Page 52 of The Perfect Stranger

“How many pieces of fruit per box?”

“Two dozen.”

“Were there any boxes left over?”

“Yes.” This caught Carlo’s attention who up until now had been flicking a pen between his fingers.

“What happened to those boxes?”

“They remained in the truck around the back. Because so many people were sick, Frederico ordered us to unpack the truck around at loading.”

“So you unpacked sixty boxes and there was still some left in the truck?”

“Yes.”

I turned to Carlo. “Who takes care of ordering?”

“Frederico.”

“Show me the books.”

Carlo dug through the desk drawers and retrieved the order book. He flipped through to the date before passing it to me.

This was all the proof I needed.

“Thank you, Juanita. You can leave now.”

Carlo waited until the girl had closed the door before starting, “I don’t understand. What did that achieve? I could have told you some workers were sick, and Frederico was in charge.”

“I know.” I grabbed my jacket and stood ready to leave. “Carlo, have you ever killed someone before?”

“No.”

“Then you don’t know what it’s like to end someone’s life. The guilt. It’s even worse when the life you just ended was actually the wrong person. Someone who was innocent. Someone who had a family he would never return to. I don’t want blood on my hands that doesn’t belong there. Research is important, Carlo. Now I know for certain.”

“How will you find him?”

I smiled. “That’s the easy part.”

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