She sniffed. "Well, things had got kinda hot, you know?"
Ski nodded.
"So we decided to go to this motel where we could, you know, be more comfortable."
Ski nodded.
"When we got there, I went into the office and gave ol' lady what's-her-name the money, and she gave me a key to room number eight. We drove to it,
got out, went up to the door. I gave Davis the key and said 'Be a gentleman.' Meaning, you know, that he should open the door for me at least."
"Um-huh."
"But he had trouble getting the key into the lock because he was holding up his jeans with one hand. They were, uh, undone, see?"
Ski gave another nod.
The stepmother made a snorting sound and rolled her eyes. The girl looked at her with loathing. "Oh, like you're so pure and all."
Before the stepmother could form a comeback, Ski said, "Please continue, Miss Arnold." His voice was soft but carried a ring of authority that prevented an argument between the two women.
The girl returned her attention to him. "So ... so Davis is having trouble getting the door unlocked. But then he does. He pushes it open and steps in and switches on the light. And there's this guy, standing beside the bed, looking as surprised to see us as we were to see him. We expected the room to be vacant, you know?"
Ski nodded.
"And then he just ... he just..." Her lower lip began to tremble, and a new batch of tears flooded her eyes. "Shoots the gun."
"Did he reach for the gun?"
She shook her head. "He already had it."
"Did he say anything before he fired it?"
She shook her head again. Her throat was working with emotion.
Ski leaned forward across the table. "Do you need to take a moment, Miss Arnold?"
"Jesus," the stepmother hissed. "Just tell the man what happened so we can get outta here. Will you do that, please?"
Ignoring her, Ski kindly asked the girl again if she needed time to collect herself.
She said no, that she was okay. He moved a box of Kleenex across the table closer to her. She pulled one out, blew her nose, and wiped her eyes.
When she was more composed, Ski resumed. "He didn't speak to you?"
"No."
"Did you get a good look at him?"
"Well, yeah. Davis turned on the light, and there he was, facing the door, not six feet from us."
"You told me earlier that he was fully dressed."
"In khaki pants and a dark blue shirt."
"We found a pair of men's shoes on the floor beside the bed."
"I didn't notice his feet. But his hair was all messed up. I noticed it was standing on end. And his eyes were sorta, you know, bugged out. Like maybe he'd been asleep, and we'd startled him awake, and he'd jumped up off the bed suddenly. Then when Davis came in, he pulled the trigger."