The Book of Death (Bourbon Kid 4)

Pick
and Mix,’ the man suggested.
    ‘What’s that then?’
    ‘A box of ten donuts of your
choice. Only five bucks.’
    ‘That sounds like donut heaven.
I’ll take one.’
    Sanchez spent five minutes or so
deciding which donuts to have. The variety on offer was extremely impressive.
So much so that he bought two boxes, one to take up to the crime scene and
another to stick on the back seat of the squad car for later.
    By the time he’d stored the
spare box on the back seat and crossed the road to head towards the crowd of
onlookers stood outside Remington Tower, it had stopped snowing. Jessica hadn’t
come back down, and no dead body had been carried out by any medics either.
    ‘Step aside please. Officer
coming through,’ he said pulling his nightstick out with his free hand and
prodding people with it as he made his way through the crowd and up to the
front of the building. The door at the entrance was slightly ajar. To avoid
crushing any of his donuts he backed into it and forced it open with his ass
cheeks.
    Once inside, he kicked the door
shut behind him to stop anyone else from getting in. The corridor wasn’t much
warmer than the cold wind outside. “ What a shitty apartment block this is!” he thought. He slid his nightstick back into its holster on his belt and opened
the box of donuts. He pulled out a pink iced ring and took a large bite. It was
as tasty as it looked. Next decision, stairs or elevator? He remembered the
stink in the elevator at the station and decided the stairs would be a better
option. Plus the stairs would take longer and he’d be able to eat at least two
more donuts by the time he made it to the fourth floor. Maybe three more.
    When he eventually made it to
the fourth floor he was met by an eerie silence. If this was the floor on which
the murder had taken place, then why was it so quiet? It ought to be buzzing
with onlookers, ambulance crew and cops. He stepped off the staircase and into
a long hallway. At the end of the hall he could see the crime scene. The dead
body of a guy with pink hair was slumped against the wall. Even from where
Sanchez was he could see that the guy was a mess. There was an awful lot of
blood on the floor and over the wall behind him. Sanchez shoved the rest of his
third donut into his mouth, then pulled his nightstick back from its sheath,
ready for action.
    He edged slowly down the hallway
towards the apartment at the end. The walls of the corridor reminded him of the
walls in the Tapioca after a typical visit from the Bourbon Kid. They were
covered in blood and stank of death. Aside from his own footsteps, the eerie
quiet remained. Where the hell was Jessica? Or Mental Beth? He could see the
door to Beth’s apartment was slightly ajar, but no sounds were coming from
within. He edged ever closer, wondering exactly what he would find inside
    With his back against the wall
he sidled up to the doorway and peered through the gap. He couldn’t see
anything of interest, but he was really wishing he had a gun instead of a
stick. He poked a leg out and kicked at the door. It creaked as it opened
slightly. Nothing seemed to have been disturbed so he kicked the door again, a
little harder this time, keeping his distance, just in case. It opened fully
this time. He counted to three in his head then peered around the door into the
apartment, with his nightstick drawn and ready for action.
    His eyes darted around at the
sight in the apartment before him. Nothing was moving so he lowered his
nightstick and stepped inside.
    His jaw dropped open as he saw
the carnage in front of him.
    This was a bloodbath.

 
    Nineteen

 
    The Santa Mondega International
Hotel looked as impressive as ever, which was quite a feat considering Peto the
Hubal monk had been beheaded in the lobby the night before. And of course,
Dante had shot Robert Swann in the head at the foot of the steps out front. Add
to that the small matter of Kacy shooting Agent Roxanne Valdez in the face in
one of the upstairs corridors and it had to be said that the place was in
remarkable shape. Any new visitors would be none the wiser about what had gone
on there in the last twenty-four hours.
    The lobby was a tad quieter than
usual, but so were most places in Santa Mondega, simply because the population
had dropped considerably overnight.
    Dante strolled up to the
reception desk with Kacy following on behind. He recognised Benito the
receptionist. Benito was wearing the shitty pink porter outfit