I'd like to give a continued thanks to Lastman416 for his advice and recommendations.
The sight of a police squad car parked in front of Riley's house had become an odd ritual. He had more than repaired his relationship with the local law enforcement, but somehow, life continued to find ways to bring them to his door on official business.
Riley sat with Diana at the kitchen table to be interviewed by Detective Joslynn Zielinski. Her family called her Jo Jo because her middle name was Josephina, but she phased out of that nickname after high school, finding it too silly for her profession.
Jo, the name she prefers to go by, was a ten-year police veteran, but only having a few months under her belt as a detective. As an authorized plain clothes officer, her wardrobe never drifted far from black, grey, charcoal, or other dreary colors. The only life in her style of dress were emeralds fastened to silver studs. The earrings matched her eyes so perfectly, when she blinked, it left the impression she never stopped looking.
Diana had called for a detective to come to Riley's house after her encounter with the suspicious man an hour ago. Jo arrived in a squad car driven by a patrol officer who was tasked with knocking on the doors of Riley's neighbors. Diana provided a summary of her interaction with the man, and Riley stated he hadn't noticed the man at all.
"Did the man Chief Jackson described sound familiar?" Jo asked Riley. He shook his head and raised a cup of coffee to his lips. He had offered everyone coffee, but they all declined. Riley was disappointed that Diana wouldn't discover how much his coffee had improved.
"Have you had any unexpected visitors. Unsolicited calls?" Jo asked.
"Nothing outside of a car warranty I don't have expiring," Riley said. He chuckled a little at his joke, then chased the awkward silence down with more coffee when no one so much as smiled.
"Did we get anything on his plate?" Diana asked.
"The car is registered to a resident of Indiana named Carlos Nogales. They sent a picture from the DMV and NCIC, but it's not matching your description," Jo said. She opened her phone and found the message an officer had sent her. She held the phone to Diana's eye level. With one glance Diana knew it wasn't the same man. "Not to say interesting things didn't come with that name. He's got a record."
"What kind?" Diana asked.
"Drug related. Did a stint for trafficking in Yuma. Three years, and then two years probation. After his time was up, he moved to Indiana," Jo said. She placed her phone on the table and then prepared her pen for note taking. "What about your tenant?"
"Tilly? What about her?" Riley asked.
"She was incarcerated for drug charges in Indiana. A few short weeks after she leases your second floor, the car owned by a man with a record of drug charges pulls into your driveway. In my line of work, there is really no such thing as a coincidence. There are only patterns," Jo said. Riley paused to think, but the more he did the less he wanted to speak. It made sense.
"You'd have to ask Tilly. I can't speak for her," Riley said. Jo watched Riley to measure his demeanor. She sensed his defensive instinct toward Tilly and knew he wouldn't weigh in on her possible involvement. Not yet.
"I'll have to talk to her," Jo said.
"She's next door talking to our neighbor. I'm sure she'll be back soon," Riley said.
Jo filled the time while they waited for Tilly by asking more questions. The patrol officer returned and provided Jo with his report. All the houses were on one side of the road, so there wasn't an across the street neighbor who had line of sight. No one said they saw anything.
Tilly returned to the house, timidly stepping inside from the indications of police outside and their presence within. Jo stood up from her chair and stepped into the living room. Tilly adjusted herself in the room until she could make eye contact with Riley. He was the only person she trusted to not walk her into a trap. His eyes didn't help her relax.
"Ms. Aberdeen?" Jo asked. Tilly turned her gaze to Jo, and then nodded. "I'm Detective Zielinksi. May I ask you a few questions?"
"What's this about?" Tilly asked.
"A suspicious man was on the property earlier today. We're just trying to figure out who that was and why he was here," Jo explained. "It'll be brief."
"Can I get a lawyer?" Tilly asked.
"I'm just asking questions," Jo replied.
"I understand that, and I want to help. But last time I talked to the police without a lawyer I served seven months in prison," Tilly said. Jo understood her reluctance considering her history with the police. "I'll answer anything with a lawyer. But not before I get one."
"Do you know a man named Carlos Nogales?" Jo asked just to study Tilly's reaction.
"I just said I'm not answering questions," Tilly said with force. A second later she thought she may have used too much force. "Without a lawyer," she said to caveat her reply.
"When you get a lawyer, please call me," Jo said. She removed a card from the inner breast pocket of her jacket and extended it out to Tilly. Tilly took the card, and nodded, knowing the context of Jo's words.
Don't make me call you
. Tilly excused herself from the environment and went upstairs.
"That's all I got Chief. The patrols are aware of the plate. If they find him, what's the order?" Jo asked Diana.
"Just questions for now. We don't have probable cause, or even reasonable suspicion of his intent. If he won't talk, he won't talk," Diana replied.
"He was trespassing," Riley said, all three cops turning to him. "Isn't that enough? It was enough for me and it was my house."
"As far as I know sir," Jo said, and waited for him to turn to her. "Your case was ruled unlawful, so that's not exactly a good yard stick. Trespassing is not as simple as people think. He wasn't warned not to be there beforehand and didn't stay when asked to leave. By the law, that's not trespassing."
"He ignored the order a few times according to Diana," Riley said.
"Was the order issued by you, or by Diana?" Jo asked. Riley decided not to argue with someone who clearly knew more about the subject than he did. "I know it's frustrating, but we can't arrest him even if we found him. Not with what we have."
"I understand," Riley said, not hiding his dissatisfaction.
"Thanks Jo," Diana said. Jo and the officer left the house, and Riley left the chair for the first time in hours. He leaned down, attempting to touch his toes to stretch out his back. "If he comes back, don't engage him beyond telling him to leave. Just call us."
"I will," Riley said. Diana didn't believe he would, but didn't say anything about it.
"I stopped by to thank you for letting Whitney geek out with you. Sorry it didn't happen that way," Diana said. She looked at her watch. It was after nine.
"Me too," Riley said. "Coffee?"
"No thanks," Diana said with a grin.
