because I believe she was a good person.”
Glen nodded, his red eyes blinking away tears. “She was great. I really loved her.”
“Did you see her hanging around anyone lately you hadn’t seen before?”
“Not really. Not that I can remember.”
Archer kicked clothes aside, getting down on one knee to look under the bed. He hooked an arm onto the mattress for balance. The bedroom was trashed. It smelled of pot smoke, cigarettes, and dirty laundry. There was no excuse for an adult human being to live that way. Archer hadn’t left his bed unmade since his first day of boot camp in the Marines.
There was nothing under the bed but more clothes. Archer stood and walked to the closet, inspecting the overhead shelving. He pushed hangers around and kicked at a pair of shoes on the floor. Then he returned to the bed and lifted one side of the mattress off the box springs. That’s where he found the wad of cash. Archer hoisted the mattress up and braced it against his shoulder, then reached in with one hand and scooped out a sandwich baggie filled with money. He dropped the mattress and stepped around to the foot of the bed.
Glen was still standing in the doorway. His eyes widened at the sight of the cash.
Archer shook the baggie, displaying his discovery.
“Does this belong to you?” Archer asked.
Glen shook his head.
“Did you know it was there?”
“I’ve never seen it before,” Glen said. “How much is in there?”
Archer turned the baggie over in his hands. It was thick enough to grip like a baseball. He opened the runner to break the seal and dumped the wad of cash into one hand. The bills were held together by a pair of thick rubber bands. He touched the wad to his nose, gave a sniff. The outermost bill was a hundred-dollar note. He peeled back one corner and saw that the note beneath it was another hundred. So he thumbed to the middle of the dense wad of bills and found that they were all the same.
“There’s several thousand dollars here,” Archer said. “Perhaps your fiancé was saving for a raining day. Why would she have been hiding money under your mattress?”
Glen shrugged.
“Looks like she didn’t want you to know about it. Did she have a job? Did she work anywhere?”
“No,” Glen said.
“Where would she come by a few thousand bucks like this?”
“Don’t know,” Glen said. His eyes were still red and glassy. He looked half asleep and half stoned.
“Does it surprise you to see this?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Would she have stolen from you?” Archer said.
“No way, man. She wasn’t like that. She’d never take anything from me. I gave her anything she needed.”
“Did she ever sell dope on the side on her own that you might not know about?”
“No way,” Glen said again. “She didn’t sell at all. She wasn’t interested.”
Archer removed the rubber bands and fanned the cash out on top of the dresser. His eyes made a quick scan and he counted fifty-five hundred dollars. Cecile hadn’t wanted Glen to know about her little stash. No other logical reason to stow it under the mattress. But this hadn’t been collected over time. A wad of hundreds like that had come into her possessing in a single burst. The money had come from a single source as a single payment.
Could it be connected to her death and the heroine needle in her arm, Archer wondered?
“The police didn’t find her cell phone,” Archer said. “Have you seen it?”
“No, but I’ve looked around some. She always had it with her. She wouldn’t have left it here if she’d gone out somewhere. I’ve called it several times but it goes straight to voice mail.”
“Did she pay her own phone bill?”
“I took care of it. I took care of everything for her.”
“Do you pay for a plan through a major carrier?”
“Yeah, we both used Sprint.”
“Can you manage your account online?”
Glen nodded. “Yup.”
“Do you have a computer here you can log on to?”
“Sure, my
Glen nodded, his red eyes blinking away tears. “She was great. I really loved her.”
“Did you see her hanging around anyone lately you hadn’t seen before?”
“Not really. Not that I can remember.”
Archer kicked clothes aside, getting down on one knee to look under the bed. He hooked an arm onto the mattress for balance. The bedroom was trashed. It smelled of pot smoke, cigarettes, and dirty laundry. There was no excuse for an adult human being to live that way. Archer hadn’t left his bed unmade since his first day of boot camp in the Marines.
There was nothing under the bed but more clothes. Archer stood and walked to the closet, inspecting the overhead shelving. He pushed hangers around and kicked at a pair of shoes on the floor. Then he returned to the bed and lifted one side of the mattress off the box springs. That’s where he found the wad of cash. Archer hoisted the mattress up and braced it against his shoulder, then reached in with one hand and scooped out a sandwich baggie filled with money. He dropped the mattress and stepped around to the foot of the bed.
Glen was still standing in the doorway. His eyes widened at the sight of the cash.
Archer shook the baggie, displaying his discovery.
“Does this belong to you?” Archer asked.
Glen shook his head.
“Did you know it was there?”
“I’ve never seen it before,” Glen said. “How much is in there?”
Archer turned the baggie over in his hands. It was thick enough to grip like a baseball. He opened the runner to break the seal and dumped the wad of cash into one hand. The bills were held together by a pair of thick rubber bands. He touched the wad to his nose, gave a sniff. The outermost bill was a hundred-dollar note. He peeled back one corner and saw that the note beneath it was another hundred. So he thumbed to the middle of the dense wad of bills and found that they were all the same.
“There’s several thousand dollars here,” Archer said. “Perhaps your fiancé was saving for a raining day. Why would she have been hiding money under your mattress?”
Glen shrugged.
“Looks like she didn’t want you to know about it. Did she have a job? Did she work anywhere?”
“No,” Glen said.
“Where would she come by a few thousand bucks like this?”
“Don’t know,” Glen said. His eyes were still red and glassy. He looked half asleep and half stoned.
“Does it surprise you to see this?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Would she have stolen from you?” Archer said.
“No way, man. She wasn’t like that. She’d never take anything from me. I gave her anything she needed.”
“Did she ever sell dope on the side on her own that you might not know about?”
“No way,” Glen said again. “She didn’t sell at all. She wasn’t interested.”
Archer removed the rubber bands and fanned the cash out on top of the dresser. His eyes made a quick scan and he counted fifty-five hundred dollars. Cecile hadn’t wanted Glen to know about her little stash. No other logical reason to stow it under the mattress. But this hadn’t been collected over time. A wad of hundreds like that had come into her possessing in a single burst. The money had come from a single source as a single payment.
Could it be connected to her death and the heroine needle in her arm, Archer wondered?
“The police didn’t find her cell phone,” Archer said. “Have you seen it?”
“No, but I’ve looked around some. She always had it with her. She wouldn’t have left it here if she’d gone out somewhere. I’ve called it several times but it goes straight to voice mail.”
“Did she pay her own phone bill?”
“I took care of it. I took care of everything for her.”
“Do you pay for a plan through a major carrier?”
“Yeah, we both used Sprint.”
“Can you manage your account online?”
Glen nodded. “Yup.”
“Do you have a computer here you can log on to?”
“Sure, my
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