Jones arrived at his motel at 1 a.m. Generally his rule was not to sleep during a serious case. This was a rule he felt forced to break due to his declining ability to think clearly. There was work tomorrow and could not afford to show up with too dark of circles under the eyes. A mental pause could prove a general investment in his mental acuity. There was still some shame in resting his eyes.


    Jones laid down on that uncomfortable motel bed once more. He began to feel a bit unsure that the rest would be refreshing in the slightest. He really needed to have a word with the bed''s designer. Jones began his general reflection before slipping into the relaxation of dream time. Thoughts were running through his mind at an uneasy pace. The day had been too long to appreciate every detail fully. He thought to himself that the possibility of missing something important was too great for his liking. .


    Jones tried to distract his mind by thinking of the most attractive waitress he had seen in the past few days. None at The Lake House were particularly provocative candidates. The P.I. was certain that the most beautiful of them all the waitresses he had interacted with was the one at that expensive diner, the one where he concluded his most recent divorce espionage case. Despite the appreciation of her form by his trained eye he had forgot her name already, Amelia was it maybe.


    Beyond the physical beauty, he was gaining a new appreciation of waiting that made conversation with her all the more enviable. Waiting was a job that he could not see himself doing forever, but maybe he could add it to the list of odd jobs he could pursue. He could add it to the rotation, after all is was certainly acceptable to stay only a couple of months there. At all costs, he had to avoid the misery evoked by the waiters at the party tonight.


    In regards to jobs, Jones needed to focus on Claudia and the circumstances surrounding her acquiring the position she had. Somehow she was hired without any experience prior. He thought her not to be incompetent and took the word of that other waitress in that Claudia was new to the trade. Given how three people had mentioned the strict expectation of experience, something here was suspect.


    Jones begun to wonder about the timeline of Claudia''s relationship with Luca. Luca had managed to hire Jones without much issue. The authority of Vincent de More was something that the private eye was yet to understand. He had seen no sight of the man despite the suggestion of the waitress that the man was thoroughly involved in the affairs of The Lake House.


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    There was also the possibility of another player in her life. It was frustratingly unbeknownst to Jones whether she interacted with a whole other social sphere in her life. The doubt of the mystery of her life was eating away at his calmness. Jones tossed and turned trying to stop the thinking for a little. For a moment it was more his mind at unease than his body in that rotten bed. He could not help himself from thinking about the case. As a means to subconsciously clam himself down, Jones'' mind accused him of being just like her co-workers in needing to know a weakness to feel satisfied.


    The confrontational accusation did little to qualm the demand of his mind to know more. So far no clue helped to narrow down the killer. Her work was not the strongest of leads to begin with. The drugs might have been a lead if the streets were not flooded with heroine at the present moment. Even out here away from the bustle of the coastal cities, there was still likely to multiple dealers willing to sell and ask no questions.


    A new thought was coming into Jones'' head that paired well with the amount of time she spent at work. The police''s unwillingness to investigate might not have been caused by proximity to an obscene wealth. Sure those kinds of people were easily offended by unnatural death, but this sort of negligence was maybe the result of a push for the local authorities to close things quick. Interference was possibly a trail for Jones to follow if The Lake House lead were to peter out.


    The unexplained connection with the upper rings of The Lake House was intriguing to say the least. Jones wondered how powerful Luca was. The relationship he had with the waitstaff in contrast to Vincent de More could have been an act. A good manager and a bad manager could work together to retain order and still be informed to the ideas of the staff. Luca already demonstrated himself to be influential enough to subvert protocol slightly.


    Jones'' suspicion of Luca Hartmann was abated by one reason, he was aiding the investigation after everyone else had moved on. The distraught Luca conveyed was either real or the sophisticated act of a sociopath.


    Luca said that he disagreed with the hiring practices The Lake House employed. It could be that the hiring practice was all outside his purview and Claudia was just another case of a random hire sprung upon him.


    