Shampoo and a Stiff

by Cindy Bell

  “Fight over the factory,” he shrugged as if it should be common knowledge. “Buyers have been courting Steven for over a year, but Brad wasn't budging. Should be interesting to see how this plays out, now.”

  “I wouldn't call a man's untimely death interesting,” Bekki pointed out but his words were sticking in her mind. “Did you know Brad?”

  “No. I tried to ask him a few questions before, but he just wasn't one to enjoy the limelight. Steven on the other hand, let me do a full spread photo shoot of the factory,” he held up his camera and shook his head. “Too bad it didn't do anything for the business.”

  “Was it struggling?” Bekki asked curiously. She was going to get as much information out of the reporter as she could.

  “Just the opposite,” he corrected. “It was booming. The factory needed expanding, maybe some new locations, it outgrew what they expected. But Brad was big on the whole family business thing, and he kept pushing to keep things small and local, give the guys they grew up with a good solid place to work, all of that nonsense.”

  “It doesn't sound like nonsense,” Bekki said sadly. The more she learned about Brad the more she thought he must have been a decent man who had a pretty strong set of values. “It sounds like he really cared.”

  “Yes, well really caring, and big business, don’t go hand in hand,” the reporter pointed out. “Anyway, sorry to bother you, I just thought maybe you could give me a perspective on finding the body. But, if you didn't know Brad, then it's not really necessary.”

  “No, I had only met him once,” Bekki admitted as she shifted the strap of her purse on her shoulder. Now that she thought about it she couldn't even remember actually speaking to Brad. Steven was the one who did all the talking, and Brad had teased him about spending money on his fancy pens.

  “Thanks anyway,” the reporter said and waved as he walked off. Bekki unlocked the salon and stepped inside, her mind churning with the information that the reporter had just revealed.

  The salon was filled with the fruity scent of the new shampoo Bekki had purchased. It was infused with essential oils, which seemed to make the difference with her customers. As she walked further into the salon she smiled to herself at how neat and tidy it was. She prided herself on it being a place of escape for the women and even the few men who came into the salon.

  Bekki wanted her customers to be able to relax in an environment free of clutter, free of anything that could cause them stress. However, it was not exactly that space for her today. All she could think of as she set her purse down was the body in the delivery truck. She knew if she couldn't get the mystery unravelled she would be preoccupied with it for some time. She also felt an obligation to help her old friend, Tom. Before she could get too involved in her thoughts the door swung open. She looked up to see Minnie Palan, a regular of the salon. She had a big, floppy hat covering her head, the sides pulled down so that they were pressed against her ears.

  “Minnie?” Bekki asked as she studied the woman and attempted to hide her amusement. “What's going on with that hat?” she asked as Minnie shuffled up to her on her high heels.

  Minnie was as close to a socialite as you could find in their little town. She liked to wear the latest fashions and had always been a frequent flyer in Bekki's chair. She loved to get tips and style advice from Bekki since she had experience in the big city. Bekki tried to encourage her to find her own style, but Minnie always insisted on something spectacular and right off the cover of the latest magazines.

  “Oh Bekki,” Minnie gasped out dramatically. “I've done something terrible.”

  “Whatever it is, it can't be that bad,” Bekki offered soothingly.

  “You're so sweet,” she squeaked out. “Even after I've betrayed you.”

  Bekki's jaw locked briefly. She stared hard at the hat that was hiding Minnie's beautiful shoulder-length hair.

  “What have you done, Minnie?” Bekki asked sternly.

  Minnie sniffled. “I came by to get my hair done, and the police had the place shut down. So, I went to another salon,” she whispered her last words and slowly pulled off the hat. As Bekki gasped in horror, Minnie looked away in absolute shame. Her hair tumbled to her shoulders in bright orange curls, the exact color of a carrot.

  “Why?” Bekki asked, unable to sputter out more than one word at a time.

  “I felt like being a strawberry blonde,” Minnie explained, her eyes cast down towards the floor. “I know I should have just waited for you to reopen, Bekki, I'm so sorry.”

