53.
~ Alex woke up feeling good the next morning. His body hurt, but he couldn't let that slow him down. His hands were a mess of cuts and blisters, but work gloves solved all that.
Mixing the cement was easy. It was good that it was old already. It hardened faster and looked aged along with the other shoddy patch work done to the rest of the basement floor over the years. By the time it had dried Romero had cleaned up the kitchen, taken out the trash and was starting on the dishes.
He'd wait till night to move the old furniture over his newly lain concrete; and made the area a cluttered mess. Putting that heavy, rusted farm equipment and stacks of old boxes. He would throw more dirt over everything to make it look undisturbed. Alex almost felt like an artist; deciding how to properly decorate a new grave.
He was reenergized now. Born a new. Norman was gone; cleaned off from existence. Nice and neat; no one would even miss him. Not after being gone all these years. Now, all he had to do was work on the house. The kitchen wan't as bad as it had looked to Dylan. Once the shades were pulled up, it was easy to see the mess he'd made in his grief.
He cleaned out the fridge of rotting foods. Norma's organic food delivery, that he'd never learned how to cancel, would arrive that afternoon. He had to start eating healthy again. No more booze, no more TV dinners. He knew Dylan would make good on any threat to gain custody of Lulu. Dylan was decent and honorable that way. He would put a small child's welfare above everything.
Romero would have to open the motel again to. Clean and air out all the rooms and see if anyone had tried to book a room online already.
It seemed he had gotten a lot done after the midnight burial. That days had passed and his body felt tired, but good. Like his health was coming back. He was so busy, he hardly notched Sheriff Flint pulling into the motel parking lot in what used to be his old police SUV.
"Thought that was you." Flint waved a friendly arm of greeting at the former sheriff. "How are you doing, Alex?"
"Fine." Alex said curtly. He had every door of the motel open to receive the fresh air that was coming from the mountains. The work gloves neatly covering his tattered hands so no one would ask questions.
"Getting ready for spring tourists." Romero explained showing Flint the empty trash bag he was using to clear away the leaves and trash that had accumulated.
"Good, man!" Flint said in a false, politician voice.
"Something I can help you with?" Alex asked coldly. "I've got motel guests coming in this evening."
"Matter of fact, yes." Flint said. "Let's go inside the office." He waved a hand to the small, but always comfortable back office Norma had. Her neglected succulents by the window, looked as though they hoped she might be back any second.
Alex winced at seeing the play area she'd quartered off for Lulu when she wasn't able to leave the baby at the house and run the motel.
"Some bad business has happened. You may have heard about it."
Alex shook his head.
"I haven't heard anything." He admitted honestly. Romero seldom watched TV anymore and had hardly checked his phone.
"I can imagine. Everything that happened. It was in the paper a few days after… well, after Norma passed away." Flint told him in a gentle tone.
"What are you talking about?" Alex asked gruffly.
"A girl was found." Flint explained clearly. "She was found naked in the trunk of her car at the other motel across town. She was found a few days after your wife died, Alex."
Romero felt his blood turn cold.
"Who was she?" He asked.
"A waitress at the diner by the off ramp. The diner where there's a billboard all about yours and Norma's motel." Flint added.
Alex blinked and stayed silent.
"Her name was Britney Lowe. She'd been arrested for-" Flint started to explain.
"For drugs a few times." Alex nodded. "I… yeah, I remember her."
"We couldn't get a DNA sample off of Miss Lowe. He used a condom." Flint said.
"She was raped?" Alex asked in slight horror.
He knew that Brittany had been pregnant the last time he saw her. Last year at Christmas and he'd taken his family out to lunch at that small diner Norma liked so much. They had given Lulu a lemon wedge to naw on and she'd made faces at how sour it was.
