Page 40 of 3rd Tango
According to Meg’s notes, Evelyn’s boyfriend, who also had a multitude of aliases, is dead. Jacoby is missing. Last known whereabouts the D.C. area during the bank robbing spree.
I return the sketchbook to the desk and take the list to my office. I call Matt’s girlfriend, Taylor, and miracle of miracles, she answers on the third ring. I ask our FBI insider in charge of cold cases if she’ll look up who the agents were that investigated the London Fog Gang in the 90s. I want to see if I can interview them and get any background information on Evelyn.
Taylor tells me she’s on her way to a meeting and will call me back.
When I’m thinking, I rock in my chair. Back and forth, back and forth. Could this Evelyn and the woman in the painting be the same? Was Marie hanging around a known felon and his girlfriend? Is she herself wanted by police?
Is Gayle?
Surely if either were, it would’ve come up in our investigation. Al certainly would’ve checked that possibility out, wouldn’t he? This timeframe matches when he was still at the Bureau.
I’m digging in to what I can find myself about Evelyn and what ties she might have to Marie and Gayle, when my contact at Family Ties interrupts. “Preliminary results will be ready at three,” Chuck says. “You can pick them up then.”
“Are you kidding?” It’s already two-thirty. “Did you put a rush on them?”
Chuck doesn’t sound happy about it. “When the AG asks for something to be done fast, we aim to please. Lucky for you, the original medical examiner had the DNA extracted from both the teeth and femur bones when the body was found in 2004. Our forensic expert ran separate samples, and will have a complete new analysis done in a few hours, but even with our advances in technology, it’ll probably show the same results.” He clears his throat. “Remember this the next time I need your services. I expect a deep discount.”
“Your ex giving you problems again?” I tease. I’ve yanked his chain several times in the past few months, but he owes me after the dirt I found on that woman. “Look, I really appreciate it, and I’ll put a good word in with the AG for you.”
I hang up to find Haley walking in with a pink message slip. “Mike Grenado.” She hands it to me. “Still playing phone tag?”
I sigh, reading the message. “He stood me up after I drove all the way out to Valley View. Lives on the ninth hole. I suppose meeting with a PI asking questions about his former partner slipped his mind.”
“That must be why he said he’s sorry.” She stares at the painting JJ bought me. A far cry from the masterpieces Meg has. “He must have the bucks if he lives on that golf course.”
“Must have.”
On the slip, in her curly handwriting, she has in quotes,Sorry about today. Al – good guy, great partner.
I glance up at her. “That’s all he said?”
She nods and we hear the beep of the front door. Mom’s voice echoes down the hall before Haley gets two steps into the hall. “Charlie? Meg? Anyone here?”
Haley intercepts her and they exchange a greeting. Mom appears in the doorway and I stare at her in surprise. “Lunch over already?”
“Well, itisnearly three. My car quit, can you believe it? I tried calling your sister to come get me, but she’s not answering. Where is she?”
Meg being at the police station after she and Matt were tailing Mom and Al is a subject I don’t want to get in to. “I’m not sure,” I lie. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“I knew you were busy.”
She didn’t call me because her date was with Al. “It was nice your friend could drop you off. Doesn’t she want to come in?”
Mom glances away, brushing her hands over her linen pants. “Oh no. She had to get going.”
Sure she did. “Any clue as to what’s wrong with the car?”
“The starter’s acting up. My, uh, friend called a service and had it towed to the garage.”
“Mom, I know you had lunch with Al. You don’t have to hide it.”
She seems shocked. “How did…”
“Private investigator, remember? Former FBI profiler? Forensic psychologist?”
A shake of her head, topped off with an eye roll. “Okay, fine. You got me. We were discussing the case, that’s all.”
I close my laptop and stand, grabbing my bag. No word from Taylor, I have a file of facts to read about Evelyn later, and Meg’s hasn’t shown up yet. “How about you come with me to pick up the lab results on our unidentified body?”
