Camera flashes spilled out of the motel room as Dietrich snapped photos.
I hovered in the doorway as Brenda examined the remains. A frown tugged my face, and sadness pulled my heart. Another young girl lay naked atop the bed, her hands folded just like Abigail's. A washcloth had been placed over her face. The same crimson marking had been scrawled in blood on the wall by the bed. The bruising around her neck indicated she’d been strangled.
The TV was on, and the volume had been turned low. A rolling suitcase rested on a stand. The room was a standard layout—two twin beds, a sitting area by the window with a wall unit, and the closet and restroom at the far end. Teal comforters matched the walls, which were adorned with abstract paintings of seascapes—cheap, mass-produced art. The Sea Drift was a nice little inn a few blocks from the beach.
"Do we have an ID on the victim?” I asked.
"The ID in her purse says Harper Quinn," Sheriff Daniels said. "Room is registered in the same name. The address listed on her ID says she's from Austin."
I only saw one suitcase. "Is she here alone?”
"It looks that way.” The sheriff frowned.
“What do you think she’s doing in town?”
“Do I look like a mind reader?”
“It might be helpful if you cultivated that skill.”
He sneered at me. “Where’s that numbskull partner of yours?”
“Looking after a high-value target.”
“I’m sure he is. Does this high-value target happen to be young and attractive?”
“That would be an accurate description.“
Daniels just gave me a look. "If Ray Corbin or Coleman or whatever the hell you want to call him is dead, then who the hell killed this girl?”
The killing had the same MO.
"I've got a theory," I said.
"I’m all ears.”
“I'm still working on it,” I muttered.
"Well, let me know when you've got something solid. I'm getting a little tired of finding dead bodies.”
"Who found her?”
"The maid."
She hovered near the room with a somber look on her face. I interviewed her in Spanish, but she didn't have much to add.
"Did you see anyone else with her?"
She shook her head.
"And you didn't see anyone else come or go from the room?”
She shook her head again.
I gave her a card and told her to get in touch if she remembered anything that might be helpful.
I banged on neighboring doors and asked guests if they remembered seeing anyone else around the room.
Nobody recalled anything unusual.
