This was not the scene she had expected to find. Not a thing out of place. Not a clue, or a sign. No cups left out, not even a glass for a late night drink of water.
She walked to the bathroom, again nothing was out of place. “Well you and I both know there’s got to be something.” Dorthy spoke only to God. Her eyes scoured the bathroom, whatever it was it felt like it had to be here. Though part of that feeling might only be Murphy’s law, because it was the last room and final room she had searched.
Feeling nostalgic she reached over for The Butler’s Keeper, hair paste for men. She twisted traditional lever style tab to pry off the lid with a firm twist. She always wondered why they kept their old shoe shine tin design. Though the metal handle that twists on the side and pops the tin lid off is very handy at this age. She breathed in the scent deeply, her own grandfather used to use this. She closed the lid and set the tin back on the sink counter where it belonged. She had no time for that, she needed to stay focused on the task at hand.
She chuckled to herself as she picked up the plastic jar of Jack Spratz Elbow Grease, a topical pain reliever. Jack Spratz was an animated character, ‘lean as a bean pole’ they used to call it. The character wore a pin striped suit, with a white buttoned up undershirt the top two buttons undone. He sounds like a loud cheap car salesman these days, but when he first appeared he sounded like a snake oil salesman on the radio. “Jack Spratz won’t tell no lie, All my users can’t deny. Just use a little Elbow Grease, don’t leave that project there for weeks. Just a dab is all you need to stop that pain and increase your speed.” Just a dab is all you need, was their tag line they never changed it. She screwed off the top and took a whiff.
Dorthy’s eyes widened wit the menthol smell of the Elbow Grease. She’d never actually tried it, but Gus swore by it for his back and shoulder blades. He used to do a lot of deep sea fishing for relaxation, and sometimes tournaments. The activity took a toll on his body over the years, he caught a lot of record breaking large fish. She stuck her finger in it and rubbed a small bit on the back of her hand. She felt the tingling sensation you normally feel, then a warming sensation and then numbness.
‘Hmp’, she thought to herself, ‘This really works.’
Knowing no one would miss it she set on the seat of her rollator and gave the restroom one more look over. Slowly she went back through the other rooms and looked them over again with the utmost scrutiny. There was just nothing to find.
She set the oven mitt back where it belonged and held her phone up, “Text Swit I’m done here.” the phone sent the txt message. Dorthy let out a sigh and waited near the door, she would have Carla rub some of this on her shoulder later. She would need the relief after all this activity. She sat down in the dark brown leather recliner that Gus always relaxed in to catch the evening news or an old comedic rerun. She glanced over at the