Page 115 of Fire and Bones

“Open up and I’ll present credentials.”

“I do that, you’re not legit, I could be in trouble.”

Possibly Stoll had a point.

“Detective Deery can hold his badge up to the window so you can view it,” I said.

A brief silence suggested Possibly Stoll was thinking about that.

Seconds later, knuckles rapped the inside of the glass.

Deery scowled at me.

I scowled back.

Deery raised his shield.

Possibly Stoll took his time, either studying the info or deciding on a course of action.

“Think he’s phoning the station?” I asked, voice low.

Deery lifted one shoulder.

“Maybe talking to his brother?”

“Maybe flossing his teeth?”

Though snarky, at least it was a response.

We waited, the tense hunch of Deery’s shoulders radiating his displeasure. I wasn’t sure whether it was Stoll or me who was darkening his mood.

And I didn’t care. It was past eight. I was hungry and tired and wanted to get on with the interview.

“Phone off?” Deery asked without looking at me.

I pulled the thing out and flipped the mute button.

As I did so, a lock snicked, and a deadbolt slid sideways.

The green door swung inward.

Possibly Stoll was no longer wearing the ugly parrot tee.

CHAPTER 26

Possibly Stoll had changed to moss-green shorts and a lilac-and-teal Hawaiian shirt featuring Roy Rogers saddled up on Trigger. Up close, his scrawny limbs brought to mind old black-and-white photos of death camp survivors.

Deery’s opener was typically curt.

“Roy Stoll?”

Before the man could react, his exact duplicate appeared at his side, this version still sporting the ugly parrot tee. He, too, looked like he lived on nothing but celery. The cap and shades were gone, revealing hazel eyes flecked with gold and sandy hair fast losing ground to pasty white scalp. Features identical to those of the man to his right.

“My, my. What brings Johnny Law to our humble abode?”

“I assume you are Roy Stoll?” Deery tried again.

“You know what they say about that?” The man’s lips lifted into a smile showcasing remarkably small teeth. “Assume makes an ass out of u and me,” he explained, emphasizing the breakdown in case the joke wasn’t clear.