Naked Frame Part 9

"Good. But first...I have a question for you."

He stood erect, and looked directly into her eyes.

"Have you ever...killed anyone? I know you were in the military, and-"

"-yeah, I've killed a few men."

"Was it hard?"

"You don't think about it. You're in survival mode."

"I see."

"The problem is...you think about it afterwards."

"Could you ever do it again?"

"I guess. If I had to. Why? You got somebody you want me to knock off?" He smiled.

She giggled. "Of course not. I'm being hypothetical, Silly."

"How about I hypothetically pull your panties off and throw you down on the couch?"

"Better yet, do it for real."

"Yes, Ma'am."

CHAPTER 10 - Tuesday, 1:40 a.m.

Gabby waited for the traffic light to turn green. "So, where are we going?"

"The Grande Pimpton Hotel," said Rebecca.

"I know where it is. But it's two o'clock in the morning. What is she-a night clerk?"

"No. She's a hooker."

"You're working for a hooker?"

"Yeah. But what I've been working on has nothing to do with her...job. It's about her daughter. Big Bill raped her."

"That b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

"He didn't force her. But legally, because she's underage, it's still rape."

"How do you know she did it willingly?"

"Well..."

"You watched, didn't you? You videoed the whole thing."

"I know-it's not pretty, but it's part of my job."

"What in the world would make a young girl want to have s.e.x with that old fart?"

"To get a job at Cafe Nue."

"Of course. So she could be discovered by a Hollywood agent."

"Those young women will do anything to get a job there. I'd like to knock some sense into all of them."

"Maybe Carly isn't answering her phone because she's busy, if you know what I mean."

"Serving a customer?"

"Is that what she calls it?"

"Yeah. But no, it's not that. Not after midnight."

"Maybe she already went home and went to bed. Turned her phone off."

"She stays at the hotel for a while, to shower and recuperate."

Gabby shook his head in disgust.

"Then she goes home to her husband."

"Does he have any idea what she's doing?"

"Oh yeah, he knows. He doesn't seem to care as long as she brings home the bacon."

"Is he a drunk? Or a lazy b.u.m?"

"Neither. He's weird. He works on cars all day long. It's all he cares about. And he's very good at it. Meticulous, but very slow. So he doesn't make much money."

As they walked up to the hotel lobby, they saw their reflection in the gla.s.s doors. Their faces and clothing were s.m.u.tty. Rebecca's half-curly hairdo was leaning to one side.

Gabby said, "We're a mess."

"We look like we just had s.e.x in a dumpster."

Gabby grinned at her. "The s.e.x part sounds good."

"Gabby." She pushed his shoulder and he lost his balance, and nearly fell down. "Oh. Sorry."

"Maybe we should have got a motel room and taken a shower first."

"But we don't have any other clothes. And I really need to do this right now. It won't take long."

When the young man at the counter saw them approaching, he began to rummage through the cabinets below. Probably looking for a can of Lysol, Rebecca thought. Or pepper spray.

"Could I please get an extra key for Room 412?"

Without saying a word, he went to the rack of key cards.

"I appreciate this," said Rebecca.

"No problem." He handed her the key card, being sure not to touch her sooty fingers.

Rebecca and Gabby walked to an elevator.

Gabby pushed the call b.u.t.ton, and whispered, "I can't believe he gave you the key card without making you show I.D. Do you know him?"

"I've seen him before when I've come here to meet with Carly. But I doubt he recognized me looking like this. I don't know why he didn't ask to see my driver's license. I think he was afraid of us."

"You came up here this late?"

"No. We would meet before she started working. In fact, I was supposed to come by here tonight-to bring her a copy of the video. That was the errand I told you about on the phone."

"Oh, yeah."

The elevator doors opened and they walked in.

Rebecca pushed the fourth floor b.u.t.ton. "The Grande Pimpton-what a name. This place is not so grand anymore."

"It gives me the creeps. It must be crawling with hookers and johns."

"And roaches." Rebecca stomped one with her foot.

The guts squished out and nearly hit one of Gabby's Italian dress shoes. He gasped and jumped back.

The elevator doors opened and Rebecca led the way to Room 412. She put her ear up to the door and listened. But she heard nothing, so she knocked.

After waiting a few more seconds, Rebecca slipped the key card into the slot. She eased down on the door lever and slowly opened the door.

The light from the hallway flooded the room, revealing a woman lying on the bed in a negligee, motionless. They went in, and Rebecca closed the door and flipped the light switch.

Carly Cinaway was flat on her back, both hands on her chest. Her eyes were wide open, filled with terror.

"Look at this thing," said Gabby, pointing to the odd-looking piggy bank on the nightstand.

"Don't touch it. It's got an alarm system." Rebecca reached into her pocket and took out a pair of latex gloves.

"You're kidding."

"What?" She pulled the gloves onto her hands.

"Where did you get those?"

"I had a box of them in my purse. In my line of work, you never know when you're going to need to touch things without leaving fingerprints." She felt Carly's neck, trying to locate a pulse.

"Anything?" said Gabby.

Rebecca frowned and shook her head.

"What do you think killed her? I don't see any blood."

Rebecca inspected the neck. "Doesn't appear she was strangled."

"Overdose?"

"Maybe. But I don't see any pill bottles." She checked each arm. "No needle marks."

"From the look on her face-"

"-I know. It's almost as if something scared her to death." She slid her hands under Carly's body and rolled her onto her side.

"What are you doing? You don't want to mess around with the crime scene."

"I just need to make sure-wonder what this is?"

"What?"

"Two little red spots on the sheet, where her head had been lying. She's bleeding."

Gabby walked over to take a closer look. "Awe, come on, Becca. That could have come from a pimple. It's nothing. Let's get out of here before we get caught."

"Let me take a closer look." She began to inspect the back of Carly's head, foraging through her hair. "I wish we had your flashlight."

"It's in the car. And don't ask. I won't go get it. We need to leave. Now."

Rebecca continued searching Carly's head. "I feel something right here."

Gabby reached into his pocket and took out his key ring. "Try this."

She looked up. Gabby had a tiny flashlight on his key ring.

"Thanks." Rebecca held her place on Carly's scalp with one hand while taking the key ring light with the other. She leaned in close and s.h.i.+ned the light where her finger was. "Check this out."