Chapter 12

They were at the shop when the doors opened at nine. By nine-thirty Joe had tried on several pairs of jeans, found two that fit, and had chosen two button-down shirts. At Derek’s insistence, he also picked up two turtlenecks to wear under the shirts, as well as packs of briefs and socks. They decided the underwear must have been overstock from a clothing store that the manager had donated to the shop rather than disposing of them.

After Derek paid for everything, they went on to his office. As he’d told Joe, it wasn’t downtown per se, but close to it. The building was older, with two shops on the street level and a door between them that opened onto a hallway leading to a small lobby with an elevator at the far side. They took it up to the third floor, and then walked down to Derek’s office.

“My home away from home,” Derek said as he ushered Joe inside and disarmed the security.