Connor Shawn’s death has effectively and completely reopened the investigation into Carlisle.

Until his head showed up in Eastside Park, not only was I expending very little effort on it, but I was approaching it the same way it was done last time. My assumption was that Nicholson had done it, based on motive, evidence, and opportunity. But I had never considered that it might have much larger implications. Rita Carlisle had not seemed like someone who could possibly have had mobsters interested in her.

So much for that approach.

We have people digging into Shawn’s history, but short of finding out that he was Rita Carlisle’s cousin, it seems as if we’ve been looking at it the wrong way. Shawn came here and fabricated an elaborate ruse to get me to look into the kidnapping, and he didn’t do that without a very important reason.

This is not proof positive that Nicholson is innocent. It’s conceivable that he had a reason to commit the murder beyond the apparent lovers spat that was the basis of the prosecution. For all we know, Nicholson could have had organized crime connections himself, and some larger reason for wanting Rita dead. But if he did, no one ever found it, or even suspected it.

Bradley calls Nate and me into his office, and I assume he’s looking for an update. If he’s expecting fast progress on this, he’s going to be one disappointed captain. Because the truth of the matter is that we are going to have to re-create the Carlisle investigation from scratch. In retrospect it seems not to have gone so well the first time, and now it’s three years older and colder.

But Bradley isn’t looking for information; he’s called us in to provide some. “I spoke with Special Agent Wiggins of the FBI about Shawn.”

“Anything interesting?” Nate asks.

Bradley nods. “In a way. The most interesting part was how our conversation came about. I didn’t call them; Wiggins called me before I had a chance to.”

“He knew it was Shawn?”

“He did.”

I’m surprised by this, because Shawn’s identity has not been made public. “How did he know that?” I ask.

“That’s exactly the question I asked him, and he wouldn’t answer. So I pressed him again, and he said there was an investigation going on and that Shawn was one of the people under surveillance. I asked why, and he said that he wasn’t at liberty to say.”

“Let me guess,” Nate says, “he wants us to lay off.”

Bradley smiles. “Not in so many words; he can’t expect us to not investigate a murder. But he wants to be apprised of any developments.”

“Did you mention Carlisle?” I ask.

“I did; I said we thought it was related. He asked why I thought that, and I said I was not at liberty to say. He wasn’t thrilled with that answer.”

“Tough shit,” Nate says.

“You’re going to get pressure from above on this; the Feds are going to go to the chief,” I say.

Bradley nods. “I’ll handle it. But it will be easier to handle if we solve the damn thing sooner rather than later.”

“Did you learn anything else?”

“I asked him if he had any idea why Tartaro might have sent Shawn here, and he said Shawn doesn’t work for Tartaro, that Tartaro has nothing to do with this. He was so adamant I thought he was going to tell me that Tartaro doesn’t actually exist.”

“Bottom line, they’re going to be more of a pain in the ass than a help?” I ask.

Bradley nods. “I would say that’s a safe bet. In the meantime, we’re putting surveillance on Silva.” Then, “You guys getting anywhere?”

I update him on my conversation with Roberts, the Vegas cop. It actually fits with Bradley’s discussion with the Feds, at least as far as Shawn no longer working for Tartaro. “But he must be working for somebody,” I say. “He didn’t wake up one morning and decide to fake amnesia. And I don’t think he was into scrapbooks.”

We don’t have anything else to tell him, and nothing ends a meeting quicker than lack of any progress to talk about. Nate and I head off to our own office to plan our next steps.

“You think we should go to Vegas?” he asks.

“Is this about the elastic women again, or did someone tell you about the buffets?”

“Wiseass.”

The idea of going to Vegas and questioning Tartaro is one that I’ve been kicking around, but it’s way premature. What we need to do now is focus on Carlisle. Shawn’s lying to get me to look into Carlisle is by definition a reason to do so.

Bradley has wanted us to downplay it, to not make public the fact that we are reopening that case. Of course the problem with that is when we talk to witnesses, those witnesses are going to know we are not just rekindling old memories.

Those witnesses are going to be upset and curious, and they’re going to talk to people.

But first they’re going to talk to us.