The Man on the Washing Machine
Page 25
I nodded. “Okay,” he said, and gave me a tentative hug. I threw both arms around him and squeezed him tight, and then grunted as he responded enthusiastically, lifting me until my toes dangled off the floor.
“I’ve got a new design—look.” He put me down and turned around to show me that the lightning bolt had been replaced with two interlocking triangles shaved into his short hair. He was wearing a gold stud in his nose instead of the amethyst. “Ben gave it to me,” he said, seeing the direction of my glance. “He had two like it,” he explained kindly.
“Nice,” I said.
He nodded. “Yup. Are you coming in to the store tomorrow? Some little travel bag things arrived today. Haruto says they’re pretty good quality for the price and maybe we can get more than the usual markup.”
“That sounds good. Um—I guess I’ll be in tomorrow all right. Do we still open at ten?”
He laughed his asthmatic’s laugh. “Heh-heh-heh. Yeah. See you tomorrow.”
He and Grandfather left together. I could hear Grandfather asking him about the butterflies as their voices receded down the stairs.
Ben and I faced each other across several feet of Oriental rug. It felt as wide as the Pacific.
Ben said: “I had to protect Charlie and I was afraid you’d have the law on him if you knew where he was.”
“I tried, believe me. He scared the wits out of me.”
“Ever since I first saw you in that bar on the corner…” He frowned.
I took a deep, painful breath. “You knew Charlie wasn’t the killer. Why didn’t you suspect me?”
“I knew it wasn’t you,” he said simply.
That kind of faith was worth almost anything. I still hesitated, and then I almost heard Grandfather’s voice: “It might be a risk, Theophania, but impulsive doesn’t necessarily mean imprudent.”
I would have to tell Ben the truth. Tell him my real name, my family’s history, the reason I was in San Francisco. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to give up all my secrets. But a first step would be crossing the carpet. I watched his face as I took one step, then another, and then a third. I stood in front of him and waited, my heart hammering in my chest. I’d gone as far as I could. The next step was up to him.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to Helen Norris for allowing me to borrow her San Francisco shop for Aromas; to Susan Dunlap, Judy Greber, Louise Ure, Linda Williams, and Gloria White for being the role models a writer needs, and for their unflagging encouragement; to the Mystery Writers of America and to Minotaur Books who jointly had a wonderful idea for a writing competition; to Kelley Ragland and Elizabeth Lacks of Minotaur for knowing their way around a blue pencil and for making me feel welcome at the Flatiron; to Melody Chasen for not being surprised and to Gabriella Kennaston Schuermann for sharing the ups and downs. And special thanks to my mum, Jean “Cis” (Gibney) Cox, who has taught me by example how to triumph over tragedy and paddle my own canoe.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
SUSAN COX is a former journalist. She has also been marketing and public relations director for a safari park, a fund-raiser for nonprofit organizations, and the president of the Palm Beach County Attractions Association of Florida. She considers herself transcontinental and transatlantic, equally at home in San Francisco and Florida and with a large and boisterous extended family in England. She frequently wears a Starfleet communicator pin, just in case. Her first novel, The Man on the Washing Machine, won the 2014 Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel Competition. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE MAN ON THE WASHING MACHINE. Copyright © 2015 by Susan Cox. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover illustration © Jon Wolf
The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.
e-ISBN 9781466872790
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First Edition: December 2015