“Excuse me, I’ve got someone at the pharmacy counter,” Gordy said, setting down his coffee cup and ducking behind the counter.
“Excuse me, ma’am, I came to see some pictures,” Floyd said playfully.
“I just happen to have some here for you to see.” Barb took a manila envelope from under the counter. “Like I explained, this photo lab specializes in recovering old film and pictures.” She spread four eight-by-ten-inch enlargements on the counter alongside a CD in a plastic case. “They sent me an electronic file after they enhanced the development. I made two prints of each picture with different color balance and downloaded their file onto a CD for you.”
Floyd stared down at two pictures of the man’s bare chest. In both pictures the blood was more vividly colored than in the first pictures Barb had printed. The contrast was sharper and it left Floyd even more convinced the person in the picture was indeed Aaron Roberts.
The other picture was of the five friends sitting at a table. He could make out details of the Beroun bar in the background that hadn’t been visible in the original picture. The color and length of Aaron Roberts’ hair was consistent between the pictures. Betsy Ring and Mike Nelson looked drunk and happy. Melissa Smith looked unhappy. Aaron and Kathy looked sober and pained. Jennifer Zollner’s comments about Kathy not drinking came to mind and he looked at the glasses on the table. The glass in front of Kathy contained dark liquid in a distinctive tulip-shaped Pepsi glass while all the others had clear amber liquid he assumed were beer.
“Look at the cuts on his chest,” Barb said, diverting Floyd’s attention from the bar photo. “It looks like they were cut in a crosshatch pattern.”
“Some are like that,” Floyd agreed, “but these others are loops and arches.” The blood trickling down from each cut obscured the pattern. The bloody image was almost too much to stare at.
Floyd slipped the pictures and CD into the envelope and tucked it under his arm. “I assume the drugstore will bill the department for this.”
Barb shrugged. “I can’t. I paid for them myself.”
“Have Gordy pay you back, and then bill us.”
“He’ll shit a brick. The work cost fifty bucks.”
“They’re worth that,” Floyd said. “You used good judgment and found a way to improve our evidence. We’ll pay for it.”
Floyd held up the envelope and waved to Gordy, who was talking to a customer at the pharmacy counter. “These are great! Barb did a wonderful job on them.”
The pharmacist waved like he understood.
Barb was watching William Powell and Myrna Loy in The Thin Man when Sandy got home from his shift. She jumped up from the couch and met him at the door with a kiss.
“What got into you?” he asked.
“People are being really nice to me, and I’m learning to like it.”
“Who’s being nice?”
“Everyone!”
“Give me an example.”
“Pam Ryan is picking me up tomorrow morning. We’re going to Duluth to pick out a wedding dress and a ring for you.”
“That’s cool,” Sandy said as he peeled off his shirt and walked to the bedroom. “Pam’s fun. You should have a great time.”
Sandy spread his sweaty clothes over the back of a chair and the laundry hamper. “I’ll be really happy when this heat breaks. I hate going back and forth between the air-conditioned cruiser and the hot air all afternoon.”
“I watched the news. They said there’s a cool front coming through tomorrow. We might get some thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. Barb watched as Sandy chose fresh underwear from a drawer.
“You never watch the news,” Sandy said as he walked to the shower. “You told me it was too depressing.”
“People at the store want to talk about stupid meaningless stuff like the weather and terrorism in the Far East. When I watch the news I can talk to them.”
“You’re really turning a new leaf,” Sandy said as he started the shower and stepped into the tub. “Will I still recognize you when you’re fully evolved?”
“Of course,” Barb said to the shower curtain. “I’m going to be a more refined version of what I’ve always been.” She thought for a second and then said, “Mary said you and Floyd are doing something during the shower tomorrow. What’ve you got planned?”
“Floyd said he was taking me out for lunch. I think we’re going to Hinckley.”
“You’re not planning a stag party, are you?” Barb’s voice held a rare tinge of concern.
“The groom doesn’t plan the stag party; his friends do.”
“I know what happens at stag parties. Remember, I used to be the entertainment.”
“It’s traditional,” Sandy said, teasing.
A smile spread over Barb’s face and she slipped out of her T-shirt. She slid the shower curtain back and stepped into the tub. “This is the only stag party you’re going to need,” she purred.
CHAPTER 29
The following day Pam arrived at Barb and Sandy’s apartment at 9:00 and didn’t get a response to the knock on the door. She was about to knock again when Sandy pulled the door open.
“C’mon in. Barb’s trying to wake up under the pounding water in the shower and it’ll take her a few minutes more to get ready. Would you like a cup of good coffee?”
“Sure. Thanks.” She followed Sandy to the kitchen where he took out a second cup and poured coffee. “Do you have any input on what you’d like to see in a wedding dress or ring?” She asked.
“I suppose something subdued and white in a dress, and something round and gold in a ring.”
“Smart ass,” Pam said with a smile.
“Use your own judgment. I think your tastes will…um…buffer Barb’s. My only request is that you keep the spending under one paycheck.”
The sound of the shower stopped and Barb hummed as she dressed. “She’s the happiest I’ve ever seen her,” Sandy said. “I think most of her life has been a toilet and she’s finally realized what we have is real and permanent.” He paused. “Pam’s here!” he shouted.
“I’ll be another minute or two,” Barb replied. “Give her some coffee.”
“What are you doing about a ring for Barb?”
Sandy shook his head. “My lips are sealed.”
“So,” Pam said with sparkling eyes, “you do have plans.”
Sandy nodded.
Barb emerged from the bathroom with damp hair, wearing a conservative dark blue blouse and tan shorts. “I’m sorry I’m running a little late.”
“Not to worry. There’s no schedule or rush,” Pam said. “We’re going to have a relaxed, fun day.”
“Let’s go!” Barb said as she slipped on a pair of sandals and fluffed her damp hair with her fingers.
At noon, Sandy met Floyd at the apartment door. “So, where are we headed?” Sandy asked.
“I need to make a stop at the garden center in Hinckley, then I thought we’d have lunch at Tobies.”
“We’re buying plants?” Sandy asked as they walked to Floyd’s pickup.
“I need to talk to Kathy Tucker again.”
“Isn’t this about the fifth time someone’s questioned her?”
“I think it’s the third,” Floyd said. “She’s not coming clean with us and I’ll keep asking questions until I get straight answers.”
The sky was clear and the heat shimmered off the pavement as they drove the interstate north to Hinckley. Dark clouds colored the western horizon as they turned off the interstate at the Highway 23 exit.
“It looks like we might get a break in the weather,” Sandy said. “It’s too bad we’re in this cycle where the only time we get cool breezes is when they blow in with thunderstorms.”