The Missing Ink

Chapter 45

After a second of being stunned by this news, I thought of something else. “How do you have Jeff’s DNA?”

“He was a suspect a few years back in a sexual assault case. We took his DNA. He didn’t do it. Seems the woman had a grudge against him. He didn’t want to marry her.”

“But you’re sure that this baby is his? He and Kelly couldn’t get pregnant; it split them up.”

Tim was surprised to hear this. “Really?”

“That’s the story I got.”

“Well, someone’s lying.”

And we both knew who that was. Jeff must have seen Kelly in the last few months, otherwise she wouldn’t be pregnant with his baby. But that still didn’t explain what was up with Elise Lyon and why she was using Kelly’s name.

I was really disappointed in Jeff Coleman. While we hadn’t ever been on very good terms-all that “Kavanaugh” stuff, and him constantly making references to me thinking I was better than he was just because I didn’t have a street shop or flash-I had begun to believe and trust in him on this. He’d seemed genuinely sincere, and genuinely surprised about Kelly being dead.

“Next time you see him, you have to let me know. Keep him wherever you are and call me so we can come get him.”

“You really did find his fingerprints on a gun in her car?” I asked. Tim nodded. “So he really is a suspect?” I thought a moment. “Why would Jeff kill her if she was pregnant with his baby?”

Tim sighed. There were way too many questions and not enough answers. “I have no idea,” he said. “That’s what we’re trying to find out.”

“So then what’s the link between Kelly and Elise? You promised,” I said.

“Do you promise to let me know if Coleman contacts you again?”

I nodded. “Okay, sure. No more stalling-what’s up?”

“Kelly Masters called Elise Lyon in Philadelphia the day before Elise disappeared.”

“Really? What for?”

Tim shrugged, getting up and clearing away our dishes. “We don’t know. But something made Elise run, and that’s the only thing out of the ordinary that happened in her last few days there. Other than that, it was wedding business as usual.”

I helped Tim load the dishwasher, pondering why Kelly would call Elise.The presumption was that they didn’t know each other before they met up in Vegas. Or did they?

“Had they met at all?” I asked Tim.

He shook his head. “No clue. We can’t find anything else, except Simon Chase, and he swears that they never overlapped in his life.”

Tim wiped down the counter, then started for his bedroom. He paused at the hallway. “Remember, any word from Coleman…” His voice trailed off.

I nodded. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, I hear you,” I said as I went into my own bedroom and changed into my cotton pajama bottoms and a T-shirt. I tossed the white trousers in the hamper, but they seemed to be a lost cause. Too bad. They’d grown on me.

In the middle of brushing my teeth, I heard my cell phone blasting Springsteen. I didn’t want it to bother Tim, so I bounded across the bedroom, toothpaste in my mouth, and took the phone out of my bag, flipping up the cover, not recognizing the number.

“Yes?”

“Kavanaugh?”

Jeff Coleman.

“I’ve got to talk to you,” I started.

“No time. But I think I know what’s going on.”

“I really need to talk to you,” I insisted.

“I’ll call you tomorrow. We have to meet. It has to do with your friend Simon Chase.”

I couldn’t help myself. “What about him?”

“Listen, I know you’ve got the hots for the guy, Kavanaugh, but he’s not what he seems.”

I paused. “And what’s that?”

“He’s more than a rich casino manager.”

“So what is he?”

Jeff chuckled. “He’s the one who made the appointment.” “What appointment?”

“For the tat. The guy at Versailles. The one I asked you to cover.”

“How do you know?”

“I’ve got his cell phone.”

“What do you mean, you’ve got his cell phone?”

“I lifted it at Viva Las Vegas tonight.”

He lifted it? “You mean you stole it?”

“For a cause, Kavanaugh. For a cause. I checked his call history. He made that call to me. It’s the same number, the same time. Don’t trust him. He set me up. And by extension, he set you up, too.”

“But how did he get that tat done? How did he get the needles and gloves?”

“Gotta go. Tomorrow, Kavanaugh.”

And the call ended.