Had Britney had her baby? He or she would be about four months old now. Four months old without a mother. Britney had been a nice girl. She had remembered Norma's name and asked how Lulu was doing. She always asked Alex the same thing: "Staying out of trouble, Sheriff?" Always teasing any cop that came into the diner with that line. The one place that was open all night and day, so it was natural for cops all over the county to take a break there. Alex had liked Britney. She had come from a hard family life and gotten beaten up by her boyfriend a few times. Britney wasn't lucky enough to be born beautiful or strong like Norma had been.
Alex remembered how Britney looked too. Her hair always tied in a messy bun. Her hair greasy. Her pink uniform…
Her uniform was in the back of Norman's van. It was crumpled and dirty, but it was hers.
"She was bludgeoned to death." Flint clarified; breaking into Alex's memory. "The fact that she was found naked automatically warrants a rape investigation."
"Why are you telling me this? I'm not the Sheriff anymore." Alex asked.
"Your wife and Miss Lowe might have been hurt by the same person." Flint said gently.
"Norma wasn't raped." Alex snapped. "They tested… they made sure." He argued.
"I know. But there were other similarities." Flint explained.
"Like what?" Alex barked.
"We think the killer saw the billboard at that diner for your motel and got an idea to go there." Flint said. "We need to know if you saw a white van around the time your wife died. Or after."
"White…" Alex searched for the word.
"White van. Utility van, yes." Flint said helpfully.
"No." Alex said and mad himself look as depressed as possible. "Um, to be honest, Sheriff, I haven't been out of the house much since it was released back to me. Dylan, my step son, isn't letting my daughter come home until I, clean the place up."
Alex shook his head and tried to seem as pathetic as possible. He knew he looked the part; with his unshaved face, messy hair and dirty clothes.
"Until I clean myself up." He admitted sadly.
Flint bought it. Bought it all. He looked sorry for Alex Romero.
"I know it's been hard. But, you have that little girl to think of now, Alex." He said hopefully.
"I know." Alex responded. Sounding as sad and Flint wanted him to be.
"We found the van." Flint added helpfully.
Alex looked alarmed but not too alarmed.
"What van?" He asked innocently forgetting.
"The white van we think was involved with Miss Lowe and your wife's death." Flint clarified.
"Oh." Alex said sadly. "Right."
"It was burnt to hell. Registered to a Jullian Turner. That name sound familiar?" Flint asked.
"Um… maybe?" Alex shrugged not willing to commit to any statement.
"Well, he used to live and work here. Although he spent some time working at a motel in Nevada." Flint explained.
"Criminal record?" Alex asked.
"Only petty bull shit." Flint shrugged. Clearly frustrated with his first few months on the job and having two horrible murders to deal with. "Shoplifting, breaking into a home, failure to appear. Nothing like what we're talking about."
"Oh." Alex said. "Is their… information on him at the station?" Alex offered. How could this man possibly replace him as Sheriff? He was joke. He gave away important information too easily and didn't know how to backtrack a suspect.
"We've looked. Yes, and it seems he moved on after the quarantine here was lifted." The Sheriff explained.
"Oh." Alex nodded not offering up any new information. That was how guilty people got caught. By offering up information that wasn't asked.
"Has anyone strange come to the house?" Flint asked again.
Alex shook his head.
"No." He admitted. "Dylan and Emma have been the only ones who've come and seen me. You think this um.. Turner person came to the house that night?" Alex nodded. He needed more information. Flint would roll over and give it to him.
"We think he came in through the basement." Flint said irritably.
Alex stopped cold.
"What?" He asked.
Flint nodded.
"The doors to the house were all locked. No signs of forced entry there. The storm doors to the basement, that had been tampered with. We think the killer came in through the basement, let himself into the house. Surprised your wife." He explained.
Alex was speechless. He had imagined Norma had joyfully let Norman in through the front door, only to have him turn on her like a rabid dog.
"The detectives don't think you were involved. So that's some good news for you." Flint advertised.
"Well… I could have told them that." Alex said pretending to be clueless and humble. Flint was showing his cards too much again. Giving away too much information.
