The Second Mouse - Archer Mayor [96]
“Right,” Massucco confirmed, sitting slightly straighter in his chair. “High Top’s a local boy. Been a customer of ours since he was eight or so. Parents were a mess; older brother from a different father is doing time up north for sexual assault of a minor, but he was High Top’s primary influence before we nailed him. High Top himself’s never gone for the violent stuff. He mostly steals, hustles small-scale dope deals, and earns his nickname. The only times I’ve ever seen him, he’s looking like a space cadet.”
“Any ideas where he disappeared to?”
“Not a one. We interviewed all his contacts and got nowhere.”
“His PO thinks something bad happened,” Joe told them. “He said High Top could be a smartass but was otherwise harmless, and he was regular as rain when it came to checking in, since he didn’t want to go back to jail. Did any of you come across anything in your digging that might connect him to the Martin-Robbinson trio?”
“Only Piccolo’s,” Massucco said.
They all looked at him.
“That’s—or was—one of his hangouts. It is for Mel Martin, too.” He tilted his head equivocally to one side. “Of course,” he added, “the same thing could be said for half the lowlifes in this town, so that’s hardly a neon arrow.”
“Martin’s into drugs,” Willy said flatly.
“True,” Massucco agreed. “But it’s not his primary line. He’s mostly a thief and a bully—more into beating people up.”
Joe was by this time leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets, too restless to sit at the table with the others.
“All right,” he said. “What about the whole reason we’re here, which is Michelle Fisher? Has anyone found anything connecting her to Mel, Mel to Newell Morgan beyond the sale of the truck, or for that matter, anyone to anyone?”
Lester asked almost mournfully, “You all read my report?”
“Yeah,” Willy conceded, “but that was it, right? The two old snoops that live on her road, seeing Newell’s truck go by?”
“That’s all I could find.”
“And they weren’t even sure who was at the wheel each time.”
Sam tried supporting Lester. “Newell didn’t sell the truck until after their last sighting of it.”
“They said one thing,” Lester spoke slowly, “that didn’t make it into my report, mostly because they didn’t actually see it.”
Predictably, Willy let out a laugh. “That stopped you?”
“I asked them,” Lester continued, ignoring him, “if they could see how many were in the passing truck from their angle, and they said no.”
“Meaning Newell and Mel could’ve ridden together at some point, like on a training run,” Sam suggested.
Joe rubbed his forehead. “Okay. Let’s back up a little and see what we’ve got.” He began counting off items on his fingers as he resumed pacing. “We’ve got Michelle dead of propane poisoning and clear signs of how that was both done and covered up. We’ve got circumstantial evidence pointing at Newell Morgan having an interest in her, being resentful of her, and finally benefiting from her death. We’ve got Newell establishing a firm alibi for the time of that death, but also selling his truck to a man with a known history of violence who could have functioned as the agent of Newell’s intentions.”
“Meaning we ought to lean on Mel to see if he’s got an alibi,” Willy cut in. “Along with a fattened bank account.”
“And if Newell has a thinner one,” Sam added.
“We don’t have enough probable cause to get warrants for that,” Joe cautioned.
“Plus, Michelle’s house is for sale,” Lester said.
They all stared at him.
“So what?” Willy asked.
“That may be the money—or part of it—that’ll end up in Mel’s pocket if this was a contract killing,” he said.
Joe smiled at the notion. “Les is right,” he agreed. “Newell’s on disability. His wife works at a bottom-level job. They’ve got their own house and she says they’re okay, but my bet is, that’s about it. If Newell did want Michelle killed but didn’t have the cash to pay for it, selling that house becomes crucial.”
“Wow,” Sam murmured. “So the house she lived in was the symbol of her happiness, and the grubstake to finance her death.”
“Could be,” Lester said.
“So how do we find out,