It's been three days and Alex couldn't still erase from his brain the mysterious woman he met in Portland. He knows it's just one night but she's already been engraved in his mind. Whenever he would close his eyes, he would see her piercing blue eyes. He would hear her laugh, see her smile.

Who would've thought all it takes is one night for him to be head over heels on someone?

The worst part is that he doesn't even know her name. That was the deal they had. No names. He could have gotten at least her number but he knows she wouldn't have given it.

His desperation evolves to planning a trip to Portland on the weekend hoping he would see her again. There's a good chance he won't but…who knows?

"Ready for the patrol Sheriff?" Zack asked.

He almost forgot about that. "Yeah", he answered.

Zack is a good kid, he thought, shady and surrounded by shadier people but deep down he has the potential to be good. He used to when he was not mixed up with the wrong people but in White Pine Bay, who else is not mixed up with the wrong people?

"So…I heard that no one wants to run against you on the election", Zack chuckled.

"It's too early to talk about elections, Zack",

"I'm just saying. You have it on the bag already. I mean…this town has never been at peace before you became Sheriff. Now, we're thriving, living in harmony, accommodating everybody. No one would want that to change", his deputy explained.

It's tiring. Accommodating everybody is a pain. He had to compromise from time to time, bend rules if he has to just to keep the illusion of peace going.

"If everyone will do their parts well and keep their businesses to themselves, this town will remain at peace even if I am not the sheriff", he said.

Zack shook his head.

"Always so humble, Sheriff…"

Then…as they drove, he noticed that a light in Keith Summers' old motel is open.

"Did someone already buy Keith's motel?" he asked out loud.

"I don't know. I haven't heard anything but it looks like it. Wanna take a look?"

"Yeah…" Alex replied.

They pulled over in front of the motel and Alex frowned upon seeing the old Mercedes car parked there. It looks familiar but he couldn't be sure where he had seen it before. It's like he's experiencing some sort of déjà vu just by looking at it.

Alex walked towards the lighted room when suddenly a woman came out. It took him a second before he was able to properly recognize who she is.

Fuck…

It's her.

It's the woman he met in Portland. Judging from the look on her face, she recognized him too. What is she doing in White Pine Bay? Did she buy the motel from the bank?

"Hello, good evening. I would offer you a room, but we're not open yet", she spoke.

God, it's really her. He would recognize that voice from everywhere. She looked startled, nervous, and a bit anxious. Is he making her anxious?

"No, ma'am. We're not looking for any room. I'm Deputy Zack Shelby. This is Sheriff Alex Romero. We just want to check in on you since we saw the lights were open and we didn't know that someone has already moved in yet", Zack said.

She looked so different from the last time he saw her. Back in Portland, she looked so free, relaxed, at ease. Now, it's the opposite. She's still as beautiful but there's a certain weariness on her face. Her eyes are sore, and she looked pale. There's also a bandage around her right hand. It could be the move. It's exhausting to move from one place to the next.

"Oh, how nice of you. I'm Norma Bates. We just moved here yesterday", she replied.

"We?" Alex found his voice.

He couldn't be sure whether there's an amusement on her face by his question.

"We as in me and my son Norman", she clarified.

Norma…so, that's her name and she has a son.

"Norma…and Norman", he trailed.

"Children take their fathers' names all the time. I thought this time could be different", she shrugged.

His next question shocked even himself. "…and your husband? Is he around?"

At this point, Norma has arched a brow at him.

"No, he's not around. He died a few months ago. Accident at the garage", she answered.

Oh…that's not a sensible question to ask. Perhaps, that's why she was in Portland three nights ago. He suddenly felt like he had taken advantage of her for some reason.

"We're very sorry to hear that, Mrs. Bates", Zack said.

"It's fine. We're doing okay. That's why we came here, to start fresh, you know. He's inside helping me with the carpets", she responded with a smile.

Zack smiled back and Alex fought the urge to snap at him. Is he really trying to flirt with her in front of him?

"Do you think it's wise to have him still up at this hour? It's school night, I believe", he asked instead.

It came out wrong too. It sounded like he's chiding her.

"Oh, I didn't realize the time. You're right. It's late. We'll just wrap on this room and then, we'll head back up. Thank you for—"

"What happened to your hand?"

It's been bugging him since he saw the bandage around it. Norma stared at it and he can literally see the wheels turning inside her head.

"I, uh…it's just…I was holding the cutter and…for the carpet, you know…it slipped. It's nothing. It's just nick", she answered.

So, that's what she looks like when she's lying. She has a tell and he figured it out straight away. Her eyes, they're so expressive that it's just so easy to spot. She couldn't seem to look him straight in the eye when she's lying but that tell is yet to be proven.

"Is there anything else I could help you with, officers?" she asked.

Huh…eager to get rid of them already.

"No, ma'am. That would be all", Zack responded.

"Alright. Thank you for stopping by and have a goodnight", she said before going back inside the room.

Alex caught sight of her son kneeling on the floor inside while holding a cutter. He's a good-looking boy, he thought. They went back inside the vehicle and he noticed that Zack couldn't stop smiling.

"What's up with you?" he asked.

"Norma Bates…she seems interesting, don't you think?"

Alex shook his head. "Zack, she just moved here. Don't mess with her",

"Chill, Sheriff. I am not planning on doing that", his deputy replied.

When he got home after his shift, Alex looked up Norma right away. Zack was right when he said she's interesting. His interest is definitely piqued.

She's a mother of two, moved from Arizona. Just like what she said, her husband died in an accident a few months back. She has no previous record. She's like any ordinary mother out there except for the fact that Alex couldn't shake the feeling that something's up with her.

The way she just moved while they were there. She's very uncomfortable. Now, he had seen her, all of her literally, and he knows how she is when she's relaxed and composed. There's none of that earlier. His guts are telling him that something's wrong and it made it hard for him to sleep.

The next day, he decided that he wouldn't stop fidgeting until he had a talk with Norma so he drove to the motel first thing. He found her by the motel office cleaning up. She straightened herself up upon seeing him pulled over.

"Sheriff…good morning. Can I help you?" she greeted.

There it is again, the nervousness.

"I was hoping to ask you that question…Norma",

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Are you alright? You seemed on edge", he asked.

"I'm fine. We're fine here. Well…maybe a little anxious to get this business up and running but other than that, we're fine", she answered. "Do you want to come inside?"

They went inside the motel's office where she handed him a cup of freshly made coffee. It's almost set up and he already liked what she's done with the place. Back when Keith was running it, the place was a mess.

"So…you're the Sheriff", she then said.

He scoffed.

"…and you're now a motel owner", he pointed out.

Norma laughed. "Alex…I like it. The name suits you",

"I didn't expect to see you here to be honest, but I couldn't say I am not glad", he replied.

"Why is that?" she asked.

He put down the cup and went around the desk to get close to her. She didn't move, didn't back away from him.

"…because I couldn't get you out of my head. Three days and you're all I could think about. I was hoping to see you again so finding you last night…it's really a nice surprise", he answered.

The way her skin reddened a little bit is so adorable.

"I can't stop thinking about you either", she muttered.

He gently cupped her face and leaned in. He has this intention to kiss her when his eyes caught something. He halted and gently tucked her hair to the side.

"Norma…what happened to you?" he asked.

His sheriff instinct kicked in fast. There is a cut on the side of her forehead, just along her hairline.

Norma stiffened under his touch and backed away from him. "Oh, I, uh…clipped it. I clipped it on the kitchen cabinet. It's silly, I know",

That's how he confirmed her tell. She always averted her eyes whenever she's about to lie to him.

"Norma, you have to tell me if someone did this to you. You don't have to be scared. I won't let him get away with it", he assured her.

God…he might kill whoever that person is.

"I'm afraid that would be pointless", he frowned. "You can't exactly shoot a kitchen cabinet", she nervously laughed. "It's fine, Alex. Don't worry about it. Listen…I have a lot of things to do here, and I am sure that you have a busy job to tend to",

She's dismissing him. What is going on here?

"Norma…"

"I'm fine, Alex", she repeated, firmly this time.

He's not convinced. He's far from it. For some reason, she's hiding something from him, and he is going to find out about it.

"Alright…" he put his card on the desk. "If you need anything, call me",

"I will. Thank you for stopping by", she then said.

…and he has a feeling that she's not going to do that because she looked away again.