“Hello,” the young man said as the three approached. He held the door open further. “Come on in out of the rain.”
“Thank you,” Estelle said. “I’m Posadas County Undersheriff Estelle Guzman, sir. This is Deputy Jackie Taber and Bill Gastner.”
“Todd Willis.” He turned and nodded toward the bathroom. “My fiancée is in the bathroom.”
“Is Ms. Hart all right?”
“She’s fine. We’re tired, is all. She’ll be out in a minute.”
“Mr. Willis, I’m interested in two things. First, did you call 911 this evening?”
A flush crept up his pale cheeks. Estelle watched as he appeared to debate with himself about what to say. He was a good-looking kid, despite the stringy, long hair and Ohio Wesleyan sweatshirt that had needed laundering a week before.
“Yes,” he said quickly, as if he had realized that he’d waited too long to reply.
“What did you see, Mr. Willis? Why the 911 call?” Estelle glanced around the generic room. A large nylon overnight bag rested on the dresser, beside what appeared to be a bulky camera case.
“We were just starting to unload from the van, outside there where we’re parked? I was at the back door, and happened to glance back that way”-he waved in the direction of the motel office-“and saw three men talking. At least that’s what it looked like. One of them appeared to collapse against the wall of the motel and then fell. The other two men drove away and left him there.”
“Drove away in what?”
“A late-model car of some kind. I’m not sure what model. Maybe an Olds or a Buick. Something like that. Full-sized.”
“Did you go over to check on the stricken man?”
Willis hesitated again. “No. I thought that the best thing I could do was call 911 and let the professionals do it.”
The bathroom door opened and an enormously pregnant young woman emerged wearing a thick plaid bathrobe and fluffy slippers. Her thin, swarthy face accentuated the dark hollows under her eyes.
“Hi,” she said, and moved to the bed, sitting down gently on the corner with one hand under her belly.
“Ms. Hart?” Estelle said, and introduced herself again. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m just tired.” Stacie Hart smiled wanly. “And we’re kind of upset about what happened down the way. Is the man going to be all right?”
“We don’t know,” Estelle said. “But we’re interested in what you saw.”
“I was inside already. I didn’t see what happened.”
“Did both of you go into the motel office when you checked in?”
Stacie nodded. “Would you close the door, please?” she said to her fiancé, and Willis did so. “Yes…I went in with Todd.”
“When was the first time that you became aware of any of the three men on down the way?”
“As we were turning around. I mean after we checked in,” Willis said. “We went back out to the van, and we were turning around to drive down here. One of the three men was just walking down the parking lot toward the lobby as we did that. A great big guy with a ponytail. I had parked kinda close to the doors, and when I was pulling out, he took a step back and turned sideways, I guess thinking that maybe I needed the room to maneuver.” Willis paused and looked at his fiancée. “He was a big guy, like I said. And he looked fit. Not fat or anything.”
“He never said anything? Any gestures?”
“No. He just waited a second or two for me to move the van out of the way.”
“And then what?”
“Then we drove down to our parking spot, outside here. I glanced back toward the office when we were getting out of the van to come inside our room, and another of the men was walking toward the motel entrance. He was reaching out with one hand, kind of like he was running the flat of his hand along the wall, like maybe for balance. I didn’t know if he was drunk, or what.”
“Where were the other two men at that time?”
“I didn’t see them. I mean, I didn’t look. We were busy getting our stuff from the van into the room.”
“But you saw the man collapse?”
“That was a minute or so later. I went back out to get some stuff and close the van’s back door, and the three of them were down by the two cars.”
“Talking, arguing?”
“I couldn’t tell. If I had to guess, I’d say just talking. I locked up the van, and when I turned around again, I saw the one older man sag against the wall, then fall to his hands and knees.”
“What did the other two men do?” Estelle asked.
“Nothing, I guess.”
“Did you see them touch the man at any time?”
Willis shook his head. “It just looked like they were talking, and like maybe the man who collapsed was walking away, around the front of the car.”
“What prompted your call, then?”
“Well, I saw the old guy collapse, but then the other two just drove away and left him there. That’s when I called 911.”
“How long after the man collapsed was it before the other two drove away?” Estelle asked.
“Right away. I mean, right then. They didn’t go over to him, or anything. They just got in the car and left. Just like that.”
“And you didn’t walk down to see if you could help?”
Willis took a deep breath and glanced at Stacie. “No.”
Bill Gastner grunted something to himself and thrust his hands deeper in his pockets. He glowered at the young man over the top of his glasses. Estelle didn’t interrupt as the old man’s unblinking gaze dissected Todd Willis for a long, uncomfortable moment. “Why not?” Gastner finally asked. “Wouldn’t that be the logical thing to do?”
“I thought…I thought the best thing was to call emergency,” Willis said lamely. “I don’t know CPR or anything like that.”
“Shit,” Gastner said with disgust and turned half away, his interest apparently attracted to the print of a Dutch windmill that hung over the blond oak desk.
