Shampoo and a Stiff Read Free Page A

she noticed one of his pens in his front pocket. “Oh, that reminds me!” she muttered with frustration.
    “ What?” Steven asked inquisitively.
    “ When I was going through my order, I found one of your pens in one of the boxes. I meant to bring it back to you,” Bekki sighed as if she was disappointed in herself.
    “ I'm sure it wasn't mine,” Steven said quickly.
    “ I'm sure it was,” Bekki countered, her voice hardening slightly.
    “ Excuse me?” Steven asked the tension growing thick between them.
    “ I mean, it had your name on it,” Bekki clarified and smiled to ease the scrutiny of her gaze. “At least, your initials,” she pointed to the pen in his pocket.
    “ Oh,” Steven blinked a few times and then shrugged. “I often lend them to the customers and employees. One of the employees must have accidentally dropped it in there.”
    “ I'm sure,” Bekki nodded a little. “So, do you think Brad was involved in something he shouldn't have been,” Bekki continued in a conspiratorial whisper.
    “ I'm sorry?” Steven glared openly at her. “What are you implying?”
    “ Well, I was just wondering if maybe he had some enemies, or some debt, that might have come back to haunt him,” Bekki explained with a slight shrug.
    “ Listen Bekki, I appreciate your business,” Steven said sternly as he held her gaze with his own. “But I'm not about to discuss my brother's personal life with you. This isn't some murder mystery on television, my brother is dead, and I am grieving his loss.”
    Bekki glanced over at a forklift that was driving a stack of boxes through the warehouse.
    “ I can see that,” she said quietly before looking back at him. “I'll be sure to get that pen back to you.”
    “ Keep it,” Steven waved his hand dismissively. “I really do need to get back to work,” he added as he started to step back into his office.
    “ Of course,” Bekki nodded. “But don't overdo it, Steven. You have to have time to heal,” she added. He glanced back over his shoulder and Bekki caught a glimpse of a shadow of emotion that crossed his features. She instantly regretted the way she had been toying with him. He had lost his brother after all, and if they had been in business together for so long, they must have been fairly close. As she walked away from the factory she wondered if she was wrong to suspect that Steven knew more than he was sharing.
     
    ***
     
    Bekki's mind was spinning after her conversation with Steven. Even though he claimed to be so close to his brother, he didn't seem to be terribly devastated by his loss. The traffic was lighter on the way home, and she made it back into town just in time to meet Sammy for lunch.
    “ Hey, I saw the salon was closed,” Sammy greeted her with a frown when she walked into the diner. “Is everything okay?”
    “ Yes,” Bekki smiled as she hugged her friend and then sat down in the booth across from her. “I just wanted to check on something.”
    “ Uh oh, getting involved in Brad's death, hmm?” Sammy asked as she took a sip of her soda.
    “ Not involved exactly,” Bekki argued with a touch of defensiveness.
    “ Well, don't look now if you don't want to get involved,” Sammy replied and tilted her head towards the entrance of the diner. “But Tom just walked in.”
    Bekki looked up to see Tom walking towards the diner counter. She could tell from the way he was carrying himself that he was still a little shocked. She had heard from Nick that Tom was going to be released that morning on bail. She was glad to see that he was out, but she knew that didn't mean he was out of the woods.
    “ Tom!” she waved to him and gestured to their table. Sammy was surprised that Bekki was inviting him over but she slid in further on the vinyl seat of the booth so that Tom could sit beside her.
    “ Hi,” Tom said quietly and kept his gaze lowered.
    “How are you doing, Tom?” Bekki asked hesitantly. Tom glanced up briefly, only to look back