None of them expected otherwise. In truth, Willy was known for submitting immaculate paperwork, but in his own time.

“As I was saying,” Joe resumed, “we’ve done well enough cross-communicating, so I’m not asking for anything drawn out and detailed, but what’s our status quo?”

“The least I can do is start off,” Willy volunteered. “Ron and I went by Cheri Pratt’s in Bratt—she’s Kalfus’s mom—to break the news. We didn’t give her details, but she knew what he did for a living. He brought her souvenirs now and then, like a tray or clothes. She mentioned a bouncer gig in Keene, which I guess is what Les and Sam dug up over there, and she gave us Don’s girlfriend, Robin Whiteman. I haven’t put eyeballs on Whiteman yet, but I ran her through the database and got only moving violations and a single citation for underage drinking a few years ago. Course, that might mean we just never caught her.”

“But so far,” Joe summed up, “Mom supported the image of Don’s being a low-level, uncomplicated thief. Any mention of confederates?”

“Only Whiteman, who may or may not be one. But I figure she’ll at least tell us more than Cheri did.”

“So we’re not yet ruling out that he was working with someone and they had a falling-out,” Joe said.

“We are not,” Willy confirmed.

“Sam and Les?” Joe asked. “You confirmed the bouncer job, yes?”

“Correct,” Sam answered. “It lasted under two weeks, and he used a bogus last name. The strip club owner said both were typical for the job.”

“Did the manager give any more detail about that fight between Shaw and Don you reported?”

“We pushed him harder at the end,” Lester told them. “But he swore he was too far away to hear what happened. Whatever it was, it was bad enough to cause Don to walk out, stealing Shaw’s keys from his coat pocket on the way, and drive away with a new ride.”

Joe offered a Socratic challenge. “What’re the implications there?”

“How did Don get to work?” Willy asked, used to the boss’s style. “If he’d had a car, he would’ve been forced to leave it behind in the lot.”

“Did he know Shaw from before, or just see him arrive?” Sam asked in turn. “I wondered about that at the time, but the manager seemed clueless about everything. He didn’t even report his suspicion that Don stole the car to the local cops.”

“Shaw might’ve paid the manager to keep quiet out of embarrassment,” Willy suggested. “Shaw certainly lied about how it got stolen. Don caused the fight so he could fake being pissed off and leaving. He was a thief, after all, and the car was high end.”

“That’s some sophisticated thinking,” Lester commented doubtfully. “But to your point about Shaw being dodgy, he did play dumb when we showed him Don’s picture.”

“There’s something else,” Sam stated. “Something about him and Lucy, his wife. Les and I definitely got weird vibes from them.”