“This is just your second stop this evening here in town?” Estelle asked gently. Willis nodded quickly as if relieved to be talking to her, rather than her elderly companion. He glanced at Deputy Taber for confirmation.
“We talked to Deputy Taber earlier,” he said. “Over at the park.”
“Were you thinking of staying there for the night? In the park, I mean?”
“No,” he said quickly. “We just stopped there to look at the map.”
“Ah. You’re lost?”
He smiled and ducked his head. “No. We’re not lost. Not the map, actually. We were looking through our notes and stuff. Looking through the Posadas directory.”
“For?”
“Well,” and he hesitated. “To see where else we might be able to stay.”
“I’m surprised that the B-and-B didn’t have a vacancy this time of year,” Estelle said. “Where else have you tried?”
“We stopped at the B and B,” Willis said, “but the owner…well, she…” He finished with a vague waffle of his hand.
“No, I meant stopped at places other than in Posadas,” Estelle said. She had been watching Stacie Hart as they talked. The girl had remained silent, all her energy consumed by the effort to keep her spine vertical. “Did you stop in Deming on your way over from Cruces?”
“Actually, what difference does it make where we stopped?” Todd said, a little petulance creeping into his voice. “We haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I don’t suppose it makes any difference at all,” Estelle said. “I’m just trying to form an accurate picture in my mind of what happened here tonight.”
Willis sat down on the bed beside Stacie, and her hand slipped over to intertwine with his.
“Deming has a good many motels and such,” Estelle said. “I was wondering if you had tried any of them.”
“We stopped at three places,” Willis said. “Two motels and one B and B sort of place.”
“Deming’s only an hour or so out of Cr
uces,” Gastner said.
“Well, yes, it is,” Willis agreed.
“And these places that you tried…they all refused you?” Estelle asked.
Willis didn’t answer, but shrugged evasively.
“That’s interesting,” Estelle said. She looked around the room again at the couple’s possessions. “You’re headed for Tucson?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You have enough money for gas?”
“I think so.”
Estelle regarded Willis for a long moment, and he blushed as if correctly reading the skepticism in her gaze.
“I mean, we were planning on just driving to Tucson, right? It’s not that far. We weren’t planning to stop. But then Stacie got to feeling…well, uncomfortable, and we thought we’d try to find a place to stop, and continue on tomorrow.” He tried an engaging grin. “Got money for gas, or motel. Not both.”
“I see,” Estelle said. “Well, Mr. Patel is a most gracious person.” Her eyes roamed the room, taking in the neat travel bag, the leather camera case, and the cell phone that rested on top of Stacie Hart’s beaded handbag. Through the open bathroom door, she could see a spread of bath accoutrements, including a curling iron that was plugged in beside the mirror.
“Are you planning to pay your bill here when you check out? Is that the deal?”
The room fell silent, and Estelle let the silence hang.
Chapter Four
“Look,” Willis said. He glanced nervously at his girlfriend. “We haven’t done anything wrong. We didn’t use a fake credit card, or skip out without paying. The manager offered this room, and we accepted. That’s all there is to it. I’m sorry about the old guy down the way, but there wasn’t anything I could do about that. I called 911, like we’re supposed to. And I’ve answered all your questions.”
“Mr. Willis,” Estelle said, “I’ll be happy to put you in touch with Traveler’s Aid if you’re having trouble.” She had a momentary thought about how nice it would be to put Todd Willis under bright lights for a half-hour or so, but other matters weighed more heavily.
“That’s not necessary,” Willis replied.
“I didn’t think it was, sir. And to tell the truth, at the moment I don’t really care about your room scam.” She saw his eyes narrow a little at her choice of words. “I assume that you at least implied that you couldn’t pay when you inquired about a room?”
“Has someone complained?”
“Your evasion makes me curious.”
“I’m not evading anything. I just don’t have to explain…” Willis’s protest faded.
“Mr. Patel just offered you a room at no charge? You didn’t have to ask?”
“Well, no. Look, we haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I suppose that out of the charity of his heart, he saw your fiancée’s condition and offered lodging. Is that it?”
Willis grimaced and fixed his attention on the bedspread.
“There would be no reason for anyone to offer a complimentary lodging otherwise…although it is the Christmas season. And you made certain that Miss Hart’s condition was noticed, since in both occasions, she accompanied you to the check-in desk. That certainly wasn’t necessary, was it…with it being so unpleasant out and her condition being so uncomfortable.” Estelle paused, watching the flush play up Todd Willis’s cheeks.
“So there appears to be some misrepresentation there,” Estelle continued. “But more important, you saw a man collapse, obviously hurt or ill. You never approached to check on the condition of the victim?”
“No…I already told you that I didn’t.”
“Yet you called 911 to report an unattended death. That’s what the dispatcher reported.”
“I…”
“And you said the victim was an old man.”
“Well, obviously he was. Anyone could see that.”
“Really. I wonder about that when you say you observed the incident from nearly the length of the motel, in poor light.”
