The Artist and the Actor – 26

 

 

Early Thursday afternoon, Colin's phone vibrated. He took it from his pocket, hoping it was Shane. They'd talked briefly on Wednesday when Shane called to tell Colin he'd be free on Saturday, until seven, if they wanted to go out to eat. That was fine with Colin—more than fine, actually. He had been afraid Shane might have second thoughts despite everything he'd said.

 

Colin checked the caller ID, saw it was from Detective Randall, and asked, as soon as Randall identified himself, "Have you learned anything new?"

 

"Yes. That's why I'm calling. I also have some more questions for you."

 

"I presume you'd like me to come to the precinct."

 

"Yes."

 

"I can be there in twenty, give or take."

 

"I'll see you then," Randall replied before ending the call.

 

"Short and sweet," Colin said, glad he'd stopped painting to eat something. He checked to make certain he had what he needed and took off.

 

When he entered the precinct house, Detective Randall was waiting for him. As soon as they were seated at Randall's desk, the detective said, "I spoke with the man who was the lead investigator on your brother's murder. As you implied, and he confirmed, there was nothing to say who killed him, so it's now a cold case. He did tell me one thing, there were no fingerprints on any of the shell casings, which means the killer must have worn gloves when he loaded and then reloaded the gun. We found the same thing with Mr. Logan's murder." He smiled briefly. "Or didn’t find it, meaning fingerprints."

 

Colin thought about it before saying, "Given the fact it's March, and still chilly at night, wearing gloves probably wouldn't have set off in warning bells for either Logan or my brother, right?"

 

"That's my feeling, and the sheriff's investigator agrees."

 

"Did you find any other murders with the same pattern?"

 

"Nope," Randall replied succinctly.

 

Frowning, Colin asked, "Why take the car keys and nothing else? That would have clued the police immediately that the motive wasn't robbery. Not that the number of times Kenny was shot, and Logan, wouldn't have anyway."

 

"Exactly. That makes your bother's murder personal. It's possible your bother and the killer drove to the murder site together, got out of the car and perhaps had an argument. Kenny gets back in the car, planning to drive off and leave the other person behind. The killer grabs the keys from him and then begins shooting. That was the investigator's reasoning, at least, and it makes sense given what he saw and what little evidence he found."

 

"You agree with him?"

 

"As far as your brother's murder is concerned, yes."

 

"But not Logan's?"