A small black woman in a white uniform stood in the doorway with two towels draped over her arm.
“Housekeeping,” she said. “I am sorry I’m so late today but it’s been a busy day. Tomorrow I’ll do your room first.”
Gladden exhaled and noticed that he had neglected to put the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the outside knob.
“It’s okay,” he said, quickly getting up to stop her entrance into the room. “Just the towels today, anyway.”
As he took the towels he noticed embroidered on her uniform the name Evangeline. She had a lovely face and he immediately felt sorry that this was her job, cleaning up after others.
“Thank you, Evangeline.”
He noticed her eyes go past him into the room and fall down to the bed. It was still made. He hadn’t pulled the covers down the night before. Then she looked back at him and nodded with what he guessed was a smile.
“That’d be all you need?”
“Yes, Evangeline.”
“Have a nice day.”
Gladden closed the door and turned around. There on the bed was the open laptop computer. On the screen was one of the photographs. He moved back to the door, opened it and stood under the door frame where she had been. He looked at the computer. He could tell. The boy on the ground and what else could that be against the perfect white canvas of snow but blood.
He quickly went to the computer and hit the emergency kill button he had programmed himself. The door was still open. Gladden tried to think. Jesus, he thought, what a mistake.
He walked to the door and stepped out. Evangeline was down the walkway standing next to a housekeeping cart.
She looked back at him, her face revealing nothing. But Gladden knew he had to be sure. He could not risk everything on reading this woman’s face.
“Evangeline,” he said. “I changed my mind. The room could probably use a going-over. I need toilet paper and soap, anyway.”
She put down the clipboard she had been writing on and stooped to get toilet paper and soap out of the cart. As Gladden watched he put his hands in his pockets. He noticed she was chewing gum and clicking it. An insulting thing to do in front of someone else. It was like he was invisible. He was nothing.
When Evangeline approached him with the items from the cart, he made no move to take his hands from his pockets. He took a step back to allow her to go into the room. After she stepped in, Gladden walked down to the cart and looked at the clipboard she had placed on top. After room 112 was the notation “Just Towels.”
Gladden looked around as he headed back to the room.
The motel was a courtyard design with two floors of about twenty-four rooms each. He saw another housekeeping cart on the upper floor across the way. It was parked in front of an open door but there was no sign of the maid. The pool at the center of the courtyard was empty of guests. Too cold.
He saw no one else anywhere.
He stepped into the room and closed the door as Evangeline came out of the bathroom holding the bag from the trash can.
“Sir, we have to keep the door open when we’re working inside a room. Those are the rules.”
He blocked her way to the door.
“Did you see the photograph?”
“What? Sir, I have to open the—”
“Did you see the photo on the computer? On the bed?”
He pointed to the laptop and watched her eyes. She looked confused but didn’t turn.
“What photo?”
She turned to look at the sagging bed and then back to him with a look of confusion and growing annoyance on her face.
“I didn’t take anything. You call Mr. Barrs right now if you think I took somethin’. I’m an honest lady. He can have one of the other girls search me. I don’t got your photo. I don’t even know what picture you mean.”
Gladden looked at her a moment and then smiled.
“You know, Evangeline, I think maybe you are an honest lady. But I have to be sure. You understand.”
14
The Law Enforcement Foundation was on Ninth Street in Washington, D.C., a few blocks from the Justice Department and FBI headquarters. It was a large building and I assumed other agencies and foundations funded from the public trough were housed here as well. Once I was in through the heavy doors I checked the directory and took the elevator to the third floor.
It looked like the