Part 20 (2/2)
”What? Something interesting in there?”
”Oh, the usual: Tylenol, toothpaste, toothbrush, dental floss ...”
”There you go. You were looking for something positive to say about Weston, and now you have it. The guy might have been a jerk, but he was a jerk with great dental hygiene.”
”Retinol cream, minoxidil, personal trimmer ...”
”He was also getting wrinkles and fighting male pattern baldness while, ironically, combating nose and ear hair.” Nick's eyebrows furrowed. ”d.a.m.n, how old was this guy?”
”Tums, Rolaids, Mylanta, lorazepam ...”
”Stress. And for obvious reasons: he was losing his hair, youth, hair, good looks, hair ...”
”Male enhancement cream, v.i.a.g.r.a ...”
”No, seriously, hon. How old was this guy?”
”Forty-eight,” she replied without missing a beat. ”Condoms ...”
”Ah, okay, so he was. .h.i.tting something younger. Good ... good.”
Stella glared from around the corner of the bathroom door.
”No, no, I don't mean it that way. It was just getting kind of depressing there for a while, that's all.”
”And, finally, Axe deodorant and Axe body spray.”
”Axe? Maybe I should get some of that.”
Stella lifted the cap of the deodorant and inhaled. ”No. No, you shouldn't.”
Nick took the can from Stella's hand and sniffed it. ”Whew. You're right, I shouldn't.”
Meanwhile, Stella had moved to Weston's closet. ”Look at this. Do you see anything strange?”
”Yeah, it's all suits, dress s.h.i.+rts, and khakis.”
”Meaning ... ?”
”Uh, Weston was a metros.e.xual?”
”That was a gimme considering the medicine cabinet. Apart from that?”
”He had a bigger wardrobe budget than you do?”
”Again, yes, but not the answer I was looking for. My first observation was that everything here is either a suit, dress s.h.i.+rt, or khaki. My second observation? Everything here has a designer label.”
”So?”
”So, why was Weston's body found wearing a no-name flannel s.h.i.+rt and jeans?”
CHAPTER.
14.
THEIR SEARCH FOR the painting having turned up empty, Stella and Nick replaced the bathroom window screen at Weston's home and drove directly to Perkins in search of an AC car adapter.
The elderly clerk was once again on duty. ”A what?”
”An adapter that fits into a car cigarette lighter,” Nick explained.
”Nope. Can't say I have one of those.”
”Can you think of anyplace else I could check?”
”There's a small electrical shop twenty miles from here.”
”Great.”
”But they're closed on the weekends.”
Nick ran a hand through his short-cropped dark hair and sighed. ”Okay, here's the deal. My wife and I bought the old Colton place-”
”Yup, I know.”
”But, since we can't stay there-”
”Yup.”
”We bought an air mattress and pump here, in your store-”
”Yup.”
”Only to discover that-”
”Ray Johnson's place don't have electricity!” The clerk completed the sentence with a boisterous laugh.
”You knew that all along and yet you didn't say anything?”
”If I had, you wouldn't have bought the mattress.”
”How neighborly of you.”
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