She gave me a small look like the simple agreement helped more than some long speech would’ve.
Then she swiped the card and pushed the door open.
The smell hit first.
Old carpet, stale air, cheap lemon cleaner.Same as before.
The room looked untouched since she left, which made sense if nobody had checked in.Bed made tight.Curtains pulled half-closed.Ugly landscape picture crooked on the wall.Nightstand by the bed.Cheap lamp.Thin comforter with a pattern that looked like it had been chosen specifically to punish people.
McKayla walked inside and pulled the two photos from a folder tucked beneath her arm.
She had probably memorized them by now, but she still held them up and compared them to the room.
Anchor shut the door behind us and stayed near it while I moved around the space, scanning.
No obvious signs of a break-in.
Then again, this place didn’t look like it would take a criminal genius to get inside.The window lock looked like it could be defeated by a stiff breeze.The door had a chain lock, but that could also be easily popped.
McKayla stood beside the bed and held one photo up.“This one,” she said quietly.She angled the picture toward the ugly curtains.“See the pattern?”
I moved closer and looked.
Yeah.Same curtains.Same wall art edge.Same lamp angle.
Anchor stepped beside us.“That’s here.”
McKayla swallowed.“Yeah.”
She picked up the second photo and held it near the bed.“And this one.She was lying right here.”
The words hung heavy.
I looked at the bed, and then at McKayla.
Her face had gone pale, but her eyes were sharp.Her PI brain kept working even when she knew her sister had been here.
I respected the hell out of it.
“I wish I could see another room,” she said.“Just to confirm they really are the same.”
I turned and walked toward the door.
“Push?”she asked.
I didn’t answer.I stepped outside, left room eleven’s door open, and moved to the room next door.
Room twelve.
Anchor and McKayla followed me onto the sidewalk.“What are you doing?”McKayla asked.
“Confirming.”
I knelt by the lock, pulled a small tool from my pocket, and worked it into the door.Cheap motel locks were almost insulting.It took less than five seconds before the lock clicked.
McKayla stared at me.
Anchor looked bored.
