The Murder (1)

THE POLICE handled the official investigation, but of course Martin Tiggs had to keep his District Manager informed. "Who was this girl?" asked Blumenthal.

"Janeen Campbell was her real name," said Tiggs. "She usually went by 'Ursula.'"

"Hooker, right?"

Tiggs nodded. "Call girl. I've seen her around, but she never solicited. She'd come in, go straight to her client's room, and leave. Pretty clean record; only two busts, and apparently she never robbed a client."

"You knew her?"

"No. I only saw her a few times. I checked with vice about her the first time, and I chased her off other times. But she wasn't soliciting, and she wasn't an obvious hooker. Nothing I could get her arrested for and make it stick."

"I've never heard of you cutting a hooker that much slack."

Tiggs shrugged. "She was a top-dollar girl. I could tell vice wasn't interested in busting her. Maybe she knew who to pay off, or maybe she was an informant."

"So how did she get killed in one of our places?" asked Blumethal.

"I don't know if she was. I was working Disneyside when it was called in. I haven't seen the crime site myself, and homicide's been asking me questions, not the other way around. I did get a little out of the uniforms, though."

"What?" asked Blumenthal.

"They've got a suspect. Ursula had a girlfriend, a Cuban. She has a husband, just out on parole. They found a gun in his room."

"But why did he kill her at one of our places?"

"I don't know if he did," said Tiggs. "If he did it, maybe he gave her a call and pretended he was a client. That's what the uniforms were guessing."

Blumenthal shook his head. "So why did we get picked for the honor?"

"Maybe he thought she'd feel safe at one of our places," said Tiggs. "If he did it, and he did it that way. But I don't think she'd fall for a story like that. The clients I identified were pretty heavy hitters. And I checked the phone traffic. She'd always call the room back just after being called. She was careful."

"So you're saying she had a real client? Who?"

"That's the interesting part," said Tiggs. "There's an outgoing call from a room in Winter Park, and then a callback. But the room wasn't rented last night. Not on the books, anyway."

Blumenthal did not respond immediately. Finally he said, "I'll speak with the manager myself. Of course, the suspect could have broken in. Was he a burgler?"

"Yes. Not a very smart one, I think. Maybe he learned some stuff inside. Or maybe he just bought a magnetic key off someone. I did get a look at that room. The door hasn't been jimmied; the lockplate is brand new and there's not a scratch on it."