Infinite Loop - Chapter 17

It Must be a Coincidence

Warren gave the driver a grin before he carried the luggage inside. He followed Amber as they walked up the stairs. After entering the tastefully decorated lobby area, they took the narrow stairway up one floor to apartment 1A.

“Some digs for a single lady,” Warren remarked as she opened the door.

“It’ll do,” she said coldly. “Go straight to the bathroom on the left and get out of those clothes. You can get a shower, and I’ll track down another set of clothes.” Her eyes narrowed as she closed the door. “Whatever you do, don’t let the landlord see you. I want to keep this apartment, and a single lady cannot have any male visitors here.”

He grinned at her worry; his green eyes sparkled at her when he put her luggage down near the large pale sofa. “Inviting a man into your apartment for a shower? You don’t act like a typical lady,” he joked.

“Listen; keep your wisecracks to yourself. I’m tired, and you’re not funny,” she said. “Go in there and give me your clothes. I’ll take them to the cleaners and find you some others. What’s your size?” She gave him a glare that reminded Warren of his mother.

“Ok, hold on.” He went into the bathroom, closing the door. Amber stood outside.

“Wait a minute. You can’t remember your own clothes size?” She asked, and the thought irritated her.

“You must lead a pampered existence. Just call up the tailor for them to give you a new suit of clothes,” she called out sarcastically as she waited.

“I have a question. When I had the cabbie pick you up, you could have yelled out and had me arrested. Why didn’t you?” Warren’s voice echoed slightly from the room. He waited for a moment.

“Are you still out there?”

Amber’s face showed the turmoil inside.

“Yes, I’m still here,” her voice barely above a whisper.

“What’s your answer?” he cracked the door, peeking out.

“I couldn’t do that,” she confessed. “I know you didn’t kill that sailor, which means you didn’t kill Krupin. But the harbor police sure think you did. They told me they had your weapon, and the sergeant said the police believe you used it to kill both men. I’m sure they are sending it to the Boston police for testing. I believe they were just trying to get me to tell them where you were hiding.”

He nodded and closed the door. “No matter what happens, you have my thanks for that. It might give me a fighting chance. Nobody else would have done it.”

Amber leaned against the wall, suddenly drained. A moment later, Warren held out the foul-smelling bundle of clothes wrapped in a towel. He gave her his sizes.

“I’ll rely on you not to dress me like a fool,” he said. “Do you need some money? I was going to let the stuff in my pockets dry in here.”

Amber took the package while holding the offending bundle away from her; she went to pick up her purse.   

“You can pay me later,” she called out as she went out the door.

When Warren finished soaping and rinsing several times in hot water, he stood at the sink wrapped in two white towels. He went through the small pile of items he pulled from his pockets. The penlight still worked despite the swim. However, his notebook and the papers in his wallet did not fare as well. He laid out the still wet dollar bills and the notebook across the top of a steam heat fixture which was not operating at the moment.