'I'm part of the task force investigating the crime,' I told them. 'Would you mind if I asked some questions?'
Lorraine looked down at my jeans.
'You're going to have to excuse my dress,' I said. 'I was called in on my day off, and I didn't get a chance to change.'
'What do you want to know?'
'Do you know her husband?'
'Carmen talked about him in the beginning. Ranger, Ranger, Ranger. I mean, how lame is that? Who calls himself Ranger?'
'Did she ever mention his real name?'
'Carlos.'
'Would you recognize him if you saw a picture?'
'No. None of us actually saw him. And then all of a sudden she was married and living in Arlington and she sort of fell off the earth.'
'Is he from this area?'
'I don't know where he's originally from,' Lorraine said. 'He was working as a security guard at Potomac Mills Mall when she met him. He told her it was only a temporary job until his business took off.'
'What business was that?'
'He was a bounty hunter. Carmen thought that was real cool. From what I hear, she cashed in an insurance policy so they could buy computers and shit.' A tear ran down Lorraine's cheek, and she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. 'The people on television are saying the bastard shot her.'
'Thanks,' I said. 'This has been helpful.'
I got directions to the mall, drove back to the bike path, and picked Ranger up.
'When Carmen met this guy he was working as a security guard at Potomac Mills. It's a mall off I-95 a couple miles south of here,' I told Ranger.
Ranger punched Potomac Mills into the GPS. 'Okay, sweetheart,' he said to the GPS. 'Talk to me.'
If you entered Potomac Mills at one end and stared down the length of the mall you would be sure it ended in Kansas. We were standing in front of a mall map getting the lay of the land, looking for the security office and not finding it.
'The mall closes at seven,' Ranger said. 'We've got a little over an hour to get someone to ID our man. I'm going to have Tank see if he can do something by phone. Meanwhile, you try to find security people to talk to. I'll be fifty paces behind you.'
I looked down the mall and saw two uniformed guards standing back on their heels watching the shoppers. Man and woman. In their twenties. The woman looked like she'd gained some weight since they'd issued her uniform. Her partner was tall and gangly. Bad complexion. I was guessing they ate a lot of meals at the food court.
I came up to them with a smile. Friendly. Needing assistance.
'Excuse me,' I said. I'm looking for a guy who used to work as a security guard here. I can't remember his name but he was medium build, dark brown hair, kind of nice-looking. Caucasian, I think, but with dark skin. Probably hasn't been here for maybe six months.'
'Doesn't ring a bell,' the woman said. 'Did he work weekends? We only work weekends.'
'I'm not sure.'
'You should talk to Dan,' she said. 'He's been here forever. He knows everyone. He's sort of heavyset and balding, and he's probably down toward the other end. He might be around Linens-N-Things, unless he got a call.'
I wasn't sure where Linens-N-Things was located, but with the way this mall was looking it could be a couple miles. I took off at a fast walk, trying not to be distracted by the stores. I made it past Banana Republic and the Gap but instinctively stopped in front of Victoria's Secret.
I felt Ranger at my back, his hand warm on my waist. 'If you buy something you have to model it,' he said.
I got a rush at the thought, panic followed… and then guilt. 'Just looking,' I said.
'I hate to ruin this moment, but there's a guard at three o'clock.'