Distant Cousins
Please see the disclaimer on the Synopsis page.
Shambhala
Lo Si gave a great sigh then finished his tale.
"Peter decided to see if he could search for his cousin, but there was one problem, Henry did not tell him where he was staying. But Peter was able to find out. He enlisted the assistance of Mary Margaret Skalany . . .
"Are you sure you want me to come with you?" Mary Margaret asked. "Why not ask Jody, she was your partner."
"You have a stake in this too, partner," Peter reminded Skalany. "Besides, two sets of eyes are better than one and you know what my cousin's car looks like."
"Do you know how many hotel and motels are in this city?"
"I'm looking for only one particular one."
"And which one would that be," Skalany asked sarcastically.
"I saw that my cousin had put the key to his room in the driver side pocket of his car. It was partially hanging out. The key ring was unusually shaped. It was a motel key, not one of those cardkeys that you get in larger hotels. The room has to be one that you enter from the outside."
"So what shape was the key ring?"
"How many motels do you know who would use a key ring actually shaped like a large key?"
"Keystone Motel! I know where that is. It's out near Rt. 29. We had a stakeout there last year. The manager had reported seeing some suspicious activity across the street. We busted a big cocaine operation."
"And that's where we're going, partner."
Ten minutes later, Peter pulled his Stealth into the lot and drove around.
"Why don't you just go to the manager's office and ask someone if they know where his room is?"
"Look," Peter pointed toward an area where there were a couple of police cars. He parked his Stealth and both got out.
"You better let me handle this," Skalany stated as she pulled out her badge.
One of the officers approached them. "You'll need to stand back. This is a police investigation."
"Detective Skalany from the 101st," Skalany stated and held up her badge. "We're looking for one of our officers. His name is Henry McLean-Caine."
"There's no one here by that name," the other officer replied. "We're looking into a possible burglary. One of the maids who came on duty this morning reported that a room had been ransacked. The door had been busted open."
"May my partner and I take a look?"
"Suit yourself. You won't find anything. The room's been picked clean. We've called in forensics to dust the room for prints so don't touch anything."
"Must be a rookie," Peter stated under his breath.
Skalany entered the room first. "What are we looking for?"
"Anything these guys may have missed."
"Are you even sure this could be your cousin's room?"
"That's my cousin's car out front. Besides, you heard the officer, the door had been busted open. If it is my cousin's room he might not have had a chance to get inside before they took him. Whoever it was, they were looking for something and found it."
"We'll let forensics to their work. We can look at your cousin's car."
Peter was about to open the driver's side when a uniformed officer stayed his hand.
"Sorry, don't want any finger prints getting smudged. You understand."
Peter was about to offer a retort when something caught his attention. He dropped to his knees and just sticking out from under he spied what he was looking for. He picked it up by his edges and stared at it. The number and the name printed on the side proved to be a match.
"It must have dropped when he got out of the car."
"We're going to have to call this in." Peter stated, returning to the mode of the detective.
"You mean, I'm going to have to call this in. Let me talk to the uniforms and see if we can begin a wider search of the area."
Peter gave her a nod and placed the hotel key on top of his cousin's car. He could not help feeling that somehow, Bon Bon Hai was connected to his cousin's disappearance. Now he had two family members to look for. He just hoped that he did not run out of time for their sakes.
Continues with Part 21
Alisa Joaquin Copyright@2003.
This story cannot be reprinted or sold in any other form without strict permission from
the author. It is being distributed here solely for your enjoyment.
Synopsis / Previous Part / Next Part
Back to Temple Tales / Contact
Alisa