Room for Suspicion by Carol Light

Author:Carol Light
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery
ISBN: 9781959988243
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2023-03-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Connie’s friend Betty had been more than willing to donate her late husband’s clothes and clean out his side of their shared closet. It wasn’t a large space, and Crys suspected that Betty was looking forward to having more room for her own clothes.

“I don’t have sons like Connie,” Betty said. She had a soft, shy voice. “No one to give these good suits to, and it’s not worth the price of dry cleaning to take the cigarette stink out of them. I wouldn’t hand them over to anyone I knew without doing that.”

“Don’t worry—someone will appreciate them.” Crys removed a pair of navy slacks from their hanger and folded them. Ed’s taste in clothes had been traditional, mostly blues and tans, so maybe he had been more conventional than the loud and boisterous man she’d imagined.

She had initially suspected that Betty smoked, given the cigarette smell that had caused her to sneeze when she’d entered the house last week. But Ed had been the culprit, and the odor of his tobacco habit had outlived his departure. The clothes reeked. Betty was right—they might have to be aired out before they could be given away, even to strangers.

“Does your church have a resale shop?”

Betty reached her hands in the pockets of a plaid summer blazer. “I don’t want those old biddies pawing through Ed’s clothes.” She pulled out a store receipt and looked at it before crumpling it. “Cigarettes. And him a fireman. You’d think he’d know better.”

Judging from the gentle brush of her hand on the jacket as she folded it, Betty had more regret than resentment for Ed’s vices.

“Why don’t I take some of these hangers, too? Charities or dry cleaners can always use them.”

Betty agreed to part with half of them. Crys didn’t push her, even though most people had at least twice as many hangers as they would ever use. She was always happy for any victory this early in the purging process. Her clients tended to gain confidence in parting with belongings as they saw the positive changes made in lightening up the first space they tackled.

With four black garbage bags of Ed’s clothing donations sitting in the back of her van, Crys headed to a nearby Goodwill donation center. They could sort out the cigarette smell. She’d spent less time at Betty’s house than she’d planned.

The helpers at Goodwill handed her a receipt to fill in for the donation, in case Betty wanted to claim it on her taxes. While she was out, Crys also deposited the check Betty had given her for her work.

She considered visiting Farrah on her way home, but she had a lot to do before the kids finished school. She also wasn’t sure if Farrah was allowed visitors other than family. And with Randy missing, even if she could see Farrah, today might not be the best time.

The weather had stayed mild but windy, and being out with other people enjoying a beautiful autumn day filled her with positive energy until she sneezed.

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