-1Concerning A Murder

Chapter Nine: A Dead Body and A Clean Getaway

Alex squinted up at the ceiling as he slowly awoke to the sound of sirens in the distance. He turned to see Mort standing at the foot of his bed with their two overnight bags in hand. Mort smiled good-naturedly down at the boy and tossed him his bag.

"Good thing we came to a hotel with a small Laundromat," Mort commented. "Your clothes were starting to smell something awful."

"And like you smelled any better," Alex grumbled as he changed into a pair of blue jeans and a comfortable green T-shirt. "Driving around the country in a car for so many weeks… It's a wonder we didn't personally start to grow mold. We leaving right away, or is there breakfast at this place?"

"Oh, there's always breakfast, Alex." Mort shrugged his bag over his shoulder and grabbed the key-cards for the door. "Make sure you have everything, coz we're not coming back."

Alex ran a quick search of the room and found nothing to be left behind. Satisfied, he hurried out the door and after Mort. The two entered the lobby to find several police officers standing around the corpse of the hotel proprietor, broken and staring with dead eyes at the ceiling. Alex's heart stopped in his chest at the sight. He'd remembered when they'd met the man the night before. He'd shuffled them off without a single courtesy, muttering insults in their direction as he shoved them into their room for the evening. If he'd been like that with all of his customers that night, Alex thought he might know why the man was now dead.

"Officers, what's going on?" Mort stepped forward, catching the attention of one of the officers. He turned and looked Mort up and down before studying Alex from a distance as well.

"Got a call, murder," the officer turned and pointed at the proprietor. "He owned this place, was working a late shift last night. One of the cleaning ladies found him like this this morning and called us. Did you two see anyone suspicious around here about eleven last night?" He pulled out a notebook and began to take notes on the scene.

Mort shook his head. "No sir," he replied. "We got here at about eight last night, got our room and went to bed. That guy was a bit rough with us though, like… insulting us and the other customers. To be perfectly honest, I can believe that some disgruntled person might have done him in. As for me, I figured it had just been a long day for him, so I let it slide."

One of the cleaning ladies who'd been speaking with another officer turned to watch Mort for a moment. She gasped in recognition and squealed. "That's Morton Rainey! I knew I'd seen him here last night! Him and that boy… They came in and took a room on the third floor and the boy… went out for a while."

Alex stared wide-eyed at the woman, his heart pounding. Was she accusing him of the crime, of the motive, of being out and about at the time of the murder? He shook his head and closed his eyes. The officer that had been speaking to Mort turned his eyes on Alex.

"Where were you last night at eleven, kid?"

Alex looked up at the man and tilted his head. "Asleep. I slept soundly until about two o'clock or thereabouts. I had a nightmare, if you must know. I never left that room after we got there. Too tired."

Mort touched the officer's shoulder. "He was out cold, officer. I was awake, reading from about ten until midnight. He never left the room."

The officer nodded and looked around the lobby. "Do you guys keep video surveillance of this place?"

The cleaning lady shook her head and stared at Alex a little bit longer. The officer turned and smiled at the two men. "Breakfast bar's closed, fellas. I'll take your names, please, then you'll have to leave the crime scene. If I need you, I'll contact you."

Mort and Alex fed their names to the officer and rushed out to the car. After throwing their overnight bags into the trunk, they slipped into the car and out onto the freeway.

"Maybe we ought to head home again, Alex," Mort sighed once they were about twenty miles away from the hotel. "Things are starting to get a little boring, huh?"

"Boring?" Alex exploded with a look of joy on his face. "You think waking up to find a dead body that neither of us had anything to do with is boring? Oh my God! Not that I believe in him, but oh my God! Back home, I was a wanted man… Here, I was giving cops a story from the other side of the caution tape. That's such a relief, you don't even know it!"

Mort turned to look at Alex, a startled look on his face, then looked back out at the road. Silence filled the car for several minutes before Mort spoke again. "The other side of the caution tape? You weren't foolin' when you said John was right about you."

"What?" It was now Alex's turn to appear startled. He turned instinctively to look behind him and was met with John Shooter, sitting in the backseat, watching the two men.

"Well, hello there, Mister Wright," Shooter whispered. "Now, how are my two favorite boys doin' this fine Saturday morning? Weren't too shocked by the dead man back there, were you?"

Mort laughed sharply and pulled the car over to the side of the road. "Get out, Shooter!"

"Can't get rid of me all that easy now, and you know that Mister Rainey. I'm up here," he tapped Mort's forehead. "Not here."

Alex sat forward once more, not bothering to look at Shooter anymore. "Just drive, Mort. Shooter, what do you know? About the dead man. About me. And… why can I see you if you belong in Mort's mind?"

Mort pulled the car back onto the road and drove, staring ahead, an angry growl hiding just under the surface. Alex waited patiently for Shooter's answers, while Shooter sat and watched the two men with a grin of self-satisfaction on his face.

"You both don't get it yet, do you? Oh, I'm no more fake than you two are. I'm real as they come, this time. And Alex, I've known about your mama and Jim since before you even did anything. I've known the anger you had in your heart over that one. And that man back there… Well, Alex, do you think that you really were sleepin'?"

"I remember the nightmare, and don't you dare tell me I killed that man. I would never kill someone again. I can't. It's not in me anymore. I'm too afraid."

Shooter laughed out loud and laid down in the backseat, his head behind the passenger seat and his knees drawn up just behind Mort's seat. "Too bad, not gonna listen to what I have to tell you today, I ought not to waste my breath, boys. I'll just say this much more. I'm as real as Mort there. And you are responsible for that man's death in that you provoked me to do it." He rolled over to face the back of his own seat. "Oh, and keep your eyes on the road, Mister Rainey."

Mort shook his head and took a quick glance at Shooter. "I'd been watching the road the entire time." He turned back to face forward just in time to hear and see the semi come roaring toward them. He swerved to the right. Alex covered his head as he heard the squealing tires, a shattering of glass, and a loud outburst of laughter from Shooter.

"I said, watch the road!"

TBC

It's an odd way to end a chapter, but believe me, I know where it's going, so don't worry… (Hope they buy that… I'm making it up as I go along.) Whoa, did I say that part out loud? Hehe, no, I'm not really… I make it up as I go along, sure, but I always stay three chapters ahead in my mind. Enjoy, review… and pray that I keep this groove going to get more out tomorrow.