D.C. Dead (Stone Barrington 22)

She flushed even more. “They ... it was sexy talk.”

“Can yo

u repeat exactly what they said? Don’t be embarrassed, it’s important.”

“I heard her say, ‘I want it,’ and he said, ‘Don’t worry, I’m going to give it to you.’ And then they were on the bed. I could hear the bed squeaking. I think they were ... doing it.”

“What do you think they were doing?”

“What a man and a woman do in the bedroom.”

“Did you hear them say anything else?”

“No, just noises, like. Happy noises.”

“What did you do then?”

“I cleaned the glass, then I got out of the quarters. I didn’t want to be there when they came out of the bedroom.”

“Did you see them after that?”

“No, sir, I didn’t. But the next morning, I changed the sheets in the Lincoln Bedroom. They were ... stained, sort of.”

“Can you remember anything else, Mrs. Feliciano?”

She looked down. “I took something,” she said. “From the Lincoln Bedroom bathroom.”

“What did you take?”

Mrs. Feliciano’s purse was in her lap, and she opened it and rummaged around for a moment, then she held out something.

Stone took it from her and examined it. It was a lipstick tube, and the name “Pagan Spring” was printed on it.

“I didn’t think she would be coming back for it,” Mrs. Feliciano said.

“No, I suppose not,” Stone replied. “Do you mind if I keep this?”

“No, please do,” she replied. “It isn’t mine, anyway, but I

liked the color.”

“One more thing, Mrs. Feliciano,” Stone said. “Can you put a date to when this happened? Estimate when it was?”

“I know exactly when it was,” she said. “It was the day Mrs. Kendrick and Mr. Brix died. It was the last time I saw Mr. Brix.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Feliciano,” Stone said. “You’ve been a very big help.”

The woman gratefully fled the room.

“Okay,” Dino said, “your theory is starting to look a little better.”

31

STONE CALLED HOLLY ON HER PERSONAL CELL PHONE.

Hello?”

“Hi, it’s Stone.”