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mounted to the wall.
    "Yeah,” he settled back into his mound of pillows. “It's about this hairdresser who finds a dead body with a ribbon wrapped around his...” He paused as realization dawned on him. “Geoff sure kept you a long time. What did he ask?” He closed his book and set it aside.
    "I'm sure the same things he asked you. He just kept asking me them over and over again. Did you know the guy? What did you see? How did you find the body? Did you touch anything? Was he the same body we found in our shower?” I yawned.
    "He asked you all that?"
    "No, but he should've. Obviously, he's forgotten our first encounter."
    "That's fine by me.” Sergio yawned. “Geoff said I was seen cutting a guy's hair after supper, so I had an alibi, but I was getting pretty upset with him. And he wouldn't give me my scissors back. It's a matched set. Who does he think he is? The way he was treating me, he acted like I killed the guy. Can you believe that?"
    I closed my eyes and shook my head. Trying to change the subject, I pointed to his book. “Should you be reading something like that before you go to bed?"
    "I don't know if I'll be able to sleep again.” His mouth opened wide into another big yawn.
    "You look pretty tired. Maybe you should turn off the light and try."
    "I'm not tired.” His head bobbed up and down as he struggled to keep his eyes open.
    Yeah right. “Maybe you're afraid to fall asleep?” An evil grin played across my face.
    "No,” he said, quickly.
    "Are you sure?” I raised my eyebrows at him.
    "I just want to finish this chapter, then I'll turn off the light.” He quickly picked up his book and opened it up. It was still upside-down.
    "Suit yourself. At least, you're not afraid of me.” I looked at him. “Are you?"
    "No,” he said, even quicker than his first time. “Whatever gave you that idea?"
    "I wouldn't blame you, you know. You don't know me all that well, and you don't think that I could...?” I left the sentence hang in the air. My eyes narrowed at him. “Do you?"
    "I know you couldn't...wouldn't..."
    I smiled and nodded. “Good,” I said with a soothing quality in my voice. “I mean, I don't know you that well either, but I'm sure that you didn't kill him. Did you?” I took a deep breath. “But I trust you. You trust me, right?"
    "Yeah, I guess so,” but Sergio's voice wasn't convincing.
    "So, I guess we'll both have to trust each other, now won't we? It's not like I've stumbled across that many dead bodies."
    Sergio gave me a nervous look. “Yeah?"
    "Besides, you don't have another pair of scissors in your case that I would be able to slip out when you're sleeping and...” I made a stabbing motion in the air, and then grasped my throat with both hands. My tongue stuck out and gurgling noises came out of my throat. I smiled. “Well, I'm beat.” I snuggled under the blanket and rolled over onto my side, and then rolled back to face him. “Oh, by the way, when did you learn to read upside down?"
    "What? Why are you asking me that?” Sergio asked, as a puzzled expression worried his brow.
    "I noticed that you were holding that book upside down.” My hand slipped out from under the covers and pointed to it. I took off my glasses and placed them on the nightstand. “Good night,” I said, and reached up and turned off the light next to my bed.
    As I rolled over on to my side and pulled the covers over my shoulders, I smiled to myself. “We'll see how well you sleep tonight, Sergio. You're not the only one that can tease around here."
    * * * *
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Chapter 9—Breakfast
    Sergio had trouble getting up. Something about not sleeping well emanated from underneath his sheets. I reminded him about his choice of bedtime reading material, and I barely escaped in one piece.
    I carried my breakfast tray through the dining area, looking for a place to sit. All the tables were full and not a single chair was vacant. It surprised me that so many were up this early