Bay of Deception by Timothy Allan Pipes

a shock since the small motel she’d chosen, on the outside, lent itself more toward the idea of an hourly rate.  It was a small surprise in a long day of tragedy and heartache. 
    After twisting both door locks into place, she investigated the window and found that a single foot long stick braced against the opposite edge comprised the room’s hi-tech security system .  Jenny pulled the drapes closed, sealing off most of the motel parking lot's lights.  A single sliver of light was all that remained and allowed her to locate the light switch and with a click, the small mauve lamp sprang to life.  Before her sat the one thing she needed most, a bed.  Stepping forward, a controlled fall took place at that point and any idea of removing her clothes or climbing beneath the covers never came to mind. Only grief and thankfully, sleep.
    Nine hours later Jenny awoke as she had for the last six months; heart racing for fear she'd missed preparing Collin’s breakfast.  The fear of his storming out of the shower to find her still asleep pulled her upright.  Only then did the strange room present itself to her very wide-open eyes.  Relief swept her, remembering she’d finally kicked the bastard out, but was soon replaced by the previous day's terrible events: her decision to press charges, nearly being gunned down and then...Carol’s murder.  
    Tears streaming forth turned to sobs and she pulled the pillow from beneath her head, pressing its cool folds to her face lest someone hear.  After a time she removed the pillow, tossing it on the floor in case she was tempted to start sobbing and knowing she couldn’t, somehow helped stem the emotional tide.  A mental exhaustion of a sort she’d never felt before pinned her to the bed.  Like a drifting current, her thoughts flowed first one way, then another.  After a time Jenny found herself staring at the stucco ceiling with no thought other than how ugly this particular motel ceiling was.  She thought of the many hotel ceilings she'd stared up at since leaving home, usually on the road before a game or rarely, while some local stud screwed the visiting cheerleader.  
    That was something she’d quickly learned to avoid, discovering that one town’s stud knew the next and tended to brag of such conquests.  After a few beers, that one expected the same privileges and she'd been forced to have a few of the players disabuse several insistent individuals of such notions. This was unfortunately, how Collin had come to her attention and he’d always been eager to ‘Go-a-round or two with the locals,' as he'd put it.  Only after they'd married did she understand exactly what that meant. 
    It occurred to her in a twisted sort of way, that her horrendous marriage to Collin and Carol’s murder might never have happened if she’d just stayed a virgin.  A hiccupy kind of half-laugh, half-sob escaped from deep inside her and for a moment, thought she might need the pillow again.  The moment passed and instead she thankfully drifted off to sleep,  Her last thoughts were of the papers thrown onto the lamp stand, and the detective who’d saved her life.
     
    All of his problems were supposed to be gone by this morning.  That was the way he’d planned it and that was the way it should have been.  Rage swept over him once more and as he’d done at least ten times on the drive back from King City, reached over only to find his stereo missing.  It had been nothing at first, merely one more thing to be replaced.  But as his anger and frustration mounted at the mess-up, the need for soothing music became paramount.  By the time he turned onto Del Monte toward the upscale condo, Collin McKenny was ready to tear into most anybody. 
    Despite the early morning hour, he roared into the garage situated beneath the condo, even managing to produce a respectable squeal from the Porches' tires as he slid into a parking space.  After sleeping in his clothes all night, he was ready