay. “I don’t want to give her a bad name, you know? She was a nice girl, studying at ACC, like I said. I went to Chuy’s, sometimes, to have the Chuy’s Special, keep her company.”
Jay was clearly a lot more informed than he’d originally let on. Salvatore switched into his “I’m an idiot” mode. He usedit with defensive or angry suspects. In the interrogation room, he’d blather on about anythingbutthe crime—the Longhorns game, the weather, his own bad back. Many suspects would warm up, and eventually sing like birds. Most peoplewantto connect. Many murdererswantto confess. The “I’m an idiot” mode continued to surprise Salvatore with its effectiveness.
“I love Tex-Mex,” said Salvatore. “What’s the Chuy’s Special?”
“Oh, man, it’s blue-corn tortillas, chicken, cheese, and tomatillo sauce,” said Jay.
“Sounds incredible,” said Salvatore. He stretched and grimaced. “Jesus, I need to get in shape,” he said. “Maybe jog.”
Jay said, “I go to Gold’s Gym.”
“I should, too,” said Salvatore. “You said Lucy worked out?”
“Not at Gold’s,” said Jay. “She was a famous gymnast, but in high school. Did her own workouts.”
Salvatore nodded. “Maybe she had an injury,” he said, fishing. “A lot of gymnasts, they end up hurt.”
“She did!” said Jay. “She told me she had a shoulder problem. Asked me once if I had any pain pills. For her shoulder. I had some old Percocet from when I got my wisdom teeth out. She just…didn’t have insurance.”
Salvatore nodded. “Yeah,” he said.
“I maybe shouldn’t have given them to her,” said Jay.
“When was this?” asked Salvatore.
“She had just moved in,” said Jay. “Last August. I thought…It sounds ridiculous now. I thought maybe she liked me.”
So he’d been wrong about Jay being gay. Maybe he was bi. “What happened?” said Salvatore.
