Senor Davila, the hotel manager, rushed up with his thin, pale legs bare under a flannel nightshirt. He began trying simultaneously to calm the guests in English and give orders to the staff in Spanish. The only word Karyn picked out was 'policia.' Slowly the people began to move back away from the cabana as Davila selected a pair of unhappy kitchen helpers to guard the door.
Half an hour later Karyn, Chris, Audrey, and most of the other guests were gathered in the lobby of the main building. The initial shock had given way to a sort of desperate camaraderie, as with people who have shared, and survived, a disaster. On orders from Senor Davila hot coffee was being dispensed from the kitchen, and the bar, hastily reopened, was doing a booming business.
The clatter of conversation among the guests eased off as two blue and white cars with the markings of the Mazatlan police wheeled up to the front of the hotel with sirens braying.
A short, neat man in a business suit marched in at the head of several uniformed policemen. He directed the officers to their tasks, then talked quietly with Senor Davila while the guests watched with interest. After a minute he stepped to the archway between the lobby and dining room and held up a hand for attention.
"Good evening. I am Sgt. Fulgencio Vasquez of the Mazatlan Police. As you know, there has been a serious tragedy here tonight. Two employees of this hotel have been killed." He paused for a moment while the guests took in this information. "Temporary, I will use the office of Senor Davila, the manager, to do interviews. I will ask that any of you who have knowledge of this crime remain and give your name to my officer. The rest of you may return to your rooms. Please do not leave the hotel before speaking to me. Thank you for the cooperation."
There was a general stirring around among the guests. No one seemed anxious to leave.
Karyn and Chris exchanged a look. Their eyes asked, Shall we tell? and immediately answered, Take care.
There were few volunteers from among the guests to supply information, but most of them stayed around in the lobby and the bar to see what was going to happen. There was a good deal of drinking and nervous laughter as people found their quiet vacation had become an adventure.
A blue city ambulance pulled up outside, and the guests crowded out on the veranda to watch. The bodies of the two victims, strapped onto litters and covered with plastic sheets, were brought up and loaded into the back. The ambulance drove out with lights flashing and siren wailing unnecessarily.
Karyn, Chris, and Audrey, sat on a wood and leather sofa on one side of the lobby and watched the others jostle for a look at the departing ambulance.
"They act like it's a holiday of some kind," Karyn said.
"It's a touch of hysteria," Chris said. "What they're saying inside is, 'Thank God it happened to somebody else and not me.'"
Karyn shivered. Chris reached over and squeezed her hand.
"I've got a fucking headache that won't quit," Audrey said.
"Do you want to go back to the room?" Chris asked.
"Not by myself, I don't."
"I'll go see if I can get you some aspirin."
Chris started to rise, but sat back down when he saw Sergeant Vasquez coming toward them across the lobby. The policeman stopped before the sofa and nodded politely. He focused his attention on Karyn.
"Mrs. Richter?"
"Yes?"
"I am told it was your cabana that this unfortunate tragedy took place."
"Yes, it was."
"Will you be good enough to come into the I office?"
Karyn looked questioningly at Chris.
He said, "Is it all right if I come along, Sergeant? I'm a friend of Mrs. Richter."
Vasquez's cool brown eyes took in the two of them. "A friend, you say?"
"That's right. We knew each other back in the States."
"Don't mind me," Audrey said. "I'm just passing though."
Vasquez gave her a chilly smile. To Chris he said, "I have no objection if you wish to come."
Chris tuned to Audrey. "This shouldn't take too long."
"What the hell, take all the time you want," Audrey said. "I'll be in the bar."
Chris patted her knee and smiled. She turned away. He shrugged and joined Karyn and Sergeant Vasquez as they crossed the lobby to enter the small office tucked in behind the registration desk.
Vasquez put them into hard-backed chairs facing him as he sat behind a small desk. He offered his pack of Mexican cigarettes and took one for himself when they both declined. He inhaled deeply, then leaned forward across the desk and fixed them with a steady brown gaze.
"The two of you were together this evening?"
"That's right," Chris answered. "Miss Vance was with us."
"Ah, yes, the young lady in the lobby."
Chris nodded.
Vasquez regarded him for a moment without expression, then he turned to Karyn. "Mrs. Richter, do you know of anyone who might want to kill you?"
"Me?"
"The young people were murdered in your room. The lights were out. It is possible that the killer was after you and did not see his mistake until it was too late."
"I just arrived in Mazatlan," Karyn said carefully. "I don't know anyone here, except Mr. Halloran."
"Ah, yes." The policeman switched his attention to Chris. "And you, sir, have you any opinions about this tragedy?"
"I don't know any more than Mrs. Richter," Chris said.
Vasquez held Chris for a long moment with his somber gaze, then turned it on Karyn. When neither of them reacted the sergeant relaxed a little and gave them a cool smile. "It was just a thought. The truth is we are fairly certain who the killer is, but I do not wish to overlook other possibilities."
"You know who did it?" Chris said.
"In a crime of passion such as this, we look first for the husband. In this case we have no husband, but we do have a former lover of the girl. A man given to violent acts, I am told. He worked here at the hotel and was discharged a month ago."
Karyn bit her lip. "Are you certain this was done by a man?"
"It is not a woman's crime, Senora," said Vasquez.
"That's not what I meant."
"Oh?" The policeman assumed an expression of polite attention.
Karyn felt her face growing warm. She looked to Chris for help, but he gave her only a tiny shake of his head. "I just wondered," she said, "Whether it could have been... an animal."
"Impossible," the policeman said at once. "I do not wish to make light of your suggestion, Senora, but there is no animal capable of doing what was done to those two young people."
A uniformed policeman entered the office. He looked quickly at Karyn and Chris, then spoke to Vasquez. "Con perdon..."
"Que?"
The policeman spoke rapidly in Spanish as Vasquez listened and nodded. The man placed an envelope on the desk in front of the sergeant as he spoke. Vasquez opened it and peered inside. From a pocket he produced a pair of tweezers, which he used to withdraw the contents of the envelope. He held it up to the light and examined it, then set it down carefully on the desk. A thick tuft of coarse tan fur. He said something to the man in uniform, who saluted and went out.
"It seems the killer left something behind when he went out the window," said Vasquez. He picked up the tuft of fur again in the tweezers and displayed it proudly, like it was a rare butterfly. "One of the men found this caught on the torn window screen."
Karyn and Chris stared at the bit of fur. Neither of them spoke.
Vasquez smiled thinly at Karyn. "I'm sure it is not what you think, Senora. Torn from a fur-lined jacket, I would guess. It will be most helpful when we pick up our man."
Karyn started to speak, but caught a warning glance from Chris, and held back.
"There is something. Senora?" said Vasquez.