Bingo, Eddie thought to himself.
Eddie quickly got up from his position and moved toward the supply closet. When the nurses at the reception desk were preoccupied, he quickly slipped inside in search of a disguise.
Perfect, Eddie said—he found clean scrubs on the shelves and looked for a pair that would fit. He donned the scrubs and left his clothes hidden behind one of the shelves. He exited the supply closet and walked down the hallway. He moved past the officers stationed at room 17. “Good morning officers,” he greeted them, and they greeted him in return. Eddie grabbed the chart that was outside the room and started reading through it. He strained his ears to listen in to the conversation.
“It’s only going to be for a few more days. The sheriff was worried about the murderer coming back into town and targeting the family. That’s why he’s not staying at the house and rather staying at the inn,” one of the officers said.
“I’m just going to quickly pop inside and check on her sutures. Is that alright?” Eddie asked politely before entering Lindsay’s room. “Of course, Doc.”
“Thanks,” Eddie walked in and stood at Lindsay’s bedside. He touched her hair gently.
“Oh, how easily I could end you and those idiots sitting out there. But I guess today is your lucky day,” he whispered closely to her ear, and she stirred slightly. Eddie moved away from her and looked back at the officers who were still having a heated discussion. Eddie placed the pawn underneath Lindsay’s pillow and then headed out the door: “Her sutures are looking good, so I’ll just leave her to rest.”
The officers just smiled and nodded at him as he went for the supply closet. He checked that no one saw him go in, and once he was inside, he quickly changed into his clothes that he had on before heading back to the car. Eddie pulled out his phone and Googled inns in the North Utica village. Three possibilities popped up, and he scribbled the numbers down on a piece of paper that he had in the car. He dialed the first number which belonged to the Lakeside Inn.
“Lakeside Inn, how can I assist you?” a sweet voice answered on the third ring.\
“Good morning. Will you please connect me to Sherriff Elliott’s room? He told me to call there if I needed to get hold of him.”
“I’m sorry, Sheriff Elliott isn’t staying here.”
“Oh, my mistake. Have a nice day,” Eddie said as he hung up the phone. He dialed the second number which belonged to the Garden Inn.
A similar sounding voice answered the phone: “Garden Inn, thank you for calling. How can I help you?”
“Good morning. Will you please connect me to Sherriff Elliott’s room? He told me to call there if I needed to get hold of him.”
“Certainly Sir, and who might I tell him is calling?”
Eddie hung up, looked up the address, and drove straight for the Inn.
30 minutes later, Eddie pulled up and parked across the street from the Garden Inn. It was a pleasant looking place with nicely manicured gardens and fountains out front. It didn’t seem excessively large, so narrowing down where Heck Elliott was staying wouldn’t take too long. Eddie walked around the exterior of the building and was pleasantly surprised at how attractive it looked. Maybe I’ll come stay here for a little while when all of this is over, Eddie chuckled at the thought.
Eddie then moved toward the building and casually walked through the small reception. The receptionist was busy with a few customers, so she didn’t notice that he was intentionally avoiding coming to the desk. He slipped past and moved into the interior garden. There appeared to be 10 rooms, all on the ground floor of the building and all with large windows overlooking the interior garden. Eddie walked around in the garden and then he spotted a couple come out of the second room and a young man go into the seventh room. Two down. I’ll find you, Heck.
Then he saw the next room door open and out came Heck Elliott with his TV remote in his hand. He walked to the reception desk and was asking her a question while pointing at the remote. She smiled and nodded, and he went back to his room and shut the door. Eddie could see her pick up her phone and dial a number—most likely a cable repair guy. Eddie wasn’t going to forgo this opportunity and he walked straight to Heck Elliott’s room and knocked on the door. Heck opened it and saw Eddie standing there.
“Can I help you?” Heck asked with a very suspicious tone.
“I’m here to help you with your TV,” Eddie said calmly.
“Jeez, that was fast,” Heck said, moving out of the way for Eddie to come inside.
“I was in the area, and I’d just finished on another call, so I guess your timing was perfect,” Eddie laughed. “What’s the problem?”
“The TV is fuzzy, and the remote keeps jamming. Will you have a look at it?” Heck gave him the remote, and Eddie pulled out his pocketknife. He started undoing the screws and then he manipulated the buttons beneath.
“Try it now,” Eddie said, handing him the remote. Heck tried it and it worked perfectly.
“That’s awesome. Thanks.”
“Now for the fuzziness,” Eddie said and donned latex gloves that were in his pocket.
“Why are you putting on gloves?” Heck suddenly seemed on edge.
“Hmmmm? Oh!” Eddie laughed as he looked at his hands. “No, I put these on before I fiddle with HDMI cables because any oil that you have on your fingertips can greatly affect the connectivity of the metal points
