The Bone House - Brian Freeman [97]
'I'm very sorry.'
'Thank you.'
'So on Saturday night, you were alone in your room?' Cab asked.
'That's right.'
'Tell me what happened.'
Jensen took another swig from his can of Coke. 'I couldn't sleep. You know what hotel beds are like. Around two thirty or so, I took a cigar out on the balcony and figured I'd relax with a smoke. My room faced the Gulf. Great view. Big moon. I think I was on the tenth floor. Anyway, I sat outside for about half an hour or so. I don't know what time it was, but at some point, I saw a man walking from the hotel down to the beach right below me.'
'Can you describe him?' Cab asked.
'I wish I could. It was pretty dark. He looked like a fairly big guy, but from that height, it's hard to tell. All I saw was his yellow tank top. It was bright, so it was easy to spot. I'm not sure I would have remembered him, but I saw him again a while later, down close to the water. It looked like he was making out with a girl.' 'Where did this girl come from?' Cab asked.
Jensen shook his head. 'I don't know.'
'Did you see her leave the hotel?'
'No, I only saw the guy. I noticed her for the first time when the man approached her on the beach. He came from the north, and she was already there when I spotted them. I couldn't see anything about her, other than it was a girl in a bright bikini.'
'Are you sure it was the same man you saw leaving the hotel?'
'Well, it was the same shirt,' Jensen said.
Cab stopped and looked up at the water-stained ceiling as he heard a heavy thud on the floor overhead. Jensen's face seized with dismay.
'I'm sorry, did you say you live alone now?' Cab asked.
The coach looked embarrassed. He spread his hands as if to say: You caught me. 'I live alone, but I'm finally at a point where I don't always sleep alone, Detective.' 'Ah.'
'You can see why I was a little surprised when you showed up. I was sort of occupied, if you know what I mean.'
'I understand,' Cab told him. 'Just to confirm, you didn't have anyone in the hotel with you in Florida. Right?'
Jensen nodded. 'That's right.'
'What happened when this man in the yellow shirt approached the girl on the beach?' Cab asked.
'They talked for a while,' Jensen said. 'Then it was more than talking.'
'Meaning what exactly?'
'I could see them kissing.'
'Are you sure that was what they were doing?' Cab asked.
Jensen hesitated. 'I just assumed it was what they were doing. Their arms were wrapped around each other, so that's what it looked like. You don't think he could have been hurting her, do you?'
'You tell me.'
Jensen rubbed his hands over his balding head. 'I'm really not sure. I mean, you see two people together like that, you assume they're making out, but now that I think about it ...' His voice trailed off, then he started again. 'I don't know, maybe she was struggling. I hope I'm wrong. I hate to think I was watching him kill that poor girl, and I didn't do anything.' 'What happened next?' Cab asked.
'I went back inside and went to bed.'
'You didn't stay on the balcony and watch?'
Jensen smiled. 'I'm not a pervert, Detective. I wasn't going to hang around to see if they had sex. Besides, by that point, I could barely keep my eyes open.'
'What time was this?'
'It must have been a little after three. I remember noticing the clock shortly after I got back in bed, and it was just about three fifteen.'
'Could you identify the girl or the man you saw?' Cab asked.
'No, as I told you, it was too dark.'
'Have you seen a photo of the girl who was killed?'
Jensen nodded. 'Yes, I've seen photos of her in the paper.'
'Do you remember seeing her at all during the time you were in Florida?'
'No, I don't. I'm not saying I didn't, but there were teenage girls all over the hotel. I don't remember her specifically.'
'Have you told anyone else about what you saw?' Cab asked.
'No, I didn't give it a thought until I saw what had happened. Then I called your department.'
'What about the girls on the Green Bay team? Did any of them mention seeing anything unusual in Florida? Have you heard any