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By Root 343 0

wait, seeking clues that would give him an idea of his clients’ movements and positions. Minutes later, with the hair dryer still blowing, he heard the sound of rushing water in the pipes once again. The downstairs shower was running this time. Alan Clayton had finally decided to obey his wife (“Has he finished his beer or taken it to the shower with him?” Martin wondered), and now there was a decision to be made. He felt it safe to assume that Alan Clayton was no longer obstructing his escape out the patio door, but Martin now had to worry about Cindy Clayton standing in the upstairs bathroom, drying her hair. The bathroom’s door was almost perfectly aligned with the staircase, so if she had left it open before showering, there was a good chance that it would still be open now, and she would be able to see down the stairs as Martin attempted his escape.

On the other hand, if the bathroom door was closed, then Martin would be able to escape without risking detection at all, and this might be his last chance. He listened more intently to the whine of the hair dryer, attempting to discern from the quality of the sound whether or not it was muffled by an obstruction of some kind (preferably a wooden door). He couldn’t be sure. What Martin did know was that when Cindy Clayton used the bathroom for urinating, she shut the door, even when she thought she was home alone. He wondered if this same rule would logically apply to showering and hair drying. Again, he couldn’t be sure. He couldn’t remember hearing the bathroom door shut, and he felt that urinating and showering were two entirely different procedures, so to make a guess about one based upon the other would be foolish and dangerous.

He continued to ponder the situation when the decision was taken from his hands. The hair dryer stopped its whining and shortly thereafter the shower stopped as well, making it impossible for him to mentally place either homeowner anywhere within the house. Realizing that his only chance to escape might have passed, Martin squatted down and began feeling around the rear of the closet for room to hide. The closet was less than four feet deep and only about five feet wide, making it difficult for a man, even one with his thin frame, to disappear in the shadows. Fortunately, however, Martin had two things working for him. First, the closet had no light, so if he pressed his body against the baseboard along the rear wall, he might be able to conceal himself in the darkness.

The closet was also packed full with coats, jackets, several garment bags, and a collection of items from the dry cleaner, still preserved within their long, thin plastic bags. These bags and several of the coats reached nearly to the floor and would afford Martin some degree of concealment if need be.

Not seeing a reason to delay this move any further, Martin moved from his crouching position to a completely prone one, pressing his back into the corner created by the junction of the wall and floor. In the dark, it was impossible for him to tell which parts of his body were concealed by the hanging garments and bags and which were not, but there was little else he could do. In the event that the closet door was opened, he planned to close his eyes to prevent the reflection of light off his irises, but otherwise he could only lie there and wait, hoping that luck would carry the day.

He did continue to listen, however, tracking the movements of the Claytons as best as possible in the event that an unlikely window of opportunity might open, allowing him to escape. He listened as Alan Clayton ascended the stairs, presumably in order to change his clothes. He listened to the couple discuss their weekend plans, but because he wasn’t certain if Cindy Clayton was still in the bathroom, he remained in his prone position. He heard the hair dryer again, for less than thirty seconds this time, and also heard the whine of an electric toothbrush, the cause of all his trouble. Even so, he felt a great deal of satisfaction knowing that the replacement toothbrush had apparently gone undetected.