The “Grim Reaper,” they call this costume, complete with a long sickle, but that part I threw away. The robe will cover up Christian’s body features, and the elongated hood will entirely block any view of his face while allowing him to see out.
It will be perfect.
Below that, a new pair of Paul Roy Peak Explorer boots, size thirteen, Christian’s shoe size. I bought those in cash, too, at a discount shoe store, wearing a completely different disguise.
I carry the shoes and the costume through the ground floor of the house to the front closet, near the front-entrance garage where Simon parks. I open the closet and look down. A pair of old loafers Simon hasn’t worn for a while. A backup pair of running shoes.
And yes, another pair of Paul Roy Peak Explorer boots.
Same model, same color as the ones for Christian.
I head upstairs, into the master bedroom, and open Simon’s closet. In the back of the closet hangs a Grim Reaper costume Simon bought for himself last year but never wore.
Also a perfect match for the one I bought Christian, like the boots.
Matching costumes, matching boots.
Simon isn’t the only one who holds a grudge.
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Christian
“I got it,” Vicky tells me when she gets upstairs into my condo.
She hands me the bag with the Grim Reaper costume.
“You paid cash for it?” I ask. “Avoided cameras?”
“Yes.”
I remove the costume from the bag and pull it over my head with Vicky’s help.
“How do I look?”
“I’ll tell you how you look,” she says. “You look like something out of a Stephen King movie. But more importantly? You look totally anonymous.”
We head into the bathroom so I can look in the mirror.
“It’s formless,” says Vicky. “And your face is too far inside that long hood to see.”
“Yeah, it works.”
“You’re totally anonymous. Anyone who saw you in that, they wouldn’t know if it was you or some scrawny teenager. They wouldn’t know if it was you or some dumpy, middle-aged parent.”
“They wouldn’t know if it was me or your husband, Simon?”
“Exactly,” she says.
“I like it. Perfect. Good job. You have the boots, too?”
“Yes,” she says. “Simon has the same pair.”
“What size are they? Size thirteen, I hope?”
“Size thirteen,” she says. “And yes, I also bought these in cash, and I wore glasses and a hat and dressed differently than when I bought the costume.”
Good, this is good. We head back into the main room.