Riddle Read Free

continued, “You may go and freshen up. I’ll see you at seven.” Then she strode off toward the kitchen.
    Kort watched her straight back as she walked away. There was no invitation to see the changes in the house although he could see beyond the hall to the dining room which was brighter and newly furnished. Taking a deep breath he mounted the stairs wondering what other changes he would find upstairs. 

Chapter 2
     
                  It didn’t take long to see what else had been changed in the house where he had grown up. Like the downstairs, the upstairs had been painted. Gone was the old print wallpaper and the walls were now a soft cream color, the stern family portraits replaced by quiet pastoral scenes. Perhaps most interesting was the fact that all the doors stood open revealing rooms lit by rays of sunlight. His father, Agnes’s “late husband”, always insisted the doors remain closed. Kort’s old room lay at the end of the hall and he glanced into the other bedrooms and the bathrooms as he passed them. Reaching his bedroom he stopped short. It had been completely redecorated, nothing of his remaining. The posters that had adorned his dark walls had been removed. His captain’s bed replaced by a twin bed covered with a deep brown quilt that complimented the cream colored walls. His old armoire was still there but it had been stripped and polished and a realistic display of artificial sunflowers in a small copper pot sat on top. Kort stepped into the room setting his suitcase on the floor at the foot of the bed. Normally he would have tossed it on the bed, but this wasn’t his room any more. This was a guest room in a house he no longer knew.
    Taking a deep breath he stepped into the small bathroom that had been his, the bathroom where he had learned to shave and would stand at the window to sneak cigarettes, blowing the smoke outside to avoid being caught. He wasn’t surprised to find this room was also changed. Two walls had been painted a rich brown, the others the same cream color as the bedroom. The shower curtain had been replaced by one that was cream colored with brown and gold stripes. Kort had a feeling he was going to get sick of all the neutral colors rather quickly.
    Going back into the bedroom he carefully set his small duffel bag on the bed and began to unpack. Pulling out a thin blue folder he opened it slowly. A list with the telephone numbers for all the contacts he would need was on top. He needed to call his parole officer to let him know he had arrived and was settling in. He was scheduled to meet with his new employer, Riddle Construction, at eight the next morning. No time to get into trouble. He didn’t mind. The sooner he started working the quicker he could save up enough to get his own place. Once he had unpacked and stored his meager belongings he went into the bathroom and started the shower. He had not had a private shower since he’d been moved to Eastern State. Steam filled the bathroom and he quickly stripped down and stepped into the hot water. Bending his head back he allowed the water to run down his body, the pressure strong and pulsing unlike the weak cool stream he’d become accustomed to. Eyes closed he instinctively reached up to the shower head for his hanging soap only to remember it would not be there. A small shelf with travel sized bottles of body wash, shampoo, and hair conditioner hung there instead. Opening the shower gel he sniffed it and almost laughed out loud at the flowery scent that filled his nostrils. He would have to replace that with something more masculine before the next day. Grateful for the privacy and the cleansing products he scrubbed his body and his hair. Drying off with the thick brown towel, he proceeded to wrap it around his waist and go back into the bedroom. He selected a pair of jeans and a tee shirt from his bag and went to the closet to see if any of his belongings remained. Surprised, he saw that his clothes and