Page 46 of The Broken Places

The building, what had once been a residence, was owned by the Tenderloin Development Company. The tagline read:Serving 25 individuals who currently experience mental health challenges and who were previously unhoused.

There were many such apartment buildings in the Tenderloin, low-income housing that had once been SROs and now catered to underserved populations. She put her car in gear and pulled away from the curb. In her rearview mirror, she saw that the line of cars on Geary had doubled in size since she’d arrived. The johns had gotten off work and decided they deserved some stress relief.

A car was just pulling out in front of the Tills Apartment, and Lennon swooped into the spot and got out. If thieves were going to steal her other airbag, at least now they wouldn’t have to break a window.

She set her mouth as she looked up at the structure. There were fire escapes connected by ladders up the front of the building and a metal gate protecting the entrance. Lennon scrolled to the bell that saidBRANDYLOPEZand pressed it. A minute later, the intercom buzzed, allowing her entrance, and Lennon pulled the gate open and climbed the stairs to apartment 3A. When the door was pulled open by ayoung woman with black bushy curls holding a toddler, Lennon said, “Brandy?”

“I thought you were DoorDash. Who are you?”

Lennon flipped open her empty badge and quickly flipped it shut. “I’m Inspector Lennon Gray, and I just have a few questions.”

The woman’s expression curved into derision. “If this is about that dude who—”

“This is about your roommate, Cherish.”

Brandy’s mouth gaped slightly. “You know where Cherish is?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Her body was found a little over a week ago. She was murdered.”

The woman let out a groan and leaned back against the wall, wrapping her other arm around the little girl and bringing her closer. “Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Where?”

“Shit,” the little girl repeated.

Brandy put two fingers to the toddler’s lips. “No,” she said. “Don’t say that.”

“I’m sorry to break the news like this,” Lennon said. “Cherish wasn’t carrying ID, and I only found you through a woman on Geary who recognized Cherish from a photo.”

Brandy stared into space for a minute and then pushed herself off the wall, putting the little girl on the floor, taking her hand and turning. “Come on in,” she said.

Lennon started to enter when she heard Brandy’s buzzer. “There’s my food,” she murmured. “Hold on.”

Lennon followed her into the tiny apartment, which was clean and neat except for an overturned basket of toys. The woman buzzed in the DoorDash driver. She waited at her open door until a young woman appeared, handed her the food, then turned back toward the stairs.

Brandy brought the bags in, and Lennon waited while she set the toddler up in a high chair and cut up a burger and fries into bite-size pieces.

“How long did Cherish live here with you?” Lennon asked after Brandy had washed her hands and turned her way, drying her hands on a dishcloth. She tossed the cloth on the counter and gestured to the two-person table, and Lennon squeezed herself in and sat down.

“Only nine months or so,” Brandy said, taking a seat as well and smiling over at her daughter, who was busily shoving fries in her mouth. “She wasn’t on the lease, so she wasn’t supposed to be living here. But she slept on the couch and shared the rent.”

“Where did you think she was when she didn’t come home?”

“With a trick. She’d done it before, gone home with some guy who paid her to stay the weekend. Cherish also worked this club where men sometimes would pay her to go home with them.” A look passed over her face that told Lennon that Brandy was troubled by the club she’d mentioned—likely the Cellar—and she understood why. “She’d come home all blank-like, sometimes with bruises, and she’d get directly in the shower and stay there so long I knew the water had to be cold.”

“Are you in the business, Brandy?”

Her gaze moved to her daughter before she nodded. “I’m trying to get out. Maybe I’ll have to, now that Cherish won’t be here to watch Nadia. It’s tough, though, you know? Especially without a diploma or a GED.”

Lennon nodded, even though, really, shedidn’tknow. She’d been raised by loving parents who had her back, no matter what. They showered her with affection and praise, and if she ever tried to walk any street anywhere for any reason that put her in danger, her dad would pull up in his car and haul her into the back.

They weren’t even thrilled that she was an inspector working in rough areas of the city, even though she was usually armed. “So no idea if she actually went home with a customer?”

“No. I just assumed. Shit,” she said again under her breath.

“Is there anything you can tell me that might help us identify the person that did this? Was Cherish dating anyone? Had she gotten into a fight with someone recently?”

Nadia pulled a piece of burger apart and tossed the section of bun on the floor. “No, Nadia,” Brandy said halfheartedly, leaving the food on the floor where it lay. “Uh, no, Cherish wasn’t dating anyone. If she fought with anyone, I didn’t know about it. But Cherish was real chill. She wasn’t a fighter, you know?”

Lennon nodded. “Brandy, I don’t know if you knew, but Cherish was pregnant. About three months or so.”

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