George started to sweat. Buying clothes for himself was a lot easier. “Uhm, he’s smaller than me, reaches up to here.” He indicated with his hands where Andi’s head ended below his collarbone. “And he’s leaner than me.” He held his hands apart to show how broad Andi was in the shoulders.
The shop assistant nodded and smiled. “So most probably a size forty.”
George nodded. That sounded right. “I’m a size forty-two/forty-four for jackets and sweaters.”
“Wonderful. Now, what’s his hair and eye color? If you happen to know.” She didn’t sound hopeful, and George couldn’t blame her. He wondered how many men walked into the shop not knowing such vital information. Well, he wasn’t one of them.
“His hair is kind of a dirty-blond with lighter strands at the top. He keeps it quite long because he doesn’t like going to the barber. His eyes are this mixture of blue and gray with a little green thrown in.”
The utter surprise on her face made George’s chest swell with pride. He did pay attention to detail, no matter what his mother claimed.
“That’s quite accurate. I rarely have customers who know these things at all.” She rushed over to one of the pyramid squares where all kinds of sweaters were displayed and selected a few. George immediately knew Andi wouldn’t go for the bright red and probably not for the apple green either. The gray-purple one, though, could be a winner. As well as the caramel-colored one. George pointed at the two sweaters in question. The gray-purple had a V-neck and close-fitting cuffs. The caramel had loose cuffs and a turtleneck. Both were unbelievably soft to the touch.
“They don’t chafe at all, you can put them in the washing machine, though not the dryer, and they’re among the sturdiest we have. Plus, both of them are sixty percent off.” The shop assistant smiled brightly.
George looked at the price tags, trying to decide which one he should buy. They were both gorgeous. After a moment, he handed the shop assistant both. It might be reckless, but he felt kind of wild today. Or perhaps it was his worry about what Andi would be doing the next day that he needed to soothe somehow. It didn’t matter. The sweaters were good quality, Andi could definitely use them, and the price was reasonable.
“I’ll take both.”
Her smile became even brighter, and she hurried to the cash register, as if she was afraid he would change his mind at the last minute. After George had paid, he went home with his new purchases, already wondering how he should go about giving them to Andi.
10. A Dip in the Past
ANDI WOKEup knowing he had to prepare his bedroom for the afternoon when he came back from their trip to Swamp Fox Trail. After a quick visit to the bathroom, he got the bucket, placed it right next to the bed. A box of ibuprofen went on the nightstand, together with two bottles of water and his sleeping mask, which would help him keep the light out. The window was tilted, letting fresh air in. Andi rubbed his face with his right hand. He really wished he didn’t have to do this, but their choices were slim. Even without Chief Norris just waiting for them to fuck up, they desperately needed a nudge in the right direction to know on which suspects from the ever-growing pool they should focus. The insects around the house were quiet this morning, a small mercy Andi gladly accepted. He went into the kitchen to drink some orange juice before George arrived. His partner was always super-punctual, which left Andi about three minutes to get his juice. Andi had just taken the first sip directly from the carton—he lived alone, so it was perfectly okay—when he heard George’s car in the driveway. Opening the door, Andi saw the surprise on George’s face.
“You’re up.”
“Yes, I’m up.” It wasn’tthatrare for him to be at least vertical when his partner arrived. Andi was just about to get his jacket when he realized George was fidgeting. He was also holding a paper bag in his left hand.
“What’s that?” Andi pointed his chin at the bag. George gulped, his Adam’s apple jumping like a frog in a swamp.
“Uh…. You see, when I went home yesterday… uhm….” George changed the bag from his left to his right hand, then back again. He hesitated for a moment before thrusting it toward Andi as if he wanted to get rid of whatever was in there. “This is for you. It was a sale, no big deal.”
Curious, Andi looked inside the bag. He spotted a nice gray-purple sweater. When he took it out, a second one came into sight, this one caramel. George was scratching the back of his neck. “Yours are all a bit—outdated, and I thought you would like something new.”
With sudden clarity, Andi knew George was unsure about his reaction. As if there was any doubt. Without any effort on his part, Andi was now in possession of two brand-new gorgeous sweaters that would save him from having to expend the energy to get them himself. It was a bit like having his own fairy godmother.
“Thank you so much, George. I like them. You don’t happen to have some jeans for me as well?”
Andi had meant the last comment mostly as a joke to lighten the mood, though one could always hope, he figured. The way George’s face lit up like a Christmas tree told him he had said something right.
“No, but I can totally get you one or two. You see, the boutique where I bought the sweaters, they’re having a sale, and I’ve seen some jeans which would look good on you—”
“That sounds wonderful, George, but you have to let me pay for them.”
The relieved expression on George’s face puzzled Andi. “Did you think I’d let you pay for everything?” He had more than enough money.
George shook his head violently. “No, no, that’s not it at all.” He sighed deeply. “You see, all the way from my place to yours I’ve been wondering how you were going to take this present, if you’d get angry because I overstepped, and I know you don’t like going shopping and I thought this is something I can help you with….”
Andi forced his heartbeat to slow down. George was being nice, but George wouldn’t be here forever. “I’d appreciate it. Going shopping means talking to people.” He gave an exaggerated shudder.
“I can take care of that for you.” George smiled, the nervousness from moments before completely evaporated. “Are you ready?”
“To go and listen to Chief Norris? Never.” Andi put the bag with the sweaters on the small table he had in the hall, slipped on his jacket, and closed the front door. He spent the drive to the precinct eating his bagel, because when he had to deal with the chief first thing in the morning, he needed all the energy he could get.
Norris was as unpleasant as always; after a short “Morning,” she went right for their throats.
“I’m still waiting on reports about your progress, Detectives. I assume there is progress?” The way she lifted her brows made perfectly clear she knew there was nothing noteworthy so far.
