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?“What should I do with it?” Mark worried.
?I put out my hand. “Leave that to me.”
?He handed it to me, and then sat on the bed, disheartened. “Well, I wanted to get screwed. Apparently, I have been.”
?I drew close and put a hand on his shoulder. “This is a very involved case, Watkins.”
?“Cut the Holmes crap, Sheryl,” Mark snapped. “I am out of my depth. A pretty girl drugs me, someone breaks into my apartment, steals my gun, takes a shot at your ex-husband, and then kills him. Whoever did this is way ahead of me. What other clues could he have left that point to me?”
?“Candy Poole was the one who drugged you. She has to be in on it. If we can get to her…question her.”
?“Sheryl, it’s two in the morning,” Mark complained. “I’m exhausted. I have to sleep.”
?“You’re right, Mark,” I agreed.
?“That’s twice you’ve told me I’m right.”
?“That’s because it’s the second time you have been,” I told him with a smile. “We both need to get some rest.”
?“It would make sense if you stayed here.”
?I eyed him with suspicion.
?“It’s not a come-on. I’ll take the guest room,” he conceded.
?I stood dumbfounded. “You have a guest room?”
?“More like an oversized walk-in closet, but it does make it a two-bedroom condo.”
?“And increase the asking price?” I offered.
?“Don’t I know it,” he sighed.
?“It’s your place, Mark. The guest room is fine for me.”
?“Okay, the bed is comfortable,” Mark said. “Let me get some clean sheets…if I have any.”
?“You seem to be keeping up with the housework.” I looked around and peered under his bed as he went to the hall closet and got some sheets. “I don’t see any large dust bunnies attempting a coup.”
?He moved past the “dining room” table, which was actually a table in the part of the living room near the kitchen. He then opened the door to the guest bedroom, which contained a small single bed, and began to put sheets on it.
?I watched. It’s nice to see a man do domestic tasks with such obvious skill. He didn’t have any doubts or confusion, but set to the chore as if it was second nature.
?Let me tell you, it was sexy.
?Mark talked. “At first, after Susie was gone, the place looked like a bomb hit it. And I couldn’t throw anything out—I mean, you know, of hers.”
?I nodded solemnly. “This was where you lived together.”
?“It’s the only New York apartment we…I ever had. We moved in as renters. When the building went condo, we bought.”
?“I can see a lot of feminine touches,” I said, and picked up a small snow globe from a bookcase. It held a glass rose within it. “There’s a sense of history here.”
?He kept tucking in the cloth and didn’t look up. “We were happy.”
?“I hate to be a bother,” I inquired, “but all my clothes are at home or the hotel. Do you have any of her nightgowns?”
?He hesitated for a moment. “I…kind of…have all of her clothes in a closet, but I doubt her stuff will fit you. You’re a lot taller.”