"Yeah, your cell phone records and security cameras at the greenhouse put you an hour away at the time." Flint admitted.
"When, when Norma was killed." Alex said dully. He'd never thought about when exactly she died. Didn't like to think about it. If he hadn't gone to the greenhouse that day, he could have stopped Norman. Saved his wife.
Norman would still be buried in the basement though. There was no way to avoid that.
"Yes, I'm just thankful you had that baby with you. It could have been so much worse." Flint sighed.
"Yes." Alex said dully. "I don't like to think about what might have happened."
~ Flint asked a few more questions of Alex. Seeming to want his advice more than anything else. The new Sheriff of White Pine Bay was at a loss of how to proceed in investigating the two murders.
Alex had to feel a little sorry for him. He would never catch the murder.
~ "The house looks… nice." Dylan said suspiciously looking around the kitchen and hallway.
It had been a week since Norma's oldest had made threats to find a lawyer and gain custody of his half sister. The house now looked as if Norma had just stepped out.
"Lulu here?" Alex asked. "You said you were going to bring her."
"She's out back with Emma. We… we needed to make sure." Dylan admitted apologetically.
Alex didn't waste time forgiving Dylan, because there was nothing the younger man had done wrong. If the situations had been reversed, Alex would have done the same thing. Besides, his daughter was waiting for him.
"Daddy!" She screamed at seeing him.
Emma looked worried but Dylan was saying it was okay.
"It's fine." Dylan said and allowed Alex to take his daughter back inside.
"We're going to need to come by everyday." Dylan was warning him. The couple following Romero back into the house. "We need to check on you two."
"That's fine." Alex laughed feeling how warm and perfect his little girl was. She squirmed out of his arms and wanted to be put down.
Romero could accept he had to earn back Dylan's trust. He'd fallen into a dark place and Lulu couldn't be cared for by someone drowning in grief like he had been.
"Mommy!" Lulu shouted and toddled to her playroom. The little girl looking for Norma in each room.
"She does that." Emma explained somberly. "She cries for Norma a lot."
Alex noticed something was different about Emma.
"Your oxygen." He nodded to her. "It's gone."
Emma and Dylan smiled.
"What happened?" Alex asked.
"Mommy!" Lulu was shouting in the living room.
"Um… there's a new medication out. It was used to help people breathe better with the virus. It's really good. Helped my lungs a lot. It hasn't fixed the problem. I have to wear my oxygen at night, but it's good so far." She explained.
"When?" Alex asked.
Lulu racing back into the kitchen still looking for Norma.
"Just before mom.… um." Dylan answered and looked at Lulu sadly.
"I should have noticed." Alex said. "I'm sorry."
"You had your hands full." Emma said with a soft smile.
"Mommy." Lulu moaned sadly.
"Maybe sleeping in her old bed will help." Emma offered. "She's going to wonder where Norma is for awhile. It's not like we can explain what happened. We can only be there for her."
Alex nodded.
"Has she had a bath?" He asked.
"Yeah, she's eaten and is ready for bed." Emma smiled nodding that the toddler was in her pink footie pajamas already.
"I'll be here in the morning." Dylan said sternly. "To open the motel and see how you two did."
Alex nodded. This was how it had to be right now. This strange waters of trusting him to care for Lulu alone.
~ Finally, they left, and Alex could put Lulu to bed.
"Mommy." Lulu cried weakly and allowed her father to scoop her up and take her upstairs.
"I miss her too, baby." He whispered. "Dream of her tonight."
It felt good to put Lulu back in her little bed. The toddler becoming fussy at Norma not coming when she was so clearly needed. Alex read to her and left her night light on. He made sure she used the bathroom before tucking her in.
"I'm leaving my door open." He whispered to her. "I'm just in the next room."
He woke up sometime in the night to find Lulu crying beside the large bed he'd shared with Norma.
"Come on." He whispered and pulled her up to sleep with him. The child sobbing slightly that her mother wasn't anywhere to be found now.