I hung up and looked at Robert.
“You’re going to ask Vanessa to take a blood test at a real clinic today.”
“She won’t.”
“Then you have your answer.”
The investigator’s name was Nicole Chen.
She met us at a Labcorp in Yonkers at four o’clock.
Robert had called Vanessa and told her they needed a blood test for insurance purposes for the new apartment I was supposedly helping them get. She either believed it, or she was confident enough to think she could bluff her way through.
Vanessa arrived twenty minutes late in yoga pants and oversized sunglasses. She didn’t acknowledge me. She walked straight up to Robert and kissed his cheek.
“This is ridiculous,” she said. “I already showed you the test.”
“It’s just a formality, babe,” Robert said. “For the landlord.”
She sighed theatrically. “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”