“In the rain,” Gastner added.
Stacie Hart groaned and pushed herself up straighter on the bed. “Just tell them, Todd,” she said.
The young man weighed that suggestion for a moment and then shrugged. “Okay, okay,” he said. “I did go up there. I saw that the guy was lying all scrunched up, half on and half off the curb. When I got to him, I could see that his eyes were glassy, and he was unreactive when I spoke to him. It looked like maybe he had some froth on his lips, and I couldn’t find any pulse at his neck. I could see then that he was an older guy.”
“And the other two men were gone by this time?”
“Yes. They drove away before I actually started walking over that way. I couldn’t tell if they’d assaulted the older guy or not. I didn’t see any blood, but that doesn’t mean anything. They drove away in a hurry, though, after he collapsed. So I ran up there, saw that there was a problem, and called 911 on my cell.”
“And then you just left him there?”
“I didn’t want to move him. I mean, we’re not supposed to do that, right? I thought that I’d get a blanket from the room, but by the time I even thought to do that, I could hear a siren coming.” Willis took a step back and settled on the corner of the bed. “I just stayed out of the way.”
“Goddamn commendable,” Gastner said.
“Well…” Willis said, and gave up with a shrug.
“Why not just duck into the office and ask for a blanket? Or tell them to call the cops?” Gastner asked.
Willis looked skeptical. “Did you talk to the desk girl?”
“Yes.”
“Well, then you know why I didn’t try and explain to her. Miss Like Vague. Besides, I thought about doing that, but when I went by, her back was turned to the door and I could see that she was on the telephone.”
“At any time, did you see either of the two men strike the victim before they left?”
“No.”
“Did you see any contact between the three of them at all?” Estelle glanced at her watch.
“No,” Willis said. “But they were out of my view on more than one occasion. Something could have happened while I was inside this room, or when I was going back and forth to the van…any number of opportunities.”
“Did you see what direction they drove after leaving the parking lot?”
“No. They went around the end of the building, and I couldn’t see them after that.”
“What do you do for a living, Mr. Willis?” Estelle asked. She glanced again at the travel bag and camera case.
“I’m a…a writer.”
“Ah. You’re on assignment now?”
Willis hesitated just enough that Estelle sensed his uneasiness. “Yeah, I guess. Sort of.”
“Interesting. Mr. Willis, it may be necessary for us to talk to you again. Is there a number where we can reach you in the next day or two?”
“We’re going to visit Stacie’s family in Tucson. That was our plan, anyway.”
“Are you all right with that?” Estelle said, turning to the girl.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re sure?”
The girl nodded.
“When’s the baby due?”
“Around the tenth,” she said.
“Ah,” Estelle said. “We’ll need a name and number there where we can reach you, Mr. Willis.”
He turned to his fiancée, but she was already rummaging in her purse. She produced a business card and jotted the information on the back, then extended the card to Estelle. “That’s my sister’s number in Las Cruces, too,” she said.
Estelle flipped the card over and saw Stacie Hart’s name printed in simple script with address, home phone, and e-mail listed. “You sister owns the van?”
Stacie nodded. “We were out in Tucson for Thanksgiving, and our car blew its transmission on the way home. She’s letting us use the van while our car’s being fixed.”
“A transmission? That’s an expensive proposition,” Gastner said.
“I hope everything goes well for you,” Estelle said. “We’ll be in touch. You’re heading straight through tomorrow to Tucson?”
Todd Willis nodded.
“No more stops to see if there’s room at the inn?” Gastner asked. “That should be an interesting story.”
“No more stops,” Willis said but he didn’t rise to Gastner’s remark.
“I hope that we won’t have to bother you again tonight, but it’s a possibility,” Estelle said.
“I understand,” the young man said. He held the door for them, nodding pleasantly. “Have a Merry Christmas.”
“Indeed,” Bill Gastner muttered. “You do the same.” He looked hard at Willis for a moment. “This Mary and Joseph thing,” he said. “I wasn’t aware that they feigned indigence in order to find lodging. I’ll be interested to see how you twist that around in your story.” He didn’t wait for Willis to answer before turning away.
Outside the stuffy motel room, Estelle saw that the county’s flatbed car hauler had arrived. The decrepit Dodge was cranked halfway aboard, looking lopsided and bedraggled in the rain.
“East or west?” Gastner said when the door of Room 110 had closed behind them.
“West,” Estelle said immediately. “Unattended death. That’s interesting. The average Joe on the street doesn’t use that term, sir, but Willis did when he talked with dispatch.”
“Cops, EMTs, firemen, coroners, newspaper reporters-all the odd folks. It took a while, but his name came to me.”
“Oh?”
“Todd Willis. It’s a byline I’ve seen now and then in one of the Las Cruces papers. I did a long telephone interview with him once, back when I retired from your esteemed department.” He huffed a chuckle. “Only a matter of time before my steel-trap memory dug him up.”
“I like your theory about the story he’s working on,” Estelle said.
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