“Like Abbott and Costello?” I laughed.
“Only which of us would play the straight man?” He grinned.
“I’m going to go out on a limb and say neither?”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess it won’t work out. I’ll just keep being a doctor.”
“Good.” I hugged him when he neared me. “This town needs you, remember?”
His gaze flickered. “Right. About that.” He cleared his throat. “I… uh… might have some exciting news—”
My cell rang, and I grimaced. I didn’t want to cut him off, but I had a lot of calls coming in right now concerning the murder investigation.
He gave an understanding smile. “Go ahead and answer it. I need to get going anyway. We can talk at lunch, okay? Pancake Cottage at 1:00 p.m. sound good?”
“Yes. Absolutely.” I gave him a quick kiss.
He patted Grumpy on the head and hurried to the front door.
I answered my cell. “Sheriff Callum.”
“Hey, Sheriff,” Deputy Sam’s voice came over the line. “I thought you might want to know we got a hit back on Archie’s fingerprint.”
“Okay.” I wasn’t quite sure why he thought that was something I needed to know immediately. It was customary to verify the identity of a deceased person through fingerprints or dental records.
He must have heard something in my tone because he added, “Sorry. What I meant to say was the fingerprint doesn’t belong to Archie Brady.”
“Wait. What?”
“The fingerprint we took from Archie isn’t a match. That print isn’t associated with an Archie Brady.”
I gripped the phone tighter. “Who does it belong to?”
“A couple of people, actually.”
I set my coffee down, and some of it spilled onto the table. “Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack.”
“Uh, I’m heading to the station now. Be there in fifteen.” I hung up, feeling confused. I shaved and dressed quickly and then hurried to the front door. Grumpy trotted after me, watching me with a soulful expression. “Don’t look at me like that. Tomasina is coming soon to take you for a walk.”
Grumpy wagged his tail and whined.
“Now, don’t be like that. You love Tomasina.” I opened the door.
Grumpy gave an indignant bark.
I smiled and shook my head. If Grumpy had his way, he’d go everywhere with me. It might be a little distracting for the witnesses if I questioned them while holding my dog. I ignored the guilt his little bark sent through me. He’d be fine. The minute Tomasina showed up, he’d forget I existed.
As I drove the short distance to the station, my mind swirled with the little information Deputy Sam had given me. I’d thought Archie was a squeaky-clean type of guy, but he’d had multiple identities? That was shocking. I’d never have suspected that of him. We didn’t have a lot of identity theft in Rainy Dale, but Archie hadn’t struck me as the type. I pictured that type of criminal as flashier. Archie had been more reserved and kept mostly to himself. Although, he had managed to get engaged to the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in town. Had Kobe been right all along? Had Archie just married Janelle for her money?
When I walked into the station, Deputy Sam met me in the hallway. He carried a manila folder, and he held it out to me. “Are you as astounded as me?” he asked.
I took the folder and opened it. “You sure there’s no mistake?”
“I’m sure. Unless you don’t trust the AFIS system.”
“I trust it. It’s simply surprising that, of all people, it would be Archie.” I flipped through the report, shaking my head. There were three charges of larceny and one charge of insurance fraud associated with the print we’d taken from Archie. “How is it possible this is the same guy?”
