Chapter 9.

The road was empty and dark, and cold seeped through the cracks in the window. As Cat drove, she cursed her boss for sending her out here. She was sick of the El Alacrán story, murders happening everywhere and The Agency trying to cover everything up.

She reached her destination, an old Motel 6 with a few rusty cars out the front. Perfect place for a murder, Cat thought, as she put on another jumper and headed up the stairs to room 293.

Opening the door, she fumbled for the light switch. Unable to find one, Cat waited a few moments for her eyes to adjust then walked further into the room.

There was a faint smell of apple lingering in the air.
A double bed was in the middle of the room, dirty sheets messily thrown on the bed in what looked like a lazy attempt to make a bed. There was a TV, old and small, in the corner and a room at the far end which containing a grubby bathroom.
But what shocked Cat the most, was the body lying next to the bed, face down. Just to make sure, Cat checked the pulse. Dead. But no blood anywhere, no knife in the back, no bullet wounds. Nothing. Just a dead body.

Cat rang her boss. "What should I do?" she asked, worriedly. It was scary, being in a room at a dingy motel, at night, random things casting shadows everywhere.
"Well? Who is it?" her boss asked, eagerly.
"It's..." Cat replied, gulping, "It's the head guy of The Agency. Y'know, the one at the head of the El Alacrán investigation."
"What?" the boss asked, incredulously, "Killed by the same person?"
"Yeah," Cat said, uneasily, "No bullet wounds, blood or anything."
"I'll send the rest of the team down," her boss answered, "Keep guard. Make sure The Agency don't get there first. You know why."
Cat nodded solemnly. "Yes, sir."
"And Cat?" her boss asked.
"Yes?"
"We think we found a cause of death," the boss said, "Poison."