The One and Only (Chapter!)
What’s up S ?
Cute girl at 12 o’clock…
What abt her?
Test 4 ur power of observation & deduction.
Let me see! Chick’s a front-office staffer…lives alone…aims to land a rich dude someday..
Pedestrian W ! Story of Every-Young-Woman-in-Town.
U r biased !
Tell me her name…her hobbies, the low-down.
She looks a Rachel to me… …no…Ruby! That’s it. Our Ruby likes …to read…chat …try new food places…
F……… good, W ! ..You got her name frm her ring, right? Her hobbies…well, she’s a bit chubby…despite her workouts to stay in shape, her healthy behind gives away her weakness for fancy restaurants! Her wrinkled forehead suggests a reader. The smile tells u she’s recalling a naughty message frm a friend… that she chats with!
Elementary, my dear S! Her Facebook a/c.
S and W ! If u guys have done ogling at Ruby, come for breakfast. Oh, yeah! Your no- good inspector L called…said some famous writer dude was bumped off last week..wanted u 2 call him.
Thanks Mrs. H! Come , let’s eat.
I’ll only have coffee. Do u recall the writer guy’s case?
PB ! The spook-story guy. Made himself a pot of dough. Was at his hotel suite…working on his next paranormal yarn. Was done in right there. Blow to the back of his head with a club or something.. No clue abt who we should thank …. CCTV showed the cleaning woman and then the room service guy entering the room, around the ToD. Both old-timers...no leads there..
Any bright ideas, my dear W?
PB put it about a lot…a Casanova……
Someone whose woman he’s doing had had enough… right?
Something like that. Call the inspector, will u? Let’s see what he wants frm us.
Aye, aye, captain! ….Hello, afternoon, inspector! How r u? OK. Lemme cut to the chase then. What’s the deal?
OK! Yeah! But what print? Oh, fingerprint….OK..I’ll let him know. How z Mrs. L ? Hey! That’s not nice!
What’s the dope, ?
They’ve found the murder weapon… leg of a table… It was stashed with the hotel scrap. Someone saw blood on it… wiped clean.. no fingerprint.
I see!
Let’s go the hotel…maybe the scene of the crime will get your juices flowing.
Nope! Visiting crime scenes is passé, W!
That horrible Belgian’s given u a complex, S! He and his little grey cells!
Anyways..This is good news! Someone who knew the dump inside out did it…an employee with a grudge and access to the room!
But …no one other than..
The two people entered the room, I know…I badly need my pipe!
Dude!
The unlit pipe…you’re f…. annoying, W! Did L say anything else?
Nope…he sounded pissed off …barked at me when I asked after the wifey.
We have a thing for Mrs. L, do we?
Stop it !
Don’t blame u! Let’s ring the Inspector, once again! Ask him about… things he thought weren’t important… about the dead dude or his visitors…
U speak to him.
Don’t be like that, W! Just text him!
Guess it's all right! …… Let me see… wants to know if there’s any detail you’ve forgotten to mention…And …Sent!
The CCTV footage…there’s no time drag & stuff, right, W?
Nope... Here comes the inspector’reply. Now says the guest in the next room to the dead dude said he’d heard voices …two dudes …arguing …around the time of the murder.. Moron thought it’s some TV show…
Wait a minute ! The writer dude was finished off around 2 p.m., right?
So?
The house-keeping unit cleans the room around that time, right?
Yea …when the guests aren’t usually around.
OK! The neighbour’s dope puts a new spin on the case, right?
You mean the game’s afoot?
Grow up , W! The argument…and the table leg as the murder weapon. What do they tell us?
That it’s an inside job!
Bright! Tell me more!
Hmmmmm ..Nothing..
Can’t you see it’s a crime of passion?
Yeah?
Yet, the table leg’s spotless … no fingerprints or fibers!
So?
Put the two together!
Mmmmm… Got it! The maid did him in. The cleaning girl…
Great start!
PB had a thing for maids..he grabbed her a..s...s…
Go on!
They struggled… she grabbed the loose table leg and bashed his head in. She had her gloves on, so no prints…got out, smuggled the leg in the janitor’s trolley …and got rid of it.
Pretty good.. except, the table in the room isn’t missing any legs..and the neighbour heard a male voice….
Maybe the woman’s a hoarse voice! The `not missing` leg, … that is a problem..
You had it, ! …but for one minor detail…
Which is?
You pinned it on the wrong person….
How so?
Use the clues…you’ll get it.
I can, but I’m just the recording angel, right, S?
OK! PB, the victim, was doing the maid…and someone close to the maid didn’t like it. PB insulted the guy …the man snapped…
Guy? You said I was right about the maid….you mean?
Exactly! The man in disguise.
Hold on.. L said he’s sure it’s the maid that entered the room ….
And he’s right about it!
Then how on earth….
Use your imagination !
Oh! He’s disguised as a woman..but …how? Did he get help from a pro?
Sure! The best pro there is!
Who?
Guess. His name begins with a capital G!
You mean…?
Yeah! The guy’s her twin.
Oh, F…!
W, language!
Someone working for the hotel…who’s her identical twin!
And who doesn’t leave fingerprints…quite naturally?
Leaves no fingerprints… A ghostly doppelganger!
No ghosts!
Then …who?
The sibling…leaves no fingerprints…naturally, guess!
Not helping!
The chef, dude!
You mean he went in, playing the maid?
Armed with the table-leg, just in case!
They quarreled...He knocked PB cold with a blow!
Hid the leg in the trolley…and walked out…
With an exaggerated ass-shake.
Didn’t have to worry about fingerprints … tossed the leg into the scrap pile…
But ...suppose the maid had told the cops she never entered that room that day?
The brother must’ve warned her…or she’s fed up with the quickies…
S!
Sorry! Ask L!
Will do!
Come let’s eat something! I’m starving!
