Sam rubbed the blur from her eyes, took one last swig of cold coffee, and left her car in the no parking zone. A crowd gathered outside the hotel. She ignored them, brushing past the swarm of reporters and thrill seekers. It was going to be another long night. She rode the elevator in silence, tapping her foot in annoyance. What the hell was wrong with this city? How was it people kept discovering dead bodies in the middle of the night? Didn’t anybody sleep? The stench hit her as soon as the elevator doors opened. At least she had her answer. It would be hard to doze off with the noxious odor of death permeating the hallway. Sam pulled a tube of Mentholatum out of her pocket, and dabbed some under her nose. It made her eyes water, played havoc with her sinuses, and didn’t do near enough to mask the stench. A uniform stood guard outside the hotel room door. She flashed her badge and noticed the color drained from his face, leaving him a pasty shade of white. “Brace yourself, Detective,”
