Free 06 Double Danger by Dee Davis Page A

to have a look. “Well that’s weird.”
    “Yeah, and, unfortunately, it puts the spotlight clearly back on the possibility that Wilderman had some kind of active role in all of this.”
    “Didn’t you say that he booked the tour online?” Simon asked.
    “Right. Your guy, Harrison, was working to try to trace it back to an IP. But I’m guessing we’re looking at it.”
    “Wouldn’t it be easier to take the thing with you rather than go to the trouble of wiping the hard drive and leaving it behind?”
    “Maybe Wilderman’s trying to mess with our heads,” she said, her attention shifting to something by the edge of the bed.
    “Well, it’s working.” Simon walked over to the window and pushed back the draperies to look out the window. “Not exactly a room with a view.” Directly across the way, maybe seven or eight feet away, was a crumbling brick wall. And below, a rubbish-strewn walkway complete with an overloaded Dumpster directly beneath the window.
    “Simon,” J.J. said, pulling his attention back to the room. “Come look at this.”
    He crossed over to where she was kneeling beside the bed, using a hotel pen to lift the nap of the carpet. “What have you got?” he asked, bending down for a better look.
    “I’m pretty sure it’s blood,” she said. “And it looks like there might be more over there.” She nodded toward the floor by the window and a small brown stain on the carpet.
    “Son of a bitch,” he mumbled as he knelt to examine the new discovery. “I think you’re right.” Frowning, he stood up, examining the window more carefully. “There’s another spot here on the curtains.”
    She joined him, pulling out the fabric for closer inspection. “There’s more here.” She pointed to a spot higher up. “But there’s no cast-off. And nothing to indicate a struggle. So what the hell happened?”
    “God’s truth, it could be from anyone,” Simon said. “I mean, we have no way of knowing how old it is. Or even if it is, in fact, blood.”
    “Yes, but look at the window. It’s unlatched. And unless I’m seeing things, there’s another stain here on the sill.” She pointed to a streak of what appeared to be dried blood.
    Simon looked down at the Dumpster, his mind suddenly moving into high gear. “We need to check the passageway between the buildings.”
    “I’m not following,” she said, sliding open the window and leaning out for a better view below.
    “I’m saying that if I had a dead body in a hotel room and a Dumpster right beneath the window…” he trailed off as she pulled back inside, spinning around to face him.
    “You think Wilderman, the
real
Wilderman, is down there? In the Dumpster?”
    The walkway between the hotel and the building next door smelled like dead fish… or something even worse. Trash was scattered everywhere, a derelict cardboard box pushed behind an empty crate a sign of someone’s home away from home. Jillian could hear rustling in the refuse as they moved. Rats, most likely. She suppressed a shudder, following Simon as they made their way toward the Dumpster.
    As they drew nearer, Simon waved her back, and despite being annoyed at his efforts to protect her, she had to admit that she was grateful for the reprieve. Uncovering the body of a missing man wasn’t exactly on her list of fun-time activities. Still, she’d meant what she’d said earlier—she’d damn well play her own hero.
    And it was that thought that spurred her forward.
    “So, any sign of him?” she asked, fervently hoping for a negative answer.
    “Unfortunately, yeah,” Simon said, his mouth tightening. “And it’s not pretty.”
    She took a step backward, and then forced herself to advance again, rising on her tiptoes to see inside. Simon was right. The bin was half covered, which had shielded their view from above, but from this angle, the man was in plain sight, his body sprawled across the Dumpster, eyes open.
    “Looks like a single shot to the head,” Simon