CHAPTER 15
After getting back to the office and suffering through the elevator ride up to the penthouse with Chris, Matt walked in, right past CJ, and straight to the bar where he poured himself a shot of Jack Daniel's. "Matt, are you okay?" CJ had a puzzled look on her face. She looked at Chris who appeared to have been crying. "What in the world happened to you two?"
Chris sat down at her desk and dissolved into another laughing fit. Matt was just leaning on the bar shaking his head. "Well, I've got good news and bad news, which do you want first, CJ?"
"A little good news might be helpful today." She looked back over at Chris who was now wiping her eyes with a tissue and blowing her nose.
"The good news is that the clerk at the store identified the wig as belonging to Osterhouse." He poured himself another shot of whiskey.
"Okay, so what's the bad news?" She walked over to stand beside him.
Matt threw back the shot. "The clerk there, Marquanda, thought that the wig was for me, and told me that I'd have to get rid of my mustache and have laser treatments for my beard." He didn't even bother to look up at her.
CJ stood there in shock for a few seconds before what Matt had said sank in. Then she burst out in a fit of laughter.
"I'm so glad y'all find it funny." Matt walked out onto the patio and leaned on the wall overlooking the street below. After getting her laughter under control, CJ followed him out on the patio.
"Matt, sorry I laughed. But it was pretty darn funny." He still wasn't laughing. "Oh, come on! Who really cares what she thinks? The important thing is that you found out that Osterhouse bought the wig. Now we need to keep an eye on him and see if he does anything that would prove that he's the killer."
Matt stood up. "Guess I better call Hoyt and let him know about the wig." He went back into the office and made the phone call. Hoyt was glad to hear the news, but was still impatient to wrap up the case. "Believe me, Hoyt; nobody will be gladder than me when this is over with." Matt wasn't looking forward to spending another lonely night in the van listening to Osterhouse snore.
A couple of hours later Matt met up with Uncle Roy. "You know, Matt, I've been thinking. There's really no point in one of us sitting on this house during the day when Osterhouse isn't here. There is absolutely nothing going on here. I'm thinking we would be smarter to plant a few cameras at his business."
"I've been thinking the same thing, too. How do you want to go about it?" Matt looked at the bag of cheeseburgers and fries and dreaded the coming hours of surveillance.
"Divide and conquer seems like a great plan to me. We could have CJ go back in to pick out a casket for "Hoyt" and then I could go in while she's browsing and distract him while she plants a couple of cameras." Roy looked over at his nephew.
"That should work. Talk to CJ about it and y'all do it first thing in the morning." He changed the subject. "Got another date with the widow tonight?" Uncle Roy never seemed to be dateless.
"No, but I've got a couple of waitresses that I'm taking out on a dinner cruise." He smiled at the stunned look on Matt's face. "What can I say, boy? The ladies just find me irresistible." With that, he got out of the van and walked to his car and left the parking lot.
Matt started the van and went back to Osterhouse's street to set up for the night. He turned on the monitors to find that their suspect had made it home earlier tonight. Instead of sitting in front of the TV eating a microwave dinner, he was going down to the basement. Matt switched to the basement monitor, but didn't see Osterhouse. "Where in the hell did he go?" He looked back at the other monitors and there was no sign of him anywhere.