Crow's Path Ch. 02

Welcome back to our continuing mystery on Festival Island with Detective Crow and his companions. I'd like to thank both ElectricEmber and Wildbacchante for editing. I'm already working on Chapter 3 so you can expect the next installment in just a few weeks. Hope you enjoy!

*****

"Livid" was the only way to describe the look in Crow's eyes as he opened the door to room 913. Sam had seen this look many times and knew to give him a wide berth so that when the inevitable yelling began she could at least save her eardrums.

Claire's room should have been secured the moment security was notified of the incident. Instead, her roommate had insisted on staying in a separate hotel for the remainder of her stay and as a result all of their things had been cleared out and the room was sanitized by housekeeping.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" he asked. The Lieutenant in charge of this sector of the island had been responsible for the arrangements. Now he stood there, confusion and embarrassment clouding his eyes as he attempted to defend himself.

"I don't see what's such a big deal? The girl made it clear that she didn't want to come back into this room after what happened."

"The 'big deal,' is that this could very well have been a crime scene."

The officer literally had to restrain himself from rolling his eyes. "Crime scene? The only crime that took place in here was drug use. The supposed victim was found asleep in her bed when Sergeant McCuen arrived and, forgive me for being blunt, I don't think that sex with imaginary friends quite qualifies as a crime. Sorry, who did you say you were?"

"Crow. I'm in charge of this investigation." He took a step towards the supervisor. "And do you make it a habit of ruling out possible criminal activity just because the victim isn't in the proper state of mind to confirm it?"

The lieutenant didn't have an answer for this.

"We also have to assume that, even if this wasn't an actual sexual assault, something could have altered her state of mind to make her believe that it happened. You mentioned drugs, but it could also have been something in the room itself," Sam added. "Best case scenario, housekeeping cleaned up any potential sources of contamination. Worst case, your cleaning staff could also now be infected."

"You really think this may have been because of a fungus or something?" It finally dawned on the supervisor how serious this could be.

"This isn't the kind of case where you make assumptions," Crow answered. "And now that the room has been sanitized it'll be much harder to rule it out."

While this was going on, Roger was waiting by the door. He hadn't said much so far, but Crow knew he would likely be feeling a bit guilty right about now. He had been the first officer to respond to the call. The decision to leave had obviously been on his supervisor, but it wasn't the best demonstration of a questioning attitude.

"What would you like for me to do now?" the embarrassed Lieutenant asked. Captain LeCroix had made it clear to all of her supervisors and officers that full cooperation was expected with the private detective. Failure to do so would not be favorable.

"Call the manager and make sure this room doesn't become listed as available for occupancy. Do the same with the other rooms of the first two victims. Then we'll need to seal it off somehow. You don't have to use yellow and black tape or anything, just have an officer on patrol to check and make sure nobody has tried to unlock it."

"I'll get on that. Should...should I have the housekeeping staff sent to the hospital to get checked?"

Crow thought about this for a moment. "Yes, but do so quietly. Find out who cleaned the room and send them only. No need to start a panic among the staff."

The supervisor nodded and left them alone. Crow shook his head in frustration. He wanted to believe that the man really meant no harm, but in this line of work complacency and laziness were dangerous. He expected that the Lieutenant would no longer hold his title by the end of the week, if he had a job at all.

Crow gave strict orders to Sam and Roger to remain outside while he went inside the room. Sam protested but was quickly silenced when her employer pointed out that there was only one filtration mask for them to use. The mask itself was a half-face model used by the construction team for sanding, but it would work fine for a quick inspection of the room.

Crow fitted the mask and did a positive-negative pressure check before sliding his card into the slot and pushing open the door. The inside of the hotel room was exactly as he expected it, and unfortunately it also looked and smelled cleaner than he had hoped. This had to be the first time in history he had opened a hotel door hoping that the cleaning crew had performed poorly.

He checked the bedsheet and the drawers. He went over the carpet and molding with a flashlight to check for mold or fungi. He even looked closely in the speaker holes of the phone receiver. He doubted highly that this phone had ever been used considering the excellent cell service and Wi-Fi available to the guests, but perhaps they had ordered room service at some point.