  “Minnie,” Bekki walked up to the woman and patted her shoulder gently. “You are welcome to go to any salon you choose. You don't need to apologize to me. Let's just see what we can do with that color, okay? A few good washes, and a little tweaking of the color, and you'll be the most beautiful strawberry blonde!”

  When Bekki led Minnie over to the shampooing station the gleam off her orange hair reflected on the metal surface. She cringed and wondered if a few good washes would really make that much of a difference. She reached for the half empty bottle of the nourishing shampoo she had been using, but then thought better of it. She decided she would use one of the new bottles of restoring shampoo, believing it would do the best job of removing the dye. She certainly didn’t want to use the color protection shampoo.

  “Just give me a minute,” Bekki said with a smile and handed Minnie one of the latest magazines.

  When Bekki stepped into the back room to get a bottle of shampoo off the shelf she noticed something. The label on the bottle was slightly scraped and the bottle had a dent in it. She had only received a few shipments of the company’s hair products, but all of the bottles she had received had been flawless. She set the bottle aside and grabbed another, but she still thought it was odd. As she worked up a nice lather in Minnie's hair Bekki could feel her mind churning over the case. If Steven truly had an alibi then who could have committed the crime? Did the scraped label have something to do with it? Was there a scuffle?

  As each bubble floated through the air and popped, Bekki formed a new theory. There were the workers at the factory. Perhaps a jealous lover, since Brad was friendly with the ladies. Maybe, an angry boyfriend of one of his lovers. The list of suspects seemed to grow as numerous as the bubbles in the shampoo.

  “Bekki, that feels fantastic,” Minnie sighed drawing Bekki out of her thoughts. She realized that she had been massaging Minnie's scalp for some time and that she had lost track of how long she had been shampooing.

  “Let's get you under the water,” Bekki said quickly and ran warm water across the shampoo in Minnie's hair. As she rinsed she could see an orange tint to the water, but she knew it would need a few more washes before it was dull enough to manipulate the color correctly. “I'm sorry that we weren't open when you needed your appointment,” Bekki said as she began to lather up Minnie's hair once more.

  “Oh, I know that it was because of Brad's death,” Minnie frowned. “I was so sad when I heard about it. He was a decent guy.”

  “You knew him?” Bekki asked with surprise.

  “Honey, I know every handsome, financially blessed man within one hundred miles,” she paused and cleared her throat. “Just for casual dinners and dating of course.”

  “Did you date Brad?” Bekki asked as she massaged the shampoo through the strands of Minnie's hair.

  “We had a few dates, but he wasn't really my type. He wasn't ambitious enough,” she cringed when Bekki's finger got caught in one of her curls.

  “Sorry,” Bekki said quickly and started another rinse. “So, he wasn't interested in a relationship, is that what you mean?”

  “No, not at all, he was head over heels. It might seem greedy to you, but I don't want to marry a man who is satisfied with a decent bank account. I have aspirations of being wealthy, and I want the man I am with to have those aspirations, too.”

  “Nothing wrong with that,” Bekki said with a shrug and squeezed the last of the shampoo from Minnie's hair. “It's important to know wh
at you want and be honest about it.”

  “Exactly what I said,” Minnie agreed. “He did take it a little hard though. I heard after we broke things off he was picking up a new girl every week,” she frowned as Bekki led her over to a dryer so they could see how her hair looked once it was dry. “Honestly, I felt a little guilty. So, when I heard about his death, you can imagine, I was fairly upset.”

  “Sorry to hear that,” Bekki said gently.

  “I just hope the police are able to figure out what happened,” Minnie sighed. “Like I said, he was a decent guy.”

  Bekki switched on the hair dryer and then walked over to the reception desk. She pulled out her phone and saw that Nick had texted back agreeing to meet at the bar that night. She knew he wasn't going to be overly pleased if he found out she was snooping, but she was glad he was willing to go along with her. It was not right for Tom to go down for Brad’s murder. Already a decent man was dead, she didn't want to see another decent man behind bars for a crime he didn't commit.

  Bekki spent the next two hours getting Minnie's hair to a less carroty shade. In the end it looked a bit rusty, but Bekki assured her they would work on it more.

  “I don't want to dry it out by washing it too much,” Bekki explained as she put the final touches on the style she had chosen to downplay the color of Minnie's hair. “We'll get it straightened out soon enough.”

  “Thanks Bekki,” Minnie smiled. “At least I don't have to hide under that hat anymore.”

  Minnie's words made Bekki recall the way that the reporter had been hiding behind the gate. If he was really there to get pictures and ask her questions as he claimed, why had he been hiding? She felt a deep sense of unease as she wondered if she had overlooked something about him. Sure, he had a camera with him, but that didn't necessarily make him a photographer or a reporter. She had taken him on face value. He had certainly seemed to know a lot about Brad's life. A reporter might know that much, but a stalker might, too. She made a mental note to try and find out more about him, then she smiled and greeted a new customer who had just walked through the door. She had four appointments for the afternoon before she could slow down long enough to figure out the mystery of what really happened to Brad.

  Chapter Four

  Bekki locked the door promptly at six. Then she began the closing routine for the salon. She was so engrossed in her thoughts as she worked that when she heard a knock on the door it made her jump out of her skin. She gasped and spun around quickly to find a figure in the glass doors. She hadn't turned the outside light on yet, so it was really just an outline in the evening light. Bekki's heart started racing as she wondered if it might be the reporter, or the man who claimed to be the reporter. The figure knocked again.

  “Bekki?” Nick called out. “Are you in there?”

  Bekki flushed with embarrassment. Of course it was Nick. He was picking her up to meet Sammy and Morris at the bar.

  “I'm coming,” she called out and rushed over to the door. Once she unlocked and opened it, Nick stepped in with a frown.

  “Everything okay?” he asked as he glanced around the salon.

  “Yes, sorry. You just startled me,” she explained with a shake of her head. Nick studied her intently.

  “You don't usually startle easily,” he pointed out. In the time that they had been together Bekki had been in a few dangerous situations and she usually rose to the occasion.

  “To be honest, when I got here after lunch there was this man hanging around outside. Actually, he was hiding. When I spotted him he claimed he was a reporter. I believed him, but the more I think about it...”

  “Why didn't you call me when it happened?” Nick asked with wide eyes as he looked towards the door. “I would have checked him out.”

  “I know, but honestly I didn't think anything of it until later,” she frowned as she shut down the cash register. “He said that there was a lot being said about the possible sale of the factory, and that with Brad's death it could finally happen.”

  “What did he mean?” Nick asked as he gathered up the trash from the waste baskets.

  “Apparently, Brad is the reason why they hadn't sold the company yet. He had no interest in selling,” Bekki explained and took the bags from him. They walked out to the dumpster together.

  “That's interesting,” Nick said as he rubbed his chin lightly. “Steven didn't say anything to me about that.”

  “But he has an alibi,” Bekki reminded him with a grim frown. “Did the coroner pinpoint the time of death, yet?”

  “Only within a few hours, somewhere between about nine and midnight,” Nick explained as they walked to his car. “Looks like he was strangled,” he added and then lowered his voice. “It was likely with bare hands, so it is probably a man.”

  “Huh,” Bekki said thoughtfully as she sat in the passenger side of his car. “Well, I guess there was a struggle,” she said thoughtfully as she recalled the scraped label on the dented bottle of shampoo. It was likely that whoever had packed the boxes had dropped the pen inside. So, it made sense that the struggle took place while the boxes were being packed.

  “Looks like it,” Nick said calmly as he parked the car in the parking lot. The bar was fairly empty since it was a week night. Sammy and Morris were already waiting for them at a table near the corner. Nick frowned a little as he glanced over at Bekki.

  “You’re not here to ask about the case, are you?” he asked.

  “It's a night out with friends,” Bekki assured him and kissed his cheek softly.

  “Hmm,” he kissed her on the cheek in return.

