Dead in the Water by Glenda Carroll Read Free Book Online Page A

he was.”
    The conversation was cut short when the front door opened and in walked Spencer Matthews, the man I met when I returned the swim bag.
    “Hey, girls. What’s going on?” He looked at us curiously. Pam started to introduce us.
    “We’ve met,” he interrupted, staring at me, then shifting his eyes to Lena.
    “My sister, Lena,” I said. He nodded.
    I think he was wearing the same clothes as before. Knife-edge khakis, blazer, boat shoes. Maybe that’s all he owns. He certainly wasn’t dressed to help his wife clean up the house.
    Pamela walked over to a low cupboard and opened a drawer. It was crammed full of medals, ribbons, even some photos. She pulled out a photo of Dick’s high school swim team.
    “See, there he is,” and she pointed to a tall skinny kid in the back row.
    “Look at those big bushy sideburns,” Lena said.
    “I remember those things,” Spencer said, looking over Pamela’s shoulder at the picture.
    “You knew Pam and Dick back then?” I asked.
    “We all grew up together,” he said.
    “Bet his swim coach gave him grief for those,” Lena said.
    “There was a compromise. Remember the Olympic swimmer from around that time, Mark Spitz? He had a dark mustache. Dick’s coach wouldn’t let the boys on the team have long hair, but if Spitz had facial hair, then the guys could have sideburns,” she chuckled.
    “Who’s the white guy with the Afro?” asked Lena.
    “Justin Rosencastle. Not a very nice person, even to this day. Big competitor of Dick’s, but always in his shadow. He thought he didn’t get as much of the coach’s attention as Dick did.
    Spencer turned and walked out of the room. Pamela looked as if she had just swallowed sour apple juice.
    I scanned the high school swim team photo. The swimmers were sitting on bleachers near a pool. At the bottom was a list of names. There was Richard Waddell, third from the left in the back. In front of him was Justin, the kid with the Afro.
    “Do you know him?” Pamela asked. “He’s still swimming and he is in this area.”
    Lena shook her head.
    “Don’t think so,” I said. “We need to go. Do you mind if I use your bathroom? It’s a long drive home.”
    Pamela pointed toward the hallway and I passed Spencer coming out of what looked like Waddell’s bedroom. I closed the bathroom door and waited a few minutes. Then, I quickly pulled open the drawers on the pine vanity. Toothpaste, floss, super strength deodorant. A brush with strands of blond hair. Soft earplugs. A homeopathic salve for sore muscles. An electric razor. A few throw-away razors. In the bottom drawer were a variety of different colored condoms.
    The large area under the sink held cleaning supplies, as well as shampoo, mouthwash and an extra large bottle of liquid soap. That was it. No medicine for cholesterol or blood pressure. No prescriptions at all. And nothing that looked the least bit illegal. I could hear the muffled voices of Spencer talking with Pamela and Lena in the dining room.
    I opened the bathroom door and moved quietly down the hall to the room that Spencer had just left. I paused. The three of them were still talking.
    I put my hand on the silver doorknob and slowly turned it. It gave a slight click. I pushed the door open, first an inch, then two inches, then wide enough to slip through.
    The setting sun created long shadows in the big room. Wall-to-wall carpet swallowed up the sounds of my rapid breathing and shuffling feet. There was a California king sized bed covered with a navy blue bedspread near the window. Sitting directly in the middle of the bed was Waddell’s red, white and blue swim bag.
    A grey towel was resting on top. I pulled it out. Underneath were two caps, one yellow, one red. I put them on the bedspread. Stuffed into the corner of the bag I could see the edge of a plastic sandwich bag. I reached in and gave it a tug.
    “What are you doing?”
    Spencer walked into the room and stood near the doorway. He moved toward