text: Even though it was 2:30 in the morning, Lucy couldn’t help but lean over a sleeping Gabe to glance at the text message on his phone. She looked down at the sleeping man, shirtless, the covers bundled around his waist. “Cheater,” she muttered under her breath. With a sigh, she lay back down. She watched the flashing neon of the vacancy sign blink through the motel room window. \# The next morning, he shuffled in as she prepared eggs and toast in the kitchenette just off the reception office. Gabe shuffled in wearing only boxers. “When you manage the motel, that means you get free breakfast, right?” he said, scratching his belly. Lucy, keeping her gaze fixed straight ahead, sat down at the table and bit into her piece of toast. “None for me?” She ate a forkful of scrambled eggs. The reception door bell clanged. Lucy put her fork down and entered the reception. Amelia strode in, auburn hair styled like she was headed to some sort of society function in the city. Her blue eyes glimmered as if she knew where the party was. Lucy checked her watch. “Rooms 103, 212 and 116 need cleaning.” “What about that high school baseball team?” “No show,” Lucy said. She examined the almost-full wall of hanging room keys. “Jeeze, I’m sorry,” Amelia said. “If business doesn’t pick up...” Gabe peeked out from the kitchenette. “Oh, it’s just you,” he said, then stepped out. Amelia rolled her eyes and looked at Lucy. “Don’t worry. He wore his boxers until noon for me too when he and I were married. Except, I never ran a motel. Lucy shook her head. “Sorry. I’ll start on those rooms,” Amelia said. She grabbed a bucket, mop and cleaning caddy with various sprays, sponges and rags from behind the counter. On the way out the door, she ran into Officer Bond with a ding of the bell. The two gave each other awkward smiles as they contemplated which way each would go to get around the other. Officer Bond finally chose right, and Amelia finally chose left, and both swapped places with relief. Officer Carson Bond’s belly protruded over his utility holster and the wedding ring on his left hand was almost swallowed by the thickness of his finger. He leaned on the reception counter, tipped his navy blue cap and flipped open a notepad. “Good morning you two,” he said, catching his breath. He eyed Gabe in his boxers and frowned but said nothing. “We’ve got a report of a missing baseball team. I’m sure they’re just a little lost, but according to the school’s itinerary, they should have spent the night here.” Lucy furrowed her brow. “We were expecting ‘em. A no show.” “So, nothing?” Gabe offered a shrug. Officer Bond blinked rapidly. “Totally unrelated, but last night, we got reports of some sort of bonfire out this way. Did any of that bother you?” Lucy and Gabe looked at each other. Lucy lifted her shoulders and shook her head. “Sorry, no.” “I didn’t think so. Most people were in bed by that time, but I thought I should ask in case you saw anything.” \# Amelia climbed the stairs to 212 and unlocked the door, whistling a country song from the radio that morning. The room was in the standard post-guest disarray: Both twin beds torn apart, garbage overflowing and towels strewn across the room. She started from the back, in the bathroom. The small window over the toilet was open, and she stood on the closed seat to reach it. “That’s funny...” She squinted at the brush abutting the motel. In the woods the end of an old Greyhound bus peeked out between the foliage. Amelia shook her head, then shut the frosted window, beginning her cleaning routine for 212. \# “That’s pretty much all I wanted to talk to you about,” Officer Bond said, tipping his hat to Lucy and Gabe, exiting with a ding of the reception door bell. “I’m sure business will pick up,” Gabe said. “Not if you hang around here in your underwear,” Lucy said with a sneer. “Go put some damn clothes on.” She went to the window and watched Amelia in the gravel parking lot flagging down Officer Bond’s cruiser in the gravel parking lot. She leaned on his open window and motioned to the motel, then back at the reception, toward Lucy. Then Amelia stood, waved to Officer Bond, and the cruiser pulled away, merging into the flow of traffic on the highway. Lucy bit her lower lip. “What do you think that was about?” Gabe murmured from behind Lucy. “I told you to put some clothes on!” Lucy snapped. Gabe raised both hands, his eyebrow crinkled, a slight smirk of amusement on his face. He backed into the kitchenette and out the side door to the manager’s suite. Lucy noticed Gabe’s phone on the reception counter, glanced casually over at the closed side door and picked it up. The door dinged again. A grey-haired man entered, hair still wet from a recent shower. “I’m checking out of 102,” he said, sliding his key across the reception desk. Lucy left the phone and punched at her keyboard. “Credit card on file okay?” “Yep. By the way, I think you had vandals last night.” “Dang it,” Lucy said, exhaling. “What was it now? Swastikas? Racist things? Those kids are always spray painting something on the far side of the building.” “Graffiti?” The man looked confused. “I didn’t see any spray paint. I’m talking about the swimming pool.” Lucy waved a hand. “Pool’s been closed for three years now. Just full of dead leaves. We’ll bring it back one of these days, but right now it’s too expensive to run.” The man shook his head. “No. There’s more than just dead leaves in the pool,” the man said. \# Lucy and Amelia peered over the edge of the pool into the pile of dead leaves and scattered, melted red and white polyester clothing. “Are-are those baseball uniforms?” Amelia asked. “What kind of sicko would do something like this?” Lucy said. “There’s gotta be like thousands of dollars worth.” “Do you think it belonged to that baseball team?” “Your guess is as good as mine, but since the tournament’s in town, it could be any team’s.” “Think we should report it?” Amelia asked. The two women looked at each other. “Well, I saw you talking to Officer Bond about something already,” Lucy put her hands on her hips. “Why don’t you just go ahead and give him a call, since he’s your buddy now?” “It’s just that,” Amelia looked down at the ground and kicked at some stray gravel with the toe of her shoe. “What?” “I was interested in applying for a desk job at police headquarters.” “Damn it, Amelia. I need you. I’ll have to clean the rooms myself. And Lord knows I don’t have time for that.” “I know, I’m sorry. But the pay is so much better.” Lucy pointed a finger at Amelia. “Whatever. But for now, we don’t need any unnecessary police attention. Not with business as slow as it is. Pile some extra leaves on top of those burnt uniforms, and I don’t want to hear anything else about it.” \# Lucy pushed through the reception door with a ding in a huff. She stopped when she saw the black cardboard carton sitting next to Gabe’s phone on the reception counter. She approached it slowly. The kitchenette was empty, only the hum of the refrigerator kicking on and the buzz of the overhead lights. As she placed her hand on the box, Gabe’s phone lit up. It was a text message. From the same number as last night. Gabe’s \*mistress.\* “HERE’S A LITTLE GIFT FOR LUCY,” read the message. She read her own name and shivered, glancing at the door, then out into the parking lot. She scanned the windows of the motel rooms. “OPEN THE BOX.” Lucy picked up the box, hands trembling, she opened it. Looking at the contents, Lucy brought a hand up to her mouth and gasped. It was full of teeth. Teeth of various sizes shapes and colours, from alabaster white to corn yellow, sat jumbled in the carton. Ones that had silver fillings and others that were pristine. “YOUR BASEBALL TEAM HAS ARRIVED.” \# Her makeup streaked by tears down her cheeks, Lucy held the box gingerly and opened the door to the manager’s suite. The shower ran in the back washroom, steam fogged the mirror in the main bedroom. “Gabe,” Lucy called, voice trembling. She took a step into the room and inched toward the bathroom. The door was ajar, steam from the shower billowing out. “Gabe...” she said, raising her voice. There was no answer. Lucy clutched the box of teeth and entered the bathroom. \-- WC: 1,477 Feedback welcome.