“So Juan didn't just come down to see the roster?”
“No, no.”
Travis sighed with relief. Maybe Juan wasn't trying to track down Jimmy.
“Something wrong?” Peggy’s big eyes regarded him curiously. “I saw him stalking around earlier this morning before everyone got up bitchin’ about Jimmy. He looked at the roster then.”
“Shit,” Travis exclaimed, and quickly found where Jimmy was supposed to be. Juan’s temper was building up to an explosion.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing,” Travis lied, heading back to the elevators.
As he listened to the whir of the elevator rising, he stood in quiet frustration. Couldn't they have just a nice little period of no major drama? Couldn't they just fucking enjoy the hotel without all of this?
Hell, he couldn't even enjoy being with Katie this morning. He was already in work mode.
The doors slid open and he strode out swiftly. Ahead of him, a door was propped open and the early morning rays were filtering into the long hallway in a stream of light. Juan walked out into the hall and stood there, looking angry.
“Juan, you didn't do anything-”
“He's not fucking at his post,” Juan answered. “I told you he was a pussy.”
Travis lifted an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Not there. We have no coverage in the front of the hotel. The fucker is off picking his ass.”
Travis walked into the hotel room and looked around. There was a chair near the window, which was open, and the curtains were pulled back. A table was strewn with soda cans and an ashtray.
Moving toward the window, he looked out. The street had a few of the shambling-type of zombies wandering around.
“I told you he is a fucking pussy that doesn't give a shit about anyone or anything,” Juan ranted behind him.
Travis looked directly downward and froze. “Shit, Juan. What did you do?”
“Huh?”
Below him, in a bush, was what remained of Jimmy struggling to get up.
Juan leaned out next to him. “Oh, man.”
“Juan,” Travis said again, very softly, “What did you do?”
“Nothing! I swear. I got in here and he was not at his post!”
Travis rubbed his brow.
“I did not throw him out of the gawddamn window, Travis!”
“Then who did?” Travis asked. “Then who did?”
3. Judgment is Drawn
Travis stood in the corner with his arms folded across his chest. His face was solemn and his gaze intense. The Mayor, Peggy, Curtis, and Juan all sat around the Hotel Manager’s office in an uncomfortable silence. Jenni and Katie stood near the door, both of them looking very pensive.
Nerit strode in, her rifle over one shoulder, and looked at Travis.
“It’s taken care of.”
Bill followed her in holding a notepad and looking very official.
“Okay, we hooked the body after Nerit put him down and dragged it up to a balcony. I examined it and even though there was extreme damage to the corpse, I was able to conclude that there was no sign of trauma other than some abrasions on his knees and hands. I think he was pushed out the window fully conscious. There was no sign of head injury other than his eyes and parts of his face missing.”
Manny fidgeted, then said, “Could he have fallen?”
“I might have considered that a possibility if not for the fact that we already had one murder,” Bill answered.
“I didn’t do it,” Juan said softly.
“I hate to say it, but you are the most likely suspect right now, Juan.
Both Ritchie and Jimmy were people you had a beef with,” Bill said.
“We all had issues with Ritchie to some extent and Jimmy did piss off a lot of people yesterday,” Travis pointed out.
“It could have been me,” Jenni said defiantly.
“True. We could have two different murderers on our hands, but the fact remains that two people were pushed out of the safety of our fort and left to die at the hands of the zombies,” Bill said in a very serious tone.
“I can deal with this if you want, Manny” Curtis said to the Mayor.
“No offense, Curtis, but I think Bill should deal with this. He has a lot more experience than you and he is an outsider so he isn’t biased,” the Mayor answered.
“No one is an outsider anymore,” Katie spoke up. “We’re all intertwined in each others lives. There could be many more people with a beef against both of the victims. We can’t just go after the first convenient suspect. You need a solid case before any action is taken to make sure we’re not just on a witch hunt. You need a solid case.”
“Spoken like a true prosecutor,” Bill said with amusement.
“I don’t want this getting out,” the Mayor said after a beat. “A party is planned for tonight and we need it for morale.”
“People are already talking about Jimmy,” Nerit cut in. “It is hard to keep things quiet in such a small community.”
“She’s got a legitimate point. Besides, hiding something from the general population only ends up blowing up,” Katie remarked.
“You have to wonder if the government knew what was going on when this whole zombie thing started,” Jenni added. “I mean… hell…where did all the zombie movies come from? There had to be something going on that inspired them.”
Travis chuckled softly. “I always thought Romero was just sick in the head.”
Jenni gave him a dark look, but then shrugged dismissively. “Well, I still think they knew something.”
“It doesn’t really matter now, does it?” Curtis said darkly. “The government ain’t here anymore as far as we know. But we are.”
“I’ll handle the investigation and keep it on the low down or as low as I can,” Bill said. “And I’ll start by questioning Juan.”
Juan let out an explosive sigh and threw up his hands. “Fine. It’s not like I have work to do to make us all safe.”
Jenni sat down next to him and took his hand. “I’m staying with him.”
Bill nodded. “That’s fine, but the rest of you should go.”
Manny said, “Okay, but let me know what you find out.”
Peggy stood up and headed out the door, Katie following. Travis hesitated then followed them out as Curtis and the Mayor also left with grim expressions on their faces.
The Mayor drew Curtis aside, whispering, “We need damage control, Curtis. We can’t let this get out.”
Travis sighed and walked on, hands in his pockets. Some things never changed he supposed; once a politician always a politician.
His face brightened when he saw Katie hanging back in the hallway that led from the hotel’s offices to the lobby. The fact she was now with him still made him grin and feel a little overwhelmed. Reaching her, he laid his hand on her cheek and leaned down to give her a kiss.
Her lips were soft and sweet against his. She slid her arms around his waist and rested against him.
Apart from everyone else, they shared a quiet moment of kisses. “I need to get to work.”
“I know. I have to report for lunch duty,” Katie murmured against his chest. “I'll see you tonight at the party though.”
“Are we going?”
Katie pressed herself up against him and gave him a look he found hard to resist. “I figured we could go and make an appearance, then sneak away.”
“How about just sneaking away?” Travis asked with a grin.
“After an appearance at the party,” Katie said firmly, but with a wicked gleam in her eye.
“Okay, okay,” Travis conceded. “Anything you want.”
“Good,” she answered, and pressed her lips against his.
Travis slid regretfully out of her grasp and headed out into the construction site. He gave her one last smile, then slipped out through the old janitor’s room turned entryway.
With the “civvies” now out of the way and tucked into the hotel, the construction site was being re-organized. The plan now was to set up the third “lock” in the new vehicle entry to add more protection against the undead, then they were going to bust through the wall in the back of the old newspaper building and begin to use it for projects.
Jason was hanging out near Travis’ office with Jack. He looked nervous and unsure, his bangs hanging heavily in his face.
“Hey Jason, what’s up?”
“I was wondering if I could talk to you about some ideas,” Jason answered.
“What kind of ideas?”
Travis opened the doors to the portable office relieved that the civilians were now moved out and that they could once more reclaim it as office space.
“Stuff to kill zombies other than just guns and bows and arrows. No one is really good with the bows and arrows anyway,” Jason answered.
“Well, except Lenore.”
Travis raised an eyebrow. “True. What do you have for me?”
Jason heaved his large backpack up onto a chair and began to unpack it onto a cleared desk. He looked nervous and hesitated a few times before laying down what looked like carefully organized notes.