Snow Cover

Chapter 26 What's Happening?

Colby's POV

Loud vibrations erupted on my dresser beside my bed as I jumped up in a panic, obviously not expecting that, since I was immersed in the amazing dream I was having about Julia. Without even realizing it, I was reliving the moment we had together like it was my favorite movie that always comes to mind when wanting something incredibly pleasant to immerse myself in. Once my eyes flew open, they panned around my room to find what was making all that noise this early in the morning. I see something moving in my peripherals as I turned my gaze to watch my phone move across the top of my dresser with every strong vibration, until I am able to grab the phone to stop it from making all the noise.

Once gripped within my hand, I look over at it just to see my manager's name is highlighted across the screen, but I wonder why he would be calling. This realization wakes me up instantly, just knowing he is calling and doesn't normally call me at this time at all, so there has to be a good reason as to why I am getting this call at this hour. So I quickly pick up the call. "Lux.. Hey man.. What's going on? I don't think you have ever called me this early in the morning." I declare in a groggy tone, answering the call as he huffs out on the other end.

"I know, and I am sorry. Especially since I know you closed last night, and just know I wouldn't be doing this unless I had to.. But I need you to come back to the restaurant as soon as you can.. It's very important." he states with so much urgency in his voice that I am sufficiently worried about why he would need me to come to the restaurant. Nothing like this has ever happened before in the many years I have worked here. "ok.. uh.. Is everything ok? Did I do something wrong with the close? Or was something not there that is supposed to be? Or maybe something was stolen?" I inquired with so much worry about the multiple possibilities that this could pertain to.

My mind is reeling as I recall the last bits of work after I had come back in from seeing Julia, and it was a regular normal night for Samantha and I.. Nothing out of the ordinary happened.. Except for the encounter with Julia outside. Maybe that's why they want to talk to me. The managers have told us that they don't want us smoking during the busy parts of the shift but that they don't care if we do it after everyone leaves and still do a proper close. Which we have always done, because Samantha and I both smoke and everyone knows that, but so do all of our managers and most of our coworkers.. But maybe they are finally objecting because it was with a customer.. I dont know.. but I am sufficiently worried now.

If it is not about the encounter with Julia, but about something else, then I don't know what it could be if we are being honest. Even when I had left last night, everything was in place and the manager told me that was everything was right in my register.. So I can't possibly imagine why they would want me there.. But who am I to object to something that is obviously urgent and wrong? "Just.. Please get here as soon as you can.. Thank you." He says hanging up the call without hesitation, which makes me sad since I have so many other questions.. He never even gave me answers to the inquiry I already started, which worries me even more.

Without a moment to lose, I jump out of bed and changing my clothes since I took a shower last night. Once my pants, shirt and jacket are slipped on, I sit down and tied my shoes tight before grabbing my keys and cell phone to make my way back over to the restaurant.. I don't live too far from the hotel at all, but far enough that I need to drive, especially in the winter time. So I jump into my car to turn it on but giving it a moment to warm up before heading straight over to the restaurant.

I start to get closer to the main hotel, which is in the middle of this town and the center of attention from the stores that surround it. But as I approach, getting closer by the second, turning up onto the main street and into the center of town. I am able to see all the cars and people around the property, making sure that you have to keep an eye out on everyone. There are always people walking around, so if you don't want to hit someone you have to make sure to move slow, on these small slick roads. So before I hit a person, I keep my eyes peeled on anything that moves, whether I want to or not.

This place is always busy for the most part, but today it seems that there are more people than normal in this area. I glance around as my attention is grabbed to something around the back of the hotel that I can't see as well as I would like. It is the spot I always go to just to smoke on my break at the end of the shift, right before clean up. So maybe the issue does have to do with the fact that I was smoking or just smoking with a customer. I hope not, but that could be the case.

I park and got out of my vehicle, looking around for my manager. I don't know why I would have expected to see him out front waiting for me, but with the urgency in his voice a part of me thought I would. But I was not seeing him at all, or even anyone I would recognize, so I try to make my way around the building and towards the back, since that is where everyone seemed to be for whatever reason. I get closer, seeing that the small number of people I thought I saw, instantly noticing that they had actually turned into a huge crowd of people, which is astounding. I just couldn't see the crowd as well as I thought I could when driving up to the hotel.

What would people be doing back here? Why is there so many in this small area, where most never come to? The closer I get, the more I can see and that includes police officers and caution tape. Which creates more questions that need to be answered and fast. There must have been a break in, right? That would explain why they need me here because the only association I have with the situation is that I was the last one there. So they have to get my statement on the night and closing up, right?

I let out a deep breath, making my way over to the taped-off area, but the huge number of people is making something simple, like getting closer and talking to someone, much harder than it needs to be. I am forced to try to push through the people as I kept looking for my manager, trying to find him between the bobbling heads that are moving all around me. I am assuming this is why he called me down here, but maybe I am wrong.. But there is only one way to find out and that is finding him in this chaos. Which right now is easier said than done.

I glanced around while trying to figure out what happened by what I can see of the crime scene.. Which isn't much with the plethora of people wanting to do the same as myself. We never have anything like this happening around here, so of course, that's why all the people are here. The crowd is filled with people from the town and the customers, making this even more astounding then I would like to admit, because having the police here for a serious crime is like seeing a unicorn.. it just never happens around here, ever.

I push through the waves of people with it being incredibly thick as I finally see my manager, but he doesn't see me. He is distracted talking with a couple of police officers, he is holding papers while nodding and showing them what they have asked for to help out in this investigation. I hold my hand up over the crowd of people that are moving just as much as I am, but my waving arm doesn't seem to grab his attention, nor anyone else's. I huff out with frustration already, knowing I just need to get closer to get his attention and finally figure out what is happening and what they need me to help out with.

Julia's POV

I can't seem tp peel my eyes from the crowds of people close by. The shock has taken over my mind with this situation, but I need to know more of what is happening and when it happened. The night is flying through my mind as I think about everything I did last night. From the amazing conversation to the intimacy of our talking outside, the smoking and of course the kissing that I even seemed to dream about, which I would like to say I am surprised about, but I am not. I flip back around and away from the window, letting the curtain close behind me, with my mind still reeling as I notice that the report is still going on. I walk closer to be able to hear better.

The reporter is talking as the view on the screen starts to zoom out, showing many other pictures of women that look very similar to her. "This has been declared a serial killing. With the multiple cases, one right after the other just within this last year and that doesn't even include the women that were assaulted for the years before this. But the good thing is that he seems to be getting sloppier as time goes on. Such as from the last two cases, we have found DNA.. Which is a step in the right direction, because from the DNA, it was found that they can indicate and confirm that the attacker is a male, but not in our system.. and from what eyewitnesses have described seeing is that he is in his mid 30's, tall around 6'5, has muscular stature, and we know that the name given was a made up alias that has changed with every woman found." I find my head nodding thinking about just that description, wondering if I saw anyone who looked like that when I was there last night.

That is hard to even try to think about, especially since there was not many men in the room at all when I was in there.. but no person I saw matched that description perfectly. Besides, people came and went all night long and I wasn't watching the room the entire night. The only one I was watching that intently was Colby. But most of the men I saw in that age range and sounded like something in the area of that description were either with a family or wasn't hitting all the marks. There were men who did not have a muscular stature but the height, or had the stature but not the height, but matched everything else. I shake my head feeling bad that I wasn't paying as close attention of my surroundings as I probably should have just to be able to help out in this situation.

I stare at the screen listening to what else they have that could be useful details to hold onto and keep an eye out for, since this person is closer than I would have ever liked to imagine. Maybe Chanel was right and I should have just stayed home.. But if I would have done that then I wouldn't have met Colby and that idea alone makes me think that I made the right decision to come here as long as he is not the one doing this. I think this as a joke, to try to make myself smile in this stressful time, since that idea seems so ridiculous.

But then the intruding thoughts get the better of me because he fits the description almost perfectly.. and he was there with the girl who was murdered.. He even made the comment about how this place could be next on the destination list and that it was a male before the nws even mentioned that.. That's way too many coincidences for my liking, especially since I don't believe in coincidences normally.. But I feel my head automatically shaking at that thought. The sweet and genuine person I talked to last night couldn't do such a thing. He seemed so nice, and understanding.. So there is no way.. Right? Now the worry in my body is taking over once again, as if it never even left.