Monster by Jonathan Kellerman

yellow pin-dot tie. He was just shy of six feet, trim, with short, curly red hair and a matching beard streaked with gray.
     
     
Skinny gold watch on his left wrist, wedding band studded with small diamonds, shiny oxblood wingtips.
     
     
Milo said, "This is Dr. Delaware, our psychological consultant. Doctor, Mr.
     
     
Stargill."
     
     
"Joe Stargill." A hand extended. Dry palms but unsteady hazel eyes. His voice was slightly hoarse. He looked past me, into the empty room, and shook his head.
     
     
"Mr. Stargill was just saying the house looks pretty different."
     
     
Stargill said, "This wasn't the way we lived. We had wall-to-wall carpeting, furniture. Over there was a big leather sofa; that wall held a chrome cabinet-an etagere, I think it was called. Claire taught me that. I'd bought a few things when
     
     
I was single but Claire filled it in. Pottery, figurines, macrame, all that good stuff." He shook his head again. "She must have gone through some major changes."
     
     
"When's the last time you spoke to her, sir?" said Milo.
     
     
"When I U-Hauled my things away. Maybe a half-year before the final decree."
     
     
"So you were separated before the divorce."
     
     
Stargill nodded, touched the tip of his beard.
     
     
Milo said, "So your last contact would be around two and a half years ago."
     
     
"That's right."
     
     
"You never talked about the divorce?"
     
     
"Well, sure. A phone call here and there to wrap up details. I thought you meant a real conversation."
     
     
"Ah," said Milo. "And after the divorce you never came back to visit?"
     
     
"No reason to," said Stargill. "Claire and I were over- we'd been over long before we made it official. Never really started, actually."
     
     
"The marriage went bad quickly."
     
     
Stargill sighed and buttoned his jacket. His hands were broad, ruddy, coated with beer-colored hair. "It wasn't a matter of going bad. The whole thing was essentially a mistake. Here, I brought this. Found it this morning."
     
     
He fished out a crocodile wallet and removed a small photo, which Milo examined, then handed to me.
     
     
Color snapshot of Claire and Stargill arm in arm, "Just Married" banner in the background. He wore a tan suit and brown turtleneck shirt, no beard, eyeglasses. His nude face was bony, his smile tentative.
     
     
Claire had on a long, pale blue sleeveless dress printed with lavender pansies, and she carried a bouquet of white roses. Her hair was long, straight, parted in the middle, her face leaner than in the headshot I'd seen, the cheekbones more pronounced.
     
     
Full smile.
     
     
"Don't really know why I brought it," said Stargill. "Didn't know I even had it."
     
     
"Where'd you find it?" said Milo.
     
     
"In my office. I went in early this morning before driving up here, started going through all the paperwork Claire and I had in common: divorce documents, transfer of ownership for the house. It's all out in the car-take whatever you want. The picture popped out from between some pages."
     
     
Stargill turned to me. "Guess a psychologist could interpret that-still having it.
     
     
Maybe it does mean something on a subconscious level, but I sure don't remember holding on to it intentionally. Seeing it again was bizarre. We look pretty happy, don't we?"
     
     
I studied the photo some more. A flimsy-looking altar flecked with glitter was visible between the newlyweds. Glittering red hearts on the walls, a pink Cupid figurine with Dizzy Gillespie cheeks.
     
     
"Vegas?" I said.
     
     
"Reno," said Stargill. "Tackiest wedding chapel you ever saw. The guy who officiated was an old geezer, half blind, probably drunk. We got into town well after midnight.
     
     
The geezer was closing up and I slipped him a twenty to do a quickie ceremony. His wife had already gone home, so some janitor-another old guy-served as witness.
     
     
Afterward Claire and I joked that they were both senile-it probably wasn't legal."
     
     
He