Silenced

It was already midnight. Late enough.

Brian dressed in dark jeans and a black, long-sleeved shirt. He pocketed his favorite knife and left.

The cheap motel was in an all-black neighborhood two miles from his place. He’d stick out if anyone saw him. So he stayed in his car across the street from the motel and watched.

The area was unusually quiet. A gas station on one corner was still open. On the opposite corner were two fast-food joints sharing a wall and small parking lot. A group of gangbangers sat on the tables outside, even though the places were closed. Across from the motel was a section of crummy walk-ups. Half the businesses on the ground floor were boarded up; the other half had bars on their windows and doors. A dive bar next to the motel was open until two, but the parking lot was empty.

Brian had thought that the cooler night would have brought people out of their cramped, stuffy apartments. He breathed in deeply, then grimaced at the thick, dirty air.

Nearly every light in the motel was off. He watched as a street hooker knocked on an upstairs door, almost directly above the room he wanted. A pasty white guy let her in, the door closed, and Brian wrinkled his nose at what filthy diseases they shared. At least Wendy and the others were clean. Condoms and all that. And they didn’t prowl the streets looking to make a quick buck. They were paid a couple hundred dollars for an all-night screw.

Not really fair. All they had to do was lie down and spread their legs and they got two, three, even five hundred dollars? He’d heard some of the horny bastards liked kinky shit, but still, a thousand bucks for two nights’ work? How’d they get so lucky to land such a cushy job?

He laughed, then put his hand to his mouth to keep from being heard. They’d have no job when they were dead. One of those retribution things, he thought. Like the hand of God or some such thing. Be a whore, be dead. Be a whore no more-that sounded better. It rhymed.

After Brian had seen no one else come or go for several minutes, he got out of his car and strode across the street with purpose. By the time he reached room 119, he had his tools in hand. He’d been worried about making too much noise, but the rumbling AC units masked any sound he made picking the flimsy lock. Slowly, he pushed open the door. Security chain was on. He took out a small, handheld bolt cutter and snipped the thin metal in two.

Brian crept into the motel room and grimaced at the stink. Dirt and sweat and sex. The air-conditioning unit in the window ran full power, but only moved the stale air around the room. He doubted it had ever been recharged.

He closed the door quickly, quietly, his eyes already adjusted to the night.

One black girl-Nicole-slept in the queen-sized bed, on sheets he doubted had been washed after the last people slept-or screwed-in this room. The motel was a haven for whores. Maybe the black bitch thought she’d blend in, disappear into the streets. But she was mistaken. Ned knew everyone. Ned found people. No one could hide from his brother.

Though Brian was still mad at Ned for screwing up the fire, he was proud, too. Ned would track all of them down before the end of the week. Then Brian would follow up and bam, bam, bam, take them out one at a time. Maybe two at a time. That would be a challenge. Each one would be different, there were lots of ways to kill. Throw the stupid police off, right?

See, he was as smart as Ned. Maybe smarter.

The bed upstairs creaked and groaned in the rhythm of the whore and her john. Shit, the walls were thin. He’d have to be extra quiet.

He didn’t remember sleeping beauty’s last name, and it didn’t really matter because she’d be dead and buried soon enough. He didn’t go for black chicks, but if he did it would be someone like Nicole. She had those tight braids and beads that made her look exotic, big tits, and a wide mouth. She wasn’t girl-next-door pretty-those were the girls Brian preferred-but she was hot.

Nicole moved in her sleep. Did she sense him watching?

He grabbed her long braids. Half-asleep, she jumped up and lurched toward him. Her hands came at him in fists, her face twisted in terror.

Before Nicole was fully awake, he slit her throat.

He immediately dropped her back on the bed. In the sickly yellow light coming through the thin curtains, he saw the blood pour out of her wide, open neck. Wow, it almost looked like it did in the movies, but it smelled awful. Not just blood, but she’d also peed down her leg. The stink made him gag.

“That’s disgusting,” he said.

He didn’t want to see or smell it. He grabbed the corner of the sheet and pulled it over her. He jerked it too hard, and her body fell to the floor with a heavy thud.

He paused, listened. Had the rabbits fucking in the room above him heard anything? He couldn’t hear the bed bouncing anymore. Then he heard the guy groan in a weird, animal-like voice, then the bouncing started again, louder and faster than before.

Brian took the time to rinse his knife in the bathroom sink. Even the water in this place was putrid, a pale yellow stream. And warm, like piss. He needed a long, hot shower after being in this hellhole.

He wiped the blade on a towel and picked up Nicole’s backpack. Maybe she had a map where all the girls were hiding. He grinned. If she did, he’d be going on a treasure hunt! She probably wasn’t that dumb, but she had come back here, so she wasn’t too smart, either.

He searched the pockets quickly. A slip of paper had been hastily folded and stuffed in the front of the bulging bag. He unfolded it.

Hotel Potomac

He knew the place well. Could it really be this easy? Did he have time to get over there now?

That wouldn’t be smart, and he was the smart brother. He needed to confirm the others were there, and if so, what room. How long would they stay? What kind of security did the hotel have?

Those were the smart questions that needed to be addressed. He’d head over there at dawn and check it out. Maybe get himself a room for the night.

Something ran across his foot. He jumped, almost yelped. A rat. It scurried to the dead body. Was it going to eat her? Kinda cool, in a gross way.

Then he got an idea.

He was so much smarter than Ned.

He grabbed the rat with surprising agility and slammed it against the dresser to stun it.

He was going to have some fun.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Wednesday

To call the Red Light motel seedy may have been cliched, but Lucy Kincaid couldn’t think of a better adjective. The motel boasted hourly rates, weekly specials, and was at least a decade overdue for a paint job. Under the sweltering July sun, the exterior appeared a molted shade of green, but up close Lucy realized it was sun-bleached wood.

“What a dump.” Noah flashed his badge to the DC cop standing in front of the crime scene tape that blocked off room 119. Six people crowded the room that couldn’t be more than three hundred square feet, four wearing bright Windbreakers identifying them as CSU.

“Wait here,” the cop said, his husky voice matching his hefty frame. Into his radio he said, “Detective Reid? The feds are here.”

A female responded. “Dammit, Taback, keep them outside, too many people. I’ll be there when I get there. Shit, Greg, didn’t you-” The radio cut off.

Though the body had been removed, flies buzzed in and out of the doorway, attracted to the smell of dried blood and the lingering scent of decomposing flesh. At noon, the temperature topped ninety-nine degrees with humidity to match, just like yesterday’s crime scene. It was on days like this that Lucy missed her hometown of San Diego.

Lucy and Noah stepped away from the door to let two CSU technicians exit with large evidence bags already