Finally he checked the bathroom, the place where Claire had been found. Immediately he knew it would be a waste of time. The tile was so white and clean that he could probably eat off of it and be fine. He was about to give up when an idea occurred to him.

Outside the room Sam and Roger waited anxiously for him to return. She was technically still his assistant, but Sam was stubborn and felt a bit of jealousy that she wasn't allowed to look for clues this time. It was a silly thing to be upset about, but it still bothered her nontheless.

She looked up to find Roger staring absentmindedly at the wall, still quiet as he waited. She had to admit that silence was probably his only flaw. Physically speaking, Roger was winning the genetic lottery. While Crow was attractive in his own way with his slim runner's build, Roger was clearly a fan of lifting weights. He was roughly as tall as Crow, but the similarities ended there. His shoulders were broad and his biceps were thick. Not incredibly so, but large enough to show underneath his sleeves. Sam wished she could see more under his shirt. There was little doubt that he would have that telltale V shape to his abdomen that, for Sam, was an instant turn-on.

He fidgeted slightly in his shirt, and the quick glance he gave her was a signal that she had been staring his way for an awkwardly long time without realizing. Sam blushed but was quick to find an excuse.

"You really don't like that uniform do you?" she asked.

Roger smiled. "Is it that obvious?"

She returned the smile. "Oh yeah. You haven't stopped shifting it around since we met. I assume you don't wear it often?"

"No, not really. We usually only wear them for special events but I think they wanted me to make an impression when you first arrived. Not sure why they chose me if that was so important."

Sam giggled. "You're selling yourself short Roger. But I'll be damned if any escort of mine is going to be uncomfortable. When you pick us up tomorrow I expect you to be dressed in your other uniform, the one that actually lets you breath a bit."

Roger was all smiles now. The ice had finally started to crack. "Yes Ma'am, I definitely won't object to that. I don't think LeCroix will really mind at least." He fidgeted some more with his sleeve. "You have no idea how ready I am to get this thing off."

"Me too," Sam replied. Her cheeks immediately flushed when she realized what she'd said. "I mean, I'm ready for you to be comfortable, not that I want you to take anything off..."

She was well aware that her body language betrayed her true thoughts on the subject, but Roger was either too embarrassed to comment or enough of a gentleman not to call her out. Or he could possibly be gay, Sam admitted to herself. She was quite attractive after all.

Sam then realized that there might be another reason Roger was uncomfortable standing there at the door. He had been the first officer to respond to Claire's room. It probably wasn't the most gruesome scene one could find themselves taking in but she imagined it was still freaky enough to leave an impression.

"What was it like, when you got here?" she asked. Maybe talking about it would put him at ease.

Roger thought for a moment with that silent, wandering look she had come to recognize in him. "To be honest, it was a roller coaster. When I first got here all I had been told was that someone had been sexually assaulted and possibly raped. So when I came in the first thing I felt was a mixture of sadness and pure, blinding anger. I hadn't even seen her yet and already I wanted to punch someone's face in. Then I came in and found her, and it was just confusion.

"She was still shivering in the bed and her roommate was all to pieces. Couldn't even open the door for me, I had to use the keycard. It looked exactly like what I'd expected but there was that smile. Claire was staring straight up at the ceiling and even though she had to know her body was in real trouble, all she could do was smile. The first thing I thought was 'oh okay, she's smiling, so that means she's more or less okay.' So I felt some relief, but then the longer I stood there looking, the weirder it felt. It was very unsettling."

Sam tried to imagine it all in her mind. "What did you do then?"

"I called the EMT but two of them were already in route. They arrived shortly after I did and I started checking around for evidence and stuff while they carried her out. She was still naked so they wrapped her in one of the robes from the bathroom. That's when Jen finally snapped out of it."

"She started telling you everything?"

"She told me enough, mostly about what she found when she arrived. Someone else questioned Claire at the hospital but the stories seem to match. She seemed to be more horrified about what happened than Claire did, and that's the unsettling thing about all of it. When she finally realized I was there and everything was okay, she latched onto me and started crying. I thought I'd have to spray her to get her off of me."

Sam could imagine why any girl would find comfort with Roger. "Well, I guess she just felt safer having you around. I can't say I blame her, you look like you know how to handle yourself."

Her gave her a smile in return. "I appreciate the compliment. To be honest, I felt kind of useless when everything happened. There I was, angry at the world and being told that there was nobody for me to take it out on."

Just when Sam was about to continue her flirtation there was the distinct sound of a door handle turning. She moved aside just as Crow flung open the door. The first thing she noticed was the look of panic on his face. The second was that he was no longer wearing his face mask.

"Crow, are you okay?!" she asked.

"I'm fine, but you two need to come see this right now!"

He turned and headed back into the room. Sam and Roger exchanged a worried look before they followed behind him. Obviously he felt it was safe enough for them to enter without filtration masks but there was no way to be sure.

Crow didn't go into the main area of the bedroom but instead turned left into the spacious bathroom. It was extremely bright in the room with all of the clean white tile. Sam didn't see anything obviously out of the ordinary about the room. In fact she didn't see how any clues could possibly have survived the amount of bleach it would require to purify anything to this level of white.

"Close the door behind you please," Crow asked of Roger as he stepped in behind Samantha. He did as asked. "Okay, Sam, can you kill the lights? The switch is behind you."

Sam turned to the switch on the wall. "If you think I'm showering with you two in the dark..."

"Oh for fucks sake just do it."

Sam flipped the switch and the room went into darkness. Even with the presence of two capable men, the knowledge of what had possibly occurred in this very room made Sam a bit uneasy standing here in the dark. In answer to her prayers Crow activated a tiny flashlight in the palm of his hand. Unlike a normal torch, this UV flashlight was a brilliant shade of violet. Sam had seen him use this before when searching for blood stains or other evidence. She shivered at the thought of what it might illuminate in this particular crime scene.

"I figured that if any actual sex did occur in this shower then most of the physical evidence would be washed away by now. If the running water didn't do the job when she sat here for so long then the cleaning crew probably made sure nothing remained. But I figured I would check anyway just to be sure, and I found a couple of interesting clues."

Crow aimed the beam of the UV light into the shower. He arched from left to right starting with the drain and ending at the far wall. Near the drain there was a bit of a glow, but considering how many people could have used the shower before now there was no telling how many different forms of DNA were struggling to survive in its edges. The real shock came was the light hit the walls furthest from the shower head, the places where water rarely made direct contact with the tile.

"Oh my goodness," Sam whispered to herself. The wall was aglow with light. "Is...is all of that...semen?"

"I think it just might be. Either that or blood, but I've never seen either of those shine quite like this under a light."

"Maybe it's just because it's fresh?" Roger offered. His eyes were fixed on the wall in disbelief.

"No, I don't think it's that either. Maybe it's just the tile underneath reflecting the light."

"I remember when Claire was giving her report. She mentioned something like this," Roger added. Sam and Crow exchanged a look. Neither had read over Claire's statement in detail yet. They hadn't had the time.

"Claire mentioned that the assailant's semen glowed in the dark?" Sam asked.

"No, I mean she mentioned that there was a lot of it. Well, I think that's what she meant anyway."

Crow prodded him. "Elaborate a bit for us please?"

Roger adjusted his collar nervously. "Keep in mind that she was describing things that she couldn't see, only feel. From what I could understand it sounded like when the thing finally...finished...inside of her, there was way too much of it for her to handle. She said she could feel it flowing out of her but it just kept on and on until suddenly it felt like there was nothing there at all."

Crow considered this for a moment. "Okay, let's examine this like professionals. From what was just described, it sounds like whatever was having sex with Claire started to ejaculate while it was still inside. Some of that ejaculate left her body, and then the suspect withdrew. She couldn't see what was happening, so perhaps it's okay to assume that it wasn't finished with orgasm?"

Sam raised her eyebrows. "You think whoever did this pulled out of her and came all over the wall?"

Crow sighed. "Professional, Sam. Also yes, that's exactly what I'm implying."

"Is that even possible? I mean, look at all of that? Who can cover half a shower wall with..." Roger cut himself off before he could use a word that would sound 'unprofessional.'

"Maybe you should cut back on the masturbation," Sam joked, completely destroying any level of professionalism they had so far managed to reach. Crow was too focused on the scene at hand to scold her, and Roger was too busy in his struggle not to laugh.

"Think we'll be able to recover a sample from this?" Sam finally asked.

"I'm not sure. It's possible, but depending on the cleaning agents they used in here I'd imagine most of the sperm cells are dead by now. Still, it's worth a shot."

"So, do you think this proves that a crime actually happened, that she was sexually assaulted?" Sam asked.

"All it proves is that someone had sex in here."

"You said there were a couple of things you wanted to show us," Roger reminded them.

"Right. Well you're definitely not going to like this part." Crow shifted the UV light away from the splashes on the wall and focused the beam on the shower door itself. Sam gasped when she realized what she was looking at.

----

"Where are the last two bikes?"

"Hold on I'll check. What are the numbers?"

"Two eleven and one sixteen."

Susan flipped over to the second sheet on the clipboard and scanned the page over her glasses. "Those were rented at one o'clock, give or take. A couple, by the looks of it."

Mark checked his watch. It was already approaching eleven and the bikes were supposed to be returned to the shop by ten. He sighed in frustration as he finished locking the wheels of their inventory.

"Did they leave a contact number?" he asked.

"I'm already calling them, hun." Susan replied. She dialed the number and waited. Four rings later her call went to voicemail. She left a short but stern message for Mr. Wallace Barnes and hung up. "Looks like they've bailed. We'll have to wait till tomorrow, no point staying here now."

Mark grumbled. "Those kids better not leave those bikes laying around out here to get stolen."

"Where are the thieves gonna take them? We're on an island."

"Don't start with me, woman. Make a note to charge them a late fee and let's head home." Mark double checked that everything was properly locked away before switching off the lights and closing shop. The couple began their short walk back to the bungalow they shared by the beach.

Mark and Susan were in their early thirties and happily married. Having grown up in rural Wisconsin, the idea of running their own store on a tropical island and spending every night in a lovely beach house seemed almost too good to be true. In fact, it was, to a degree. They didn't own the business nor did they own the house, but as long as they did their jobs well then the dream life they had would continue.

This was what made Mark so grumpy when the bikes weren't returned on time. The official opening hadn't even happened yet and already there were bumps in the road. If the bikes went missing for more than a day then he would have to report it, and any more mistakes like this, regardless of whose fault it was, would likely bring an end to his new career.

"You okay sweetie?" Susan asked when they entered the home. Mark was visibly worried.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit nervous about those two bikes is all."

Susan slipped off her flip flops and put her arms around her husband. "I'm sure they'll be back in by tomorrow afternoon. No sense worrying about it right now, there's only so far they could have gone."

"I know. I just don't want to jeopardize our stay here."

"It's not your fault, sweetie. I'm sure they'll understand."

"Yeah, you're right. I just need to relax a little and stop worrying so much about everything."

Susan traced her finger down Mark's shirt playfully. "I think I know how to help with that. Why don't you take a seat on the sofa for me and I'll get you relaxed in no time." The grin she wore was anything but subtle.

Mark was quick to understand and immediately complied. He kicked away his flip flops and took his seat as requested. Susan waited until he was comfortable and able to focus all of his attention on her. "Alright, now you just sit there and let me know when you're feeling relaxed, okay?"

Mark nodded. Susan wanted to tease him a little first to build up his excitement. Her current attire consisted of a pair of khaki shorts and a loose fitting white crop-top with her pink bikini underneath. She unbuttoned the shorts and slowly wiggled them down her legs, Mark's eyes following eagerly. The thin fabric of the white crop-top was easy enough to see through, so rather than remove the outer garment Susan reached behind her back and slowly undid the string of her bikini top. She let it fall to the ground and stood in a pose for Mark to enjoy. Her nipples were clearly visible through the fabric of her top and with each twist and pose Mark was able to see more and more of her delicious body.