Melt (Steel Brothers Saga 4)

Mills spoke up. “Johnny and I have dusted the card, and there are three distinct sets of prints on this card.”

“See, Joe?” Talon rubbed his temple. “Even if we assume that one set of prints belongs to Colin, there are still two others who touched this card.”

I turned to Jade. “Are you sure he never gave you a card? Maybe those are your fingerprints.”

“No. I’ve never seen this card. He never gave me one. Even if he had, why would I hide it under the carpeting in my room?”

I had no answer for her.

“We need to get all of you guys fingerprinted,” Johnny Johnson said. “Just to rule out anyone with access to the house. Your housekeeper too.”

“Of course, whatever you need,” Ryan said. “Though I’m pretty sure you won’t find any of our prints on that card.”

“I’m sure we won’t,” Johnson said. “But we need to rule out everyone in the house first.”

“Why would anyone leave Colin’s card lodged in your room, Jade?” I asked.

She sighed. “Beats me.”

Mills shook his head. “We can’t assume it was Colin, based on the fact that there are three distinct sets of prints on the card.”

“Is there any way Colin’s prints might be on file somewhere? You have access to the state databases at work, don’t you, Jade?” I asked.

“Yes, I do. But I doubt Colin’s prints are available. I don’t think he’s ever been arrested or charged with any crime.”

“What about Larry Wade?” Marj piped in. “Since he’s been arrested, his prints will be on file somewhere.”

Jade raised her eyebrows. “They’ve been on file for a while. Every person who takes the Colorado bar exam has to be fingerprinted. I was.”

“Well then, eureka,” Ryan said, standing. “Let’s get that checked out.”

Mills nodded. “Will do, first thing in the morning. But even if Wade’s fingerprints are positive, there are still two other unidentified sets on the card.”

“And I know just whose they are,” Talon said. “I bet you anything they belong to Colin and that idiot boyfriend of your mother’s, Jade. Nico Kostas.”

Jade shushed him. “For God’s sake, Talon, don’t mention him. My mother’s asleep, but if she hears his name, she’ll wake up in a second. She’s still convinced he’s coming back to her.”

“Besides, you’re jumping the gun,” I said to Talon. “We still have no proof that Nico Kostas is even involved.”

Talon gritted his teeth. “I have all the goddamned proof I need.”

I wasn’t so sure. I wanted to believe we were on the path to o

ne of the other criminals as much as Talon did. But we had no idea where this Nico character was, and even if we found him, we had no proof he was guilty.

Then something occurred to me. Talon was sure. I recognized that look in his eyes.

It was the same look he would have seen in my own eyes when I became convinced of Tom Simpson’s involvement.

I had to tell Talon sooner or later of my suspicion, but now was certainly not the time. I wanted him to heal, and as long as he was hell-bent on catching these guys, he wasn’t paying attention to the things that really mattered—his healing, his relationship with Jade, his relationship with the rest of us.

I looked over at Jade. She was smiling up at him adoringly. Maybe their relationship was okay after all.

“So tell me exactly where you found this card,” I said to the two detectives.

“We can do better than that,” Mills said. “We can show you.”

I followed them down the hallway, Jade at my heels, toward the guestroom Jade had used when she first came to the ranch. The room was vacant, and the carpeting had been pulled up, rolled into a cylinder, and was standing against one wall.