Chapter 42
Todd usually slept late, especially after a late night of booze and sex. Kelly's temper flared as he pounded on Todd’s motel door in an attempt to aroused him from his alcohol induced deep hibernation.
Frustration with his alcoholic friend was reaching an all-time high as Kelly desperately searched for a cleaning lady or a manager. Kelly finally persuaded the assistant manager to use his master key to open Todd’s motel room.
“Todd, wake up you drunken fool,” Kelly screamed as the manager tried his second master key.
“Sorry, Mr. Kevin Spencer, but something is stuck in the lock. I have to get a locksmith to open this door,” The inept manager said.
“To hell with that,” Kelly yelled as he kicked in the door. Both men hesitated before entering the motel room as if they were expecting the devil himself to fly out of Todd’s motel room. The room remained dark, even though it was a bright sunny afternoon. A strong smell of ammonia, whiskey and sex filled their nostrils as they slowly advance into the room. The incompetent assistant manger fumbled with the flashlight. Kelly frantically grabbed the flashlight and flashed a narrow beam of light onto Todd’s bed.
“There you are, get out of bed you lump of shit,” Kelly snarled as he slowly approached the bed.
The manager stopped two steps short of the bed as Kelly clamored, “Wow, you must really be hammered.” Kelly hastily pulled off the sheets. The tension in the room suddenly erupted as the anxious manager screeched a blood curdling scream that sounded more like a scared thirteen year old girl.
Kelly was suddenly enthrall with grief and anguish as he looked down upon his friend’s lifeless naked body.
The assistant manager has never seen a dead body before, even in this low-end rat trap motel. Kelly pulled off the sheets, Todd’s brown eyes stared back at them. The horrified manager retreated backwards to the door till Kelly quickly grasped him by the collar.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Kelly yelled as he snatched the manager with both hands and hoisted him to his face. Horror lurked in the manager’s eyes as Kelly cast his grief stricken eyes upon the manager. Kelly quickly recomposed himself and relinquished his grasp on the manger.
“It's okay kid,” Kelly said as he straightened the manager’s ragged suit and pinstriped tie. “Come down, my friend, what’s your name kid?”
“Dave, Dave Trumble.”
“Mr. Trumble?” Kelly said in his sweetest voice possible, “Look, kid, my friend is already dead; we don’t need to get any cops involved now do we? Calling the cops will not fix anything. I understand your obligation to the motel.” Kelly pulled out a hundred dollar bill and placed it in Dave’s pocket. “But you don’t realize my predicament.”
Mr. Trumble’s nervous twitch slowly subsided. “Do we have an understanding Mr. Trumble?” Dave’s face was contorted with fear and anxiety as he stared at Todd’s dead body spread out on the motel’s bed. Kelly finally realized that Mr. Trumble needed more incentive as he placed another hundred dollar bill in Dave's shirt pocket. The added incentive was enough to make David slowly shake his head in agreement.
“Good, you must know someone who can make sure my friend has a proper, but discreet send-off?”
Mr. Trumble shifted his eyes from Todd’s dead body back to the cash in his pocket as he uttered, “Yes, sir, I can take care of your friend very discreetly of course.”
Kelly slowly lowered his lips to Mr. Trumble’s left ear and softly whispered, “Make sure, Mr. Trumble that it’s a nice and quite send-off or I might just have to come back here and give you a quite send-off.”
“Yes, of course, sir, no problem, I will take care of everything.” Mr. Trumble trembled as he straightened his tie. “I will make sure your friend receives a nice arrangement of flowers at the ceremony.”