Drained by E.H. Reinhard Read Free Book Online Page B

walked up the double flight of stairs to the building’s lobby.
    Crystal chandeliers hung from the coffered wooden ceiling. Blue carpet with gold patterns covered the floor. A circular table with a huge floral arrangement filled the center of the room. Miscellaneous chairs for lounging and talking were grouped in pairs. I didn’t see a single television or computer monitor anywhere. The building was old and extremely elegant. Beth continued walking. She appeared to know where she was going. I followed her toward the hotel’s check-in area.
    “Been here before?” I asked.
    She nodded. “Yup. This hotel is so beautiful. I actually got married here.” She continued walking.
    Maybe she just didn’t wear her ring on the job. “I didn’t know you were married,” I said.
    Beth continued, “Divorced. The marriage only lasted like two weeks. Well, it was more like two years, but it went pretty quick.”
    I didn’t question the topic further but remained quiet.
    Beth stopped at the unmanned check-in counter, and I stood to her side.
    She looked at me. “He and I are still close.”
    I nodded. “So how far are we from the sites of the body dumps?”
    “Um, from here, the most recent is about a half-hour drive south. The others are about twenty minutes in each direction. We’re pretty centrally located between everything.”
    A woman approached the counter from a room in the back, and we checked in. The woman told us someone would bring our bags up to our rooms. We headed to the elevators, and I thumbed the button to take us up. We stepped off the elevator on the tenth floor and found our rooms down the hall.
    Beth stood at her door. “I need to call Ball and give him an update. Then I’m going to get settled in and unpack as soon as my bag comes. I’ll pop over in a bit, and we can get started on some things.”
    “Yeah, sounds fine.” I swiped my card in my door and entered the room. The door swung closed at my back.
    I walked in farther and took in my surroundings. To my right was a single king-size bed, nightstands to its sides. A wingback chair and a small table stood directly in front of me. To my left was a television sitting on a four-door wood cabinet. A black folder containing the hotel’s in-room menu stood beside the television. I pulled the two larger center doors of the television cabinet open. One side was stocked with chips, booze, wine, and snacks. The other side was a mini refrigerator stocked with beer, soda, and champagne. I debated eating some of the chips and snacks—breakfast had been my last meal. I searched the small pamphlet for the prices of the items and flipped it closed when I saw a six-dollar candy bar.
    I closed the cabinet doors and crossed the bluish-gray octagon-patterned carpet to the small desk and office chair in the corner near the bed. I set my laptop bag on the desk and removed my suit jacket. I hung my jacket on the back of the chair and went on to check out the bathroom. I reached inside and flipped on the light. Beige marble tiles filled the shower and tub area, and the vanity was topped with a matching marble slab. Decorative wallpaper covered the walls. I flipped the light off and took a seat at the desk. I spun on the chair and looked over the room again. All the furniture in the room was classically designed. It went with the hotel’s character of being extremely high end for the last hundred or so years.
    I pulled my phone and dialed Karen, but my call went to her voice mail. I left a message that I was at the hotel and would try her back later in the evening. Then I turned back to the desk and removed my computer and the investigation file from my bag. After plugging my computer in, I powered it up and plugged it into my phone to get a secure Internet connection. Then I rocked back in my chair and began looking over the file for a place to start. I opened a search on my computer and plugged in the three most recent victims’ names together. I got a handful of news