The Missing Ink

Chapter 32

Joel dropped me at the Venetian before taking Sylvia back to Murder Ink. Jeff’s story was swirling in my head, and I had a funny feeling that I had all the pieces, but I still couldn’t figure out how they fit together.

“Nice to see you,” Ace said sarcastically when I walked into the shop.

Uh-oh.

Bitsy slapped his hand. “She had a date with a rich Englishman. How could she say no to that?” She looked up at me and winked. “Didn’t think lunch would take that long.”

“Had a little encounter with Bruce Manning,” I said. “Apparently I’ve been banned for life from Versailles.”

Ace chuckled. “What does that mean? Banned? Like, forever?”

“Yeah. Guess so.”

“What happened?” Bitsy jumped in.

“He didn’t like it that I found a body in his hotel. Guess he’s holding it against me personally. He also didn’t like it that I had lunch with his manager, or that Elise came into my shop.”

“So he’s blaming you for everything that’s going on?” Bitsy asked.

“Pretty much.” I didn’t really want to talk about it anymore. I just wanted quiet. I went into the staff room and pulled a Coke out of the fridge.

Ace draped himself against the doorjamb as I settled in to work on a sketch at the light table.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Sorry. About before. But you haven’t been around too much the last couple days.”

“I know.” I didn’t need to conjure Sister Mary Eucharista for the guilt I was feeling. “It’s just been a little crazy. It’ll get back to normal now.”

“You sure about that?”

I smiled. “No.”

As I sketched, I thought about Simon Chase and Bruce Manning and Jeff Coleman and Kelly Masters.

And about where Elise Lyon might be. I hoped she was still alive.

Which reminded me…

I pulled my cell phone out of my bag and dialed Tim’s number. He picked up on the second ring.

“What do you want, Brett?” He was working and didn’t want me to bother him.

“I heard Kelly Masters’s brother, Matthew, almost killed someone in a bar fight.”

“Are you doing some sort of genealogical tree?”

“Don’t be snippy. I’m just trying to help.”

“Have you seen him again?”

I told him about seeing Matthew at Versailles with Simon Chase. “Maybe they’re in on it together,” I suggested.

“In on what?”

Good question.

“Did he approach you? Threaten you or anything?” Tim was asking.

“No.”

“Then just try to stay out of trouble. And stay away from Versailles.” It was the way he said it that made me take pause.

“You didn’t hear from Bruce Manning, did you?” Mr. Big Shot who had friends in high places.

He was so quiet I thought I’d lost the connection, then, “Just stay away from Versailles, okay? Just go about your life as normal.”

It was futile to try to explain that my life had been far from normal the last few days. All I could do was agree. “Sure, fine.” I felt compelled to add, “I can’t believe Manning called you.”

“You ruffled the wrong feathers there, Brett.”

“I didn’t do anything,” I tried.

“That’s not what he thinks.”

I sighed. “You know, I really don’t think Jeff Coleman had anything to do with any of this.”

“And why do you think that?”

“I just do.”

“Nice that you have a lot of faith in him, Brett, but I don’t. He sent you over there. I’m not convinced he wasn’t trying to set you up.”

“I don’t know about that-”

He cut me off. “The victim yesterday? The one you found? He had a tattoo, you know.”

“I didn’t see one.”

“You wouldn’t, with the way his body was positioned. But it was there. A heart, with clasped hands underneath it. And the name Elise.”