“Sure, babe.”
Tean frowned at him, and for some reason, the glasses made it weirdly effective.But all he said was “There’s nothing in here but clothes.”
Jem checked the nightstands.He held up two books bound in fake black leather—a set of LDS scriptures.Stephen Anderson was stamped across the bottom.
Fanning the pages, Jem gave the books a quick look.Then he held them out to Tean.“He’s got a lot of stuff highlighted.”
“But the pages are practically new,” Tean said.“And the spine is stiff.I don’t think he ever actually read these.”
“Probably too busy using those condoms.”
Tean frowned again at that.“I suppose that’s further confirmation that he’s not who he claims to be, not that we needed it.Did you find anything in the bathroom besides the condoms?”
“Nope.”
“Then I suppose this was a dead end.”
“Nah, we’re just getting started.Remember how to check the baseboards?”
Tean groaned.“But this is a hotel room.”
“Okay.You can start with the lamps.”
“What about them?”
“Check the bulbs.See if the base comes apart.Figure out if there’s any way to hide something inside them.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know.Evidence for why he would murder Gerald.”
“We don’t know that he murdered Gerald.Remember, someone else killed Tafton.”
“Sure, babe.”
While Tean inspected the lamps—with such disapproval and disappointment that Jem was surprised the lamps didn’t fall apart when he looked at them—Jem went to work on the dresser.He pulled out each drawer.He checked the undersides.He ran his hands along the runners, picking up the faint grease on the metal and finding nothing.He shifted the dresser out from against the wall.He stuck his head into the opening where one of the drawers used to be.
The scraping sound of metal made Jem wiggle out of the dresser.
Tean was unscrewing one part of the lamp from another.A surprisingly boyish grin flashed, and he used the back of his hand to resettle his glasses.“It comes apart.”
“Good job, babe.”
Next, Jem checked the pictures.He pulled them down and checked behind them.He patted the backing paper; it crinkled and rustled, but he didn’t feel anything out of place.
“I’m going to check the bathroom again.”
The addie was starting to land.His heart was beating faster.He was warm, and he flapped the sweatshirt to get some air on his skin.Something about the light seemed different, which meant his eyes were doing something weird.
When he stood on the toilet to wiggle the fan casing, he got a rush.For a moment, he rode the high.And then he started seeing black spots, and he grabbed the shower rod and had to wait it out.
He was careful when he left the bathroom, but everything seemed fine.His head was clear—finally.He was awake.It was like he’d been sleepwalking, and he’d just now opened his eyes.
Tean was reassembling the lamp.With what sounded like genuine disappointment, he said, “Nothing.”
“It was a good try, babe,” Jem said absently.He dropped onto the mattress again, considering the room.He was talking to himself when he said, “Where’d you put it, motherfucker?”
“I suppose that depends on what you think he has,” Tean said.