  As they walked further into the bar Sammy waved to them from the table where she and Morris were sitting. Bekki could see that there were already two frosty mugs of beer on the table.

  “I'll just get us some drinks,” she murmured to Nick and pulled away from him to head to the bar. Bekki could feel his gaze following her, but he walked over to the table to greet Sammy and Morris. When Bekki stepped up to the bar, Doug was wiping a few glasses clean.

  “Well, hello there, Bekki,” he smiled at her. “It's been a while.”

  “It has,” Bekki agreed as she leaned against the bar. “I've been pretty busy lately.”

  “So I've heard,” Doug chuckled. “What can I get you?”

  “A couple of house drafts would be fine,” Bekki replied and then lowered her voice slightly. “And maybe a little bit of information.”

  “Information?” Doug grinned as he set the mugs of beer on the bar. “What about?”

  “Well, as you know Brad Zane was killed on Sunday night,” Bekki explained.

  “Yes, terrible thing,” Doug shook his head. “But I don't know anything about that. I already told Nick that I saw Steven Zane in here all night.”

  “I was wondering if maybe Steven had spoken to you about anything,” Bekki picked up one of the mugs of beer and took a small sip. “Did he seem upset, or maybe have something he was excited about?”

  “Actually,” Doug narrowed his eyes slightly. “I did notice that he bought a round for everyone in the bar. That's pretty unusual around here.”

  “Did he say why?” Bekki asked curiously. It didn't seem like a gesture that Steven would make easily.

  “Just said, he felt like it,” Doug shook his head. “It was busy in here so I didn't have much time to talk to him. But he was talking to your dad and his friends.”

  “My dad?” Bekki asked with surprise. “You mean he was in here on Sunday night talking to Steven?”

  “Yes,” Doug shrugged. “Just in passing you know, like hi how are you doing, that kind of thing. I didn't think it was important enough to tell Nick. I mean, what difference does it make? Steven was here all night.”

  “Thanks Doug,” Bekki said as she picked up both of the mugs of beer.

  “I hope it helps,” he smiled. He tilted his head towards the table where Nick gave him a short wave and a smile. “First round is on me,” he winked at Bekki.

  “Thank you very
much,” Bekki grinned and walked over to the table. Nick took his beer and met her eyes as she sat down beside him.

  “So, how did the interrogation go?” he asked and sipped his beer.

  “Actually, it was interesting,” Bekki replied knowing that Nick would see straight through her if she tried to deny asking Doug questions related to the murder. Everyone at the table leaned in to hear what she had to say. “According to Doug, Steven bought everyone a round of beer in the bar. It was packed that night. Who does that but millionaires?”

  “Good point,” Sammy nodded a little. “That is weird.”

  “Maybe he just had a few too many and was feeling generous,” Nick pointed out.

  “Well, I'm going to find out,” Bekki said with confidence. “Apparently he was chatting with my dad.”

  “Wait, Doug told you that?” Nick asked as he looked back up at the bar with some annoyance. “He didn't mention that to me.”

  “Well, I guess I have my talents,” Bekki smiled a little over the top of her beer.

  “I guess you do,” he laughed and studied her with admiration.

  After they finished their drinks and were ready to head home, Nick guided her to the car.

  “I can just drop you off at the salon tomorrow,” he suggested, as Bekki's car was still at the salon.

  “No thanks,” Bekki kissed his cheek lightly. “I think I'm going to stop by my parents’ place.”

  “Okay,” he smiled as he knew what she was up to. “Want me to come along?” he offered.

  “No, you have to work tomorrow,” she reminded him. “Must be well rested to be the police officer in the relationship.”

  “Ha ha,” he growled and kissed her firmly. “Okay, I'll drop you off at your car,” he agreed reluctantly. On the drive to the salon, Bekki filled Nick in a little more on what Doug had shared with her.

  “So, I'm thinking if I can talk to my dad and see if he has an idea of when Steven arrived and left, maybe it will help validate his alibi,” Bekki explained. “I still think he's hiding something. But, then of course there's that reporter...”