him seriously.
'Without waiving privilege?' he asked.
I gave him my word.
'First of all, we've got that thing your cops keep calling an
admission.'
'It's a classic admission, Slip. The police kick the door, and your
guy blurts out, 'I know what you're looking for.' Leads them right to
the paint.'
'Right. He leads them to the paint. If he's giving himself up, why
doesn't he point them to the hammer? Because he didn't know it was
there.'
'But what made him think they were there for the paint? Because he saw
the early news stories about paint being on the dog,' I said, answering
my own question.
'No, Sam, because he stole it. He's been keeping his nose so clean he
thought the police were barging in over a couple of cans of paint he
took from the building site. He was going to paint his mom's house.'
'Isn't that sweet?'
'You're starting to sound as insensitive as the rest of your office.'
'Sorry, Slip, but I'm not buying it. A judge he's threatening turns up
dead, and when the police look at him, he thinks it's for petty
theft?'
'He didn't know the woman was dead. This is not a man who keeps up
with the news. I'm telling you, I believe him. You've got to
understand, the only thing that drives this guy is keeping his kids. He
thought if he got caught with the paint, he'd lose the Glenville job
and it would hurt him with everything else that's going on. I guess
one of the other workers at the site saw him take it, so when the
police showed up, he assumed the guy had ratted.'
Now that was interesting. It would tie whatever Slip was talking about
back to the property. 'What do you mean someone saw him?'
'He noticed that some workers had left a couple buckets of paint
outside on Friday, so he went back with his truck to pick them up. He
says another worker was still there and saw him. Melvin started to
make up a story, but the guy told him to go ahead; he wouldn't tell
anyone.'
'Does he know who the man was?'
'Since we're being so honest with each other, all he could tell me was
'some white guy.' But, c'mon, there are lawyers in your office who've
given a witness a lineup with worse initial statements. Get me some
pictures and I'll see what I can do.'
I shook my head. 'There's a ton of people working down there. And it
doesn't do you any good anyway. So what if he stole the paint? It's
still on the victim's dog, so he's still tied to the victim's
disappearance.'
Unless, of course, the mystery man who spotted him with the paint had
something to do with it.
'Let me ask you something,' I said, 'what does Jackson say about how he
got the job?'
Slip pulled a file from his briefcase. 'I was getting there. Melvin
runs an ad in the Penny Power classifieds. Two lines only costs a few
bucks, and he occasionally gets a home maintenance job, that sort of
thing. Well, last Monday, he gets a phone call from a Billy Minkins.
Melvin's pretty sure about the name, but he never actually met him. He
hired Melvin as an independent contractor for twenty bucks an hour,
more than Melvin's ever made.'
I scribbled down the name on a cocktail napkin.
'The check he got is from a company called Gunderson Development.'
I didn't need to write that one down.
'I didn't find a listing for either Minkins or the company,' Slip said,
'but you're probably in a better position to track someone down. Maybe
you can get a picture of Minkins, see if he's the one who told Melvin
to take the paint.'
'You're pushing your luck, Slip. I'm here to listen. Don't tell me
how to do my job. Tell me about the fingerprint on the door.'
If Slip was convinced Melvin was innocent, he must have an explanation
for the print.
'Melvin went to the house Wednesday night. He was so excited about the
new job, he thought it might help if he talked to her in person.'
That's what Melvin's mother had said.
