Officer June made her way to the lobby, looking for Peter. She was beginning to sweat and was slightly out of breath. She felt a little out of place without Officer Wellburn there to guide her but she knew how important getting a key would be. She imagined how much panic would set in if anyone else found out about a dead body among them with a killer still on the loose. The more she thought about it, she felt her heart begin to race, watching the few patrons go about their evening, unaware of what she knew, wondering who could have committed the crime. She caught the stare of an old man sitting by the window with his wife. The old man quickly looked away and leaned in close, whispering something to his wife. They appeared to be watching the rain fall and the wind pull blossoms from the trees. The old man stood and motioned toward the bar with his better half. She draped her arm inside of his as he made his way forward with his blue cane. They both caught Officer June's glance but said nothing. June nodded politely and continued looking for Peter. She scanned the room again and was drawn to the sound of the elevator. She noticed an Asian woman with tattoos stepping into the elevator as a maintenance man was exiting. For fear of wasting more time, she decided to ask if he'd come across Peter lately.

Stepping in his direction, she waved, trying to get his attention. "Excuse me, sir."

The worker turned, surprised that someone was speaking to him. "Me?"

"Yes, please." Officer June got close enough to speak in a low voice. "I'm looking for Peter. The bellhop."

"You mean Mr. Thornby, ma'am. He is the owner." He set down his tool bag and looked around, doing his best to assist. "I saw him last in the bar. But if he is not there, I would check the small office behind the front desk."

Officer June thanked the man and turned toward the bar. Before walking away, something peaked her interest and she spun back to ask a question. "Owner? Did you say Peter is the owner of this hotel?"

"Oh yes, ma'am." The maintenance man picked up his tool bag. "Been in his family for years."

"Good to know, thank you. What's your name by the way?" Officer June was looking at his uniform for a name tag or something to identify him.

The man looked shocked that someone would take interest in him. His eyes shifted, looking around the room for anything to be a distraction, waiting for Peter to come to his rescue. After what seemed an eternity, he nervously replied, "I'm Erik, ma'am."

"Thank you for your time, Erik. If you happen to come across Mr. Thornby before I do, please let him know I am looking for him. For now, I'll check the bar." June nodded and turned away, making her way toward the smell of bourbon.

* * * * *

The rain was pounding the pavement by the pool as lightning struck somewhere near the hotel and lit up the sky for a brief moment. Office Wellburn was scanning the area with his flashlight, looking for any sort of clue that could give them a lead. Perry found a smaller flashlight in the boiler room that barely helped at all. The base was loose and made the batteries rattle around, causing the light to flicker. The two men split up and canvased the pool area from both sides. Perry recreated the scene in his mind, trying to let his memory guide him. He suddenly remembered that he had been able to snap a few photos and was curious if they'd reveal any other information that could help the case. The way the mind works, jumping like a flash from one point to another, Perry also remembered the camera lens he'd knocked out of his window. He stepped into the small bushes of the flower bed and quickly spotted his lens. Lying in the dirt, the chrome edge made it easy to find when lightning flashed in the sky. Relieved, Perry was about to bend down and grab it when a voiced called from across the pool.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I think I found something!" Officer Wellburn was shouting, struggling to be heard over the storm.

Wellburn's discovery interrupted Perry's thoughts. He wanted to quickly grab his lens but realized Officer Wellburn was looking in his direction. Worried about looking suspicious, Perry turned back. "What is it?!" Perry moved closer toward Wellburn who was standing by the pool's pump and filtration system. It was a medium-sized unit encased in a metal box, surrounded by bushes and wood chips.

When Perry got closer, Wellburn crouched and leaned in. "Does that look like blood?"

Perry raised his flashlight that began to flicker. He slapped the light in his palm, frustrated with what he had to work with. Wellburn shone his light instead, helping Perry to see. As Perry crouched down, he saw dark, red speckles on the side of the metal box. He looked back over his shoulder at the pool again, red and littered with leaves and dirt from the storm. "Looks like the filter doesn't work too well."

Officer Wellburn also looked at the pool and then back to Perry. "Sarcasm suits you, Mr. Stone."

"And look there!" Perry pointed to the small space behind the pump box, pushing a bush aside for Wellburn to see. In the dirt and leaves was a large wrench. It did not look like someone had intentionally tried to hide it, rather it almost looked cast off.

Wellburn nudged Perry to the side and reached back to pick it up, using a handkerchief from inside his jacket to protect the item from his fingerprints. Thunder boomed again and lightning flashed. The top of the wrench was covered in deep, dark red blood. "Would you look at that." Wellburn stood again, looking at Perry. The gears in his mind were turning as he looked around, thinking about the evidence. "If I were a gambling man, and I am, I'd bet the killer was in a rush and just tossed this aside."

"Certainly looks that way." Perry motioned back to the other side of the pool. "I'll take another look around and see if anything else might help."

Lightning flashed and the crack in the sky was nearly deafening. "Sure thing! I'll get this inside and see if June got us that key!"

Officer Wellburn carefully carried the bloody wrench inside while Perry made his way back to the flower bed below his window. Searching, struggling again with his faulty flashlight, Perry found the ground where he stood before had been shuffled. Granted, the weather had made it difficult to see much, but Perry thought there certainly wasn't this much disturbance in the bushes earlier. The closer he looked, he began to make out what looked like bootprints in the mud and dirt. Perry became alarmed with the thought that someone had been here, possibly watching he and Wellburn. What's worse, Perry couldn't find his camera lens anywhere. He dropped to his knees, frantically looking. It had been so easy to see before, he was certain he couldn't miss it now. He stood again, looking around the pool area and the rain and wind whipped against his face. No one else could be seen, Perry was alone. And now someone knew that the murder weapon had been found. And that someone had Perry's missing lens.