Part 22 by Leibniz
for otis, the boredom had begun to settle in earlier than usual. he had driven this route before, and every bump and subtle swerve seemed to enjoy reminding him of it. "things could be worse," he reminded himself, sighing gently. it came as no surprise, then, that he felt a surge of interest at the crackle of the dispatcher's voice: a domestic disturbance at the opelika inn - not uncommon on auction weekends. still, it offered something other than the rather insipid routine of his beat.

the scene at the inn was rather gruesome - out of character, even for this side of town. as the first responding officer, his first obligations were to secure what was obviously a crime scene, and to request additional help. and so, waiting for assistance, he began to piece together those details he could gather.

there was a woman - no one he recognized, though that was not unusual on weekends such as this. she had obviously been involved: her tussled demeanor showed that clearly. the hotel clerk seemed to think that she had been in the room, though she had not checked in and had not been seen entering.

mike lay just outside the room in the hallway. otis had known mike only cursorily - booked him once on a possession charge. lying there,though, he looked so innocent. "wrong place at the wrong time, poor bastard," he mumbled to himself, noting the hole through the paper thin wall. it seemed clear to him now: someone had tried to prevent her from leaving; someone who was, perhaps, not the best shot.

according to raymond at the front desk, the room was registered under the name smith; an elderly gentleman, snappy dresser, big tipper. despite the fact that he kept mostly to his room, mr. smith was nowhere to be found, and otis made note of the rather conventional ring to his name. reporting his initial findings to deputy kaelin, he offered to help the coroner's assistant with the body, after which he returned upstairs to locate the woman. with time, she had begun to calm down enough to talk.

no sooner had he asked for her name, though, than his radio come alive with the hysterical shouts of a familiar voice. the woman's response had come slowly, and the intermixing of the two threw otis into momentary confusion. "excuse me, ma'am," he queried. "did you just say that your name is daisy montoya?"

"yes, i... anna? officer, is that my daughter's voice on your radio? what's going on?"

it did not occur to otis to answer the question as he stood trying to make sense of it all. realizing quickly that actions, not answers, were what the situation demanded, he set out for the hospital, mrs. montoya in tow. at the hospital, the pair found deputy kaelin in surgery; otis then led them to anna's room, where he found her trembling from the shock of recent events. offering her his handkerchief, he broke the silence. "i guess this has been quite an evening for you. is there anything i can get you?"

"i just need some answers..." replied anna as she raised her head. her eyes coming slowlyinto focus, anna gasped and then dropped the handkerchief as she recognized the disheveled figure behind otis's lanky frame. "mother?!? what are you doing here?"

otis tried to make sense of the rapidly developing conversation, though the two were obviously quite conscious of his presence. it seemed as though they were discussing the old canter murder/suicide case, but the intricacies of the discourse just didn't make sense to him.

"no, no, anna, you're wrong. clyde didn't kill my mother. he loved her, and she loved him... in her own way. you have to remember - this was a long time ago. she loved john deeply, but stayed married to clyde for a reason," daisy revealed with a sigh, a single tear sliding down her tired face. "i'm so sorry that i never told you... my mother and clyde had an... an agreement."

"it doesn't make any sense, mother. why would she have stayed with him,when she really loved john? and, if what you're saying is true, who killed them?"

"ask yourself this, anna: why was there never a decent investigation? who had access to the crime scene photos you mentioned finding at your home? who do you think tried to kill me earlier, and probably tried to kill kaelin tonight to stop this investigation?"

anna's confusion was obviously mounting. "i have no idea. what aren't you telling me, mother?"

"anna, rose wasn't the only one having an affair."

(to be continued)