Hit on the House (26 page)

“Miss Kouras?” he asked. Up close she had a worn look, perhaps a little bruised, as if she'd been in an accident but had pretty much recovered.

“Kouras?” she said. She shook her head slowly, her thick hair swinging about her face. “You must have made a mistake.”

Mulheisen stared down at her, then looked away. It was a fine day again. Gulls were gliding about as if pulled through the air on strings. The water danced in the sunlight.

“Sorry,” Mulheisen said, and he really was. He shrugged and
pulled out his identification folder, holding it open so that she could see. “I have to talk to you.”

The woman sighed and said, “Can we talk here?”

Mulheisen looked around. He waved to Jimmy to come over, then said, “Sure. For a while, anyway.” And he hopped onto the boat. “Actually, maybe we could take the boat out for a little run. Do you think? I have to drop some friends off.”