“No,” Joe said. “His story is that he called around and got nowhere.”

“Maybe because everybody thinks Trevor’s an asshole,” Willy suggested, “and wouldn’t tell him. That might support Sam’s idea.”

Joe asked directly, “You saying Melissa and Don were an item?”

“Not necessarily,” Sam said. “Just that Trevor wasn’t the reason Don was there. It would explain why Don felt free to grab some of Trevor’s stuff as he headed out: he didn’t care about Trevor.”

“Okay,” Joe agreed. “Sounds good as a theory.” He looked at Willy. “You met Robin Whiteman. Did she say anything about Don cheating on her?”

“I didn’t have the chance to ask,” Willy explained. “But I will when I talk to her again.”

Joe scratched his neck thoughtfully. “Good. This has all been good. We’ve definitely identified a few paths to explore. Willy, go for that longer conversation with Whiteman. Sam and Lester? I like your idea of retracing Don’s last journey. And if you’re right about Melissa being the reason Don was at that apartment, it becomes an additional reason Trevor Buttner had an axe to grind. I’d like to put Trevor in the frame for killing Don if that’s where he belongs, so maybe a chat with Melissa will help.”

“What about Scooter?” Sam asked.

“That’s on your plate, too,” Joe told her. “Don Kalfus grabbed that phone from somewhere. Let’s hope you and Les get lucky and find out where.”

“And Shaw meeting Kalfus at the strip club?” Lester asked. “We still leaving that on the back burner?”

“You and Sam’re going to pick up Don’s trail in that parking lot,” Joe replied. “Keep your eyes open for exactly why he might’ve stolen that particular car. We will be shining more light on Mr. and Mrs. Shaw, but when we do, it would help to have more weighing them down than a marital spat with a couple of unexplained loopholes.”

The squad began readying to disperse, when Joe glanced down at his desk and saw a printout from the ME’s office.

“One extra piece of news,” he spoke over the general rustling. “I heard from Dr. Hillstrom that she found a long sliver of wood in Don Kalfus’s head wound. Likely cause of death was single blunt force trauma, as Sammie suspected, but now we have a vague idea of the instrument used.”

“Baseball bat?” Willy aired generally. “How quaint. I guess the candlestick was missing.”

“Beverly thinks not,” Joe answered seriously. “She suggests we look for something like a two-by-four.”

CHAPTER SIX

“Hey, hon,” Lester greeted his wife, dropping his coat over the back of a chair and settling in beside her on the couch facing the TV. “Looks like I’m gonna be spending quality time with another woman for a few days.”

Sue, still in scrubs, kissed him and replied, “Sammie again? When’re you two going to make it official?”

Lester laughed. “Probably two minutes before Willy cuts my throat with a KA-BAR.”

She muted the sound on the local news. “What’re you two up to?”