Simon braces one hand against the thin cotton mattress on the bunk. ‘Why do you think that, dearest?’
‘A message came through before I left,’ Kristin says. ‘A message on the fax machine. I saw it.’
Simon smiles. Nothing of the languorous sleepiness of a moment before is visible in his movements and expressions now.
‘And what did that message say?’
CHAPTER THIRTY
The phone’s bray makes them both startle, but Travis is the one who recovers first. Hot blood still in his cheeks, he disentangles his and Emma’s hands, grabs for the receiver.
‘Uh, hi. This is Travis Bell … Hey, Faye, no, he’s not … Uh, sure, put him through.’ He covers the phone and lowers his voice. ‘Gerry Westfall’s trying to reach Carter.’ He clears his throat, returns to the call. ‘Dr Westfall, it’s Travis Bell here – I’m gonna put you on speaker, okay? One sec.’ He glances at Emma, sees her look down to straighten her shirt – she’s blushing. He finds focus somehow, presses the button on the cream Rolm unit and replaces the phone, speaking a little louder. ‘Okay, me and Lewis can hear you now.’
‘Great.’ Westfall’s voice crackles down the poor-quality line. ‘I’m checking in to see if you got the data I just sent. Carter said if—’
‘Hello, Dr Westfall, excuse me,’ Emma interrupts. ‘What data?’
‘The data I just …’ Westfall makes an annoyed noise. ‘The fax. I sent a fax about twenty minutes ago. With the latest information about the trace analysis. Is Carter there?’
‘You sent a—’ Travis feels his forehead crease. ‘Um, I’m gonna check the fax machine, okay?’
As he gets up to walk to the fax desk, he sees Emma lean forward to the phone. ‘Dr Westfall, Special Agent Carter isn’t here. He’s leading a strike team to a place we think is the latest address of our suspect.’
‘I just love how people keep me in the loop on these things,’ Westfall mutters, before increasing his volume. ‘So it’s only you two?’
‘Pretty much,’ Emma admits.
‘Okay, well, if Carter thinks he’s found the guy, then maybe the new data isn’t relevant.’
‘What’s the new data?’
‘The nail polish.’ Travis speaks over his shoulder; he’s found the fax now. He rips it off the roll and walks back to the desk with it. The flag of paper curls around his hand as he scans the page for the information they need to keep up with Westfall. ‘You tracked it to a few places here in Pittsburgh?’
‘I mean, there’s a whole subculture of ladies who like vintage nail polish, who knew?’ Westfall’s tone, warming to his subject, turns serious. ‘But look, there was a bulk order placed with a Revlon sales supplier in Pittsburgh about eight years ago, before the color was discontinued, which wouldn’t have been noteworthy except the supplier remembered it was all the one color, and all for a single customer – a woman’s name, Vivian Elyse Kirke.’
Emma sits up, spine stiff. Travis hears the ping inside his head. He props himself on the desk with one hand, uses the other to keep the fax paper flat.
‘Doctor, that’s a direct link to our current suspect.’ He reads further. ‘I’ve got the fax here. You got the name of the supplier—’
‘Yeah,’ Westfall says, ‘but check my note right at the top. The shipment order was for a dozen cartons – that’s six hundred and fifty bottles of Frosted Pink Cloud nail polish. It went to a receiving warehouse in Beechview for her to pick up.’
‘You think it’s all still there?’ Emma frowns.
‘Whether it’s still there or not, I don’t know,’ Westfall continues. ‘But it might be where your perp is getting his supply.’
‘How far away is Beechview?’ Emma whispers to Travis as their eyes meet over the phone unit.
‘It’s not far from Crafton.’ Travis’s voice is low. He returns his focus to the phone call. ‘Dr Westfall, I think this might be important. Thanks for sending it through.’
‘No problem,’ Westfall wheezes. ‘But you really need to start calling me Gerry, before this “Dr Westfall” stuff starts going to my head.’
Emma makes a faint smile. ‘Sure, Gerry. Thanks again.’
‘You’re very welcome, Miss Lewis. Ask Carter to check in with me when he gets back, will you?’
‘Will do,’ Travis says, and then the call ends, and it’s just him and Emma staring at each other.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
