Chapter 6
Beth explained what’s happened to both of her sisters. She shook so badly she had to sit down. It seemed she wouldn’t get the picture of that poor woman out of her head. The victim was around the same age as she. Her thoughts ran frantically, one right after the other. Who would’ve done this? Who and why?
All three women jumped nervously as a knock sounded at their door. Beth stood up, and regretted the need to open the door. She wanted to keep the outside world out right now. She unlocked the deadbolt from the door and opened it and was relieved to see Tyler stood on the other side.
“Beth are you alright?” Tyler asked, as he pulled Beth into his strong arms.
Beth stayed still for a moment and relished in Tyler’s embrace. If only he held her under different circumstances, she thought to herself. As her shaking slowed to a mire tremble, she disengaged herself from his arms.
“I don’t think I will ever be alright again. I was so scared. That unfortunate woman and an hour ago she was playing a slot machine next to me. Are the police here yet?” Beth talked so fast she had to stop and took a deep breath. Beth always spoke rapidly when she was excited or afraid.
“Yes, they’re here. The police chief is the friend I am visiting with today. He asked me to stick around and consult on the case,” Tyler informed Beth.
Joy exited the bathroom feeling better. She was still pale but functioned better now.
“Tyler, do the police have any idea who killed that woman?” Joy asked.
Before Tyler answered, Beth said, “You remember my sister Joy from the airport? And this is my other sister, Lynn,” Beth introduced Lynn, who sat in the chair by the window.
“Wish we could’ve all met under better circumstances, but its nice meeting you both. I’m glad Beth’s not alone, and no, the police have no ideas at this time. First they have to identify the woman and find out why she’s here, etcetera,” Tyler informed them.
“Do you know how long we’ll have to stay here?” Beth asked him. “I’d like to get back to the cabin. Joy’s not feeling well, and frankly, now, neither am I.”
Another knock sounded at the door. Tyler opened it this time and saw his friend Michael, the police chief stood outside the door. “Come in, Michael. This is Beth, who found the body. These are her two sisters, Lynn and Joy.”
Michael felt the tension in the air so he said, “I know how upsetting this is and I can see by the paleness of all three of you that none of you feel like answering questions right now, so I’ll keep this short.”
“Please keep it as short as possible. My sister Joy is sick and we’d like to get back to our cabin soon,” Beth told Michael.
Michael nodded his head as he asked Beth, “I understand that it was you who found the body. Is this correct?”
Beth swallowed hard as she remembered the event, “Yes, I was getting ice for Joy. Damn, I’m sorry Joy. I never got the ice,” Beth apologized.
Joy sat down on the arm of the chair Beth sat in and pus her arm around Beth’s shoulders, “It’s OK. I’m feeling better and besides, after what you saw I can’t blame you for forgetting the ice.” Joy watched Michael and thought she had to feel better if she noticed two very handsome men in the room.
“Beth, please tell Tyler and I what happened,” Michael said in his deep cop voice.
Tyler sat down on the padded arm of Beth’s chair opposite of Joy. He reached for Beth’s hand to reassure her while she recounted her experience.
Squeezing Tyler’s hand for comfort Beth started her story, “Like I said before, Joy needed some ice, not only for an ice pack, but for munching so she would feel better. I wasn’t sure where the ice machine was located so I walked down the hall and up the few stairs on the left then down another hall till I came to a door. When I opened the door and stuck my head through, I could see the ice machine so I walked over to it but before I could get any ice, I saw what looked like a blond wig on the floor sticking out from behind the machine. You know, the machine isn’t flush against the wall. It’s more like in the middle of the little room.”
Beth stopped to take a deep breath. She shivered as she recalled seeing the dead woman, but she wanted this over with so she continued, “I bent down to pick it up and saw that it wasn’t a wig at all, but real hair and it was attached to a woman’s head. I could see the scarf tied tightly around her neck and her eyes were open in death. That’s when I ran screaming all the way back here.”
Michael took notes in his notebook but stopped and asked, “Did you see anyone else on your way to or from the ice machine?”
“No. I got a creepy feeling as I walked down the second hallway and when I saw the room the ice machine is in. It looks like a construction site. But I didn’t see anyone till I got back to this hallway. People were outside of their rooms wondering why I was screaming, I guess,” Beth recalled and added, “There’s not that many rooms at this hotel, so I guess some people where just walking in the hallway.”
“She really doesn’t know more than that. Can we leave now, please?” Lynn asked the police chief.
Michael looked over at Tyler who asked Beth for the address of their cabin and phone numbers for each of the sisters. He saw the look in Beth’s eyes, but he reassured her, “The police need to have the information in situations like this. There will be more questions later, and they’ll have to be able to contact you.” Tyler breathed a sigh of relieve as he knew he narrowly avoided Beth’s anger.
Joy picked up the hotel room stationary and wrote down the cabin’s address and her full name and cell phone number then she handed the pad to Lynn. Lynn added her name and cell phone number and handed the pad to Beth, who wrote down her information, then tore the page off and handed it to Michael. Then Beth wrote on a second sheet of paper and handed it to Tyler as she smiled weakly.
Frowning, Tyler looked at the paper and gave a chuckle. He smiled at Beth and told her, “I’ll call you in a little while and not just to see how you’re doing, but to reschedule our date.”
A shocked look came over Beth’s face. She forgot about their lunch date. After the day like today, she really hoped Tyler does call and reschedule. Her thoughts next ran to her sisters and their vacation. She had to remind them of the duck from last night. They could all use some laughs on the way back to the cabin.