Page 91 of Random in Death

“Just contact me.”

Eve took the steps up two at a time and found Peabody.

“Bombed,” Peabody said. “But if he bought those items here, he paid cash. They checked. And the cams are overwritten every twenty-four.”

“He bought them here. Carleen remembered him.”

“Holy score! We get a description?”

“Not of him. She fixed on his clothes—quality, neat, conservative. And more, on the shoes he came in wearing. Run a search on what venues carry Alan Stuben dress loafers. Brown leather. With the stupid tassel.”

“Stubens?” Peabody hustled after Eve. “Those are premium. It’s going to be high-end boutiques, high-end department stores, or one of his stand-alones. I know there’s a stand-alone on Madison. I think around Fifty-Third.”

“Check. We can start there.”

“Crap, it’s still raining. Madison and Fifty-Fourth. And crap again, there are over sixty places that carry Stubens in the city, and four more at the Sky Mall. Another three dozen in Brooklyn. Then there’s—”

“Let’s just start with Manhattan.”

Two hours later, they’d covered the first stand-alone, two major department stores, and three boutiques.

“Bombed.” Peabody dropped into the passenger seat. “Coffee. Can I get coffee?”

Eve held up two fingers.

“You’re as wiped as I am. You didn’t threaten me when I let out girlie squeals and longing sighs in that last store. And the venues are closing soon for the day.”

Sometimes you couldn’t fight the clock, Eve admitted. And she was wiped.

“We pick it up tomorrow.”

“I have to say it. They could’ve bought the shoes while traveling.”

“They won’t be his only pair. Maybe of that brand, maybe. Quality clothes and shoes—somebody’s got the scratch to outfit him that way.”

“If he wasn’t a murderer, I’d feel sorry for him for having to dress like a rich doofus. You know what else? Unless he likes the doofus-wear, and why would he, the L&W haul makes him feel like he’s got it.”

“That could be part of it. I’m just like you. Smarter, better, cannier, but just like you. It’s after shift. House or apartment?”

“First, mega thanks for not making me deal with the subway. The apartment. I need to crash for an hour.”

“Pick a downtown venue, send it to me. We’ll start there.”

“They won’t open until ten.”

“Take the gift.”

“Oh boy, will I! We’re going to hit, Dallas. We have to hit. Who’d have thought we’d nail him over his shoes?”

“Scuff marks. First mistake. If he made one at the second scene, we just haven’t found it yet. He made another wearing his dopey clothes in a place like L&W. They got noticed because they’re out of place. Smarter to have bought good kicks or sneaks and the rest. Walk into a higher-end shop, nobody’s going to notice. But he didn’t know any better. Didn’t think that one through.”

“You’re right, and I didn’t think of that, either. But if they keep him on a really short leash, maybe that’s all he could afford, in cash.”

Eve shook her head. “They don’t pay that much attention. If they did, they’d see him. They’d wonder what the hell he’s doing growing poppies, or spending all that time in a lab—maybe his own, because they could afford it, and it keeps him out of their hair. They’d have seen he doesn’t have friends, isn’t dating, isn’t… just isn’t right.”

“Didn’t think of that, either.”

“They’d have seen something twisted in him. They dress him in what they approve of, but they don’t see what’s inside the button-down shirts and pressed pants.”

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