Scattered all around the shoreline were pieces of his clothes. First his plain blue, burgundy (reddish-purple) silk tie, then his simple white pressed handkerchief. Spread some ten to fifteen meters apart his sky blue Italian double-breasted white pinstriped suit was in shreds, buttons pulled off, and tattered cuffs. Eventually, Mariano’s attire was found item per item.
You should have seen him when he was fully dressed. He depicted a modern mafia gangster with all the trimmings that only the coolest dude’s wear. Maybe, he had been singled out for some operation that went horribly wrong. Once sliced arms, legs, and fingers started appearing, his wife, Natalie, emotionally withered from the shock, desperately held on to each and every part, reminiscent of her magnificent husband.
This bloke really was superslick indeed. His charm fitted his self-image, that of a stylish guru who respected those around him whilst seemingly at ease helping others make their mark. He was a leader, an excellent boss, and handsome to say the least. Even though he wore black shades all the time not wanting to expose his eyes, this highlighted his mysterious manly drive. His wife knew him better than anyone, and she could attest to how wonderful and generous her partner had been while he was alive. But then was he really dead, or was there more to it?
The question is what happened? Was there a conspiracy, or was he the victim of foul play? The facade of this mystery man depicted a disguise of brutal proportions! Could he have been kidnapped or had the whole plan to cover up his own death been treachery when actually another corpse was hiding his true identity? Either one of these theories could be unmasked after the detective responsible made his observations and analysed the case.
For Natalie, she was certain foul play was behind the event. Nevertheless, she had nothing to go by apart from what she thought was Mariano’s destroyed clothes, and what she considered would have been his body parts.
Take care!
Prof. Carl Boniface
Vocabulary builder:
Handkerchief (n) = a square of cotton or other finely woven material, typically carried in one’s pocket and intended for blowing or wiping one’s nose.
Pinstriped (adj) = (of cloth) having a pattern of very narrow stripes. “He wore a blue pinstriped suit”
Shreds (n) = strips, slivers, scraps, bits
Tattered (adj) = torn, ragged, tatty, frayed, threadbare, shabby
Cuffs (n) = the lowest edge of the sleeve.
Trimmings (n) = extras, accompaniments, add-ons, accessories
Withered (v) = weakened, waste away, become weak, waned, crushed, (ant) strengthened
Superslick (adj) = or extremely slick: such as – a. extremely slippery a superslick surface – b. extremely good, attractive, or appealing often in an artificial or superficial way a superslick ad campaign i.e., promoting overproduced superslick hits that have become staples on soft-rock radio.
Handsome (adj) = good-looking, fine-looking, attractive, gorgeous
Drive (n) = energy, ambition, get-up-and-go, motivation, push, hustle
Facade (n) = frontage, disguise, smokescreen, cover-up, concealment
Brutal (adj) = ruthless, cruel, vicious, fierce, pitiless, heartless, unhuman
Treachery (n) = deceit, treason, betrayal, disloyalty, (ant) loyalty