something on his computer screen while I took off my coat and scarf.
After he was finished with the computer, he took another gander around the sales floor before turning his full attention to me.
“I know you’re a private detective, hired by Neil’s father to look into his death,” he said, getting right to business. “But that’s 75
F639BE36-0B80-4264-BA79-F0E13F235E3A
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about all I know. Anthony said you’d fill me in on the rest.”
That wasn’t exactly true. I had no intention of filling Darrell in on anything other than what I needed him to know in order to get him to talk to me. And that, it seemed, had already been accomplished. “Yes,” I said with a nod. “I’m leaving for Dubai tomorrow.
I understand from Anthony that you and Neil had been dating?”
“I guess you could call it that,” he said with a head bob, a circumspect look on his face. “It’s more than that, really. Or, it was , I guess I should say. We kinda broke up before he left Saskatoon.”
“Kinda?”
“It’s a long story.”
I stayed silent.
Good’s anxious eyes made another hurried search outside his office. Was he checking for unattended customers? Keeping an eye on staff? Or was it something else? “We’d been together a little over a year when Neil got the position in Dubai,” he said when he was done. “I don’t even think he really wanted it at first. But his stepmother pressured him into it. Anyway, after that, things started to go downhill for us. I mean, how could we realistically expect to keep up a relationship without seeing each other for six months? And it wasn’t as if he was going to come home once a month or anything like that. Once he was there, he was staying.
Any time off he had from his responsibilities at the university, he would be using to shop for these carpets they were all so gaga over. The only way we could possibly work was if I went with him. At least for a while. But that wasn’t going to happen.”
“Oh?” I expected Darrell Good to say he’d been scared off by the reputation of the Middle East as being considerably less than gay-friendly. Instead, I heard something quite different.
“No way. My dad would never let that happen.”
I studied Darrell Good’s face closer. Yup, I was right the first time. He was no longer a teenager. Far from it. If I were to guess, he had to be in his mid- to late-twenties. So why was he talking about his father as if he were twelve?
“The Middle East? As a gay man? Visiting another gay man?
Are you kidding me? According to Dad, that was asking for trouble. No way he’d let me go. And, of course, the timing was bad 76
F639BE36-0B80-4264-BA79-F0E13F235E3A
A n t h o ny B i d u l k a
too. Dad and Mom head to Arizona every fall, until well after Christmas. If I went with Neil, there’d be no one left to look after the business. Dad and Neil even had a big fight about it. But, well, my dad’s never met a fight he doesn’t win—one way or another.
So we broke up. Neil went without me.”
“I’m sorry. That must have been very difficult for you.” You big wuss.
“Yeah, it was. And now, after what’s happened, Dad is really lording it over me. Him and Mom just got back a couple of weeks ago. He walks around here spending half his time telling me how right he was and all. He doesn’t even care that Neil is dead. All he cares about is being right.”
You must really need this job, I thought to myself. Why else would you put up with that kind of abuse?
“Your father and Neil didn’t get along then?”
Good shrugged. “They didn’t really know each other. I mean Neil came to a few family functions, but Dad never spent much time with him. It was just that kind of thing.”
“I understand.” I sort of did. “Darrell, do you know if Neil was at all concerned himself about going to the Middle East because he was gay?” If Pranav Gupta was right about the killing being motivated by homophobia, I
After he was finished with the computer, he took another gander around the sales floor before turning his full attention to me.
“I know you’re a private detective, hired by Neil’s father to look into his death,” he said, getting right to business. “But that’s 75
F639BE36-0B80-4264-BA79-F0E13F235E3A
D a t e w i t h a S h e e s h a
about all I know. Anthony said you’d fill me in on the rest.”
That wasn’t exactly true. I had no intention of filling Darrell in on anything other than what I needed him to know in order to get him to talk to me. And that, it seemed, had already been accomplished. “Yes,” I said with a nod. “I’m leaving for Dubai tomorrow.
I understand from Anthony that you and Neil had been dating?”
“I guess you could call it that,” he said with a head bob, a circumspect look on his face. “It’s more than that, really. Or, it was , I guess I should say. We kinda broke up before he left Saskatoon.”
“Kinda?”
“It’s a long story.”
I stayed silent.
Good’s anxious eyes made another hurried search outside his office. Was he checking for unattended customers? Keeping an eye on staff? Or was it something else? “We’d been together a little over a year when Neil got the position in Dubai,” he said when he was done. “I don’t even think he really wanted it at first. But his stepmother pressured him into it. Anyway, after that, things started to go downhill for us. I mean, how could we realistically expect to keep up a relationship without seeing each other for six months? And it wasn’t as if he was going to come home once a month or anything like that. Once he was there, he was staying.
Any time off he had from his responsibilities at the university, he would be using to shop for these carpets they were all so gaga over. The only way we could possibly work was if I went with him. At least for a while. But that wasn’t going to happen.”
“Oh?” I expected Darrell Good to say he’d been scared off by the reputation of the Middle East as being considerably less than gay-friendly. Instead, I heard something quite different.
“No way. My dad would never let that happen.”
I studied Darrell Good’s face closer. Yup, I was right the first time. He was no longer a teenager. Far from it. If I were to guess, he had to be in his mid- to late-twenties. So why was he talking about his father as if he were twelve?
“The Middle East? As a gay man? Visiting another gay man?
Are you kidding me? According to Dad, that was asking for trouble. No way he’d let me go. And, of course, the timing was bad 76
F639BE36-0B80-4264-BA79-F0E13F235E3A
A n t h o ny B i d u l k a
too. Dad and Mom head to Arizona every fall, until well after Christmas. If I went with Neil, there’d be no one left to look after the business. Dad and Neil even had a big fight about it. But, well, my dad’s never met a fight he doesn’t win—one way or another.
So we broke up. Neil went without me.”
“I’m sorry. That must have been very difficult for you.” You big wuss.
“Yeah, it was. And now, after what’s happened, Dad is really lording it over me. Him and Mom just got back a couple of weeks ago. He walks around here spending half his time telling me how right he was and all. He doesn’t even care that Neil is dead. All he cares about is being right.”
You must really need this job, I thought to myself. Why else would you put up with that kind of abuse?
“Your father and Neil didn’t get along then?”
Good shrugged. “They didn’t really know each other. I mean Neil came to a few family functions, but Dad never spent much time with him. It was just that kind of thing.”
“I understand.” I sort of did. “Darrell, do you know if Neil was at all concerned himself about going to the Middle East because he was gay?” If Pranav Gupta was right about the killing being motivated by homophobia, I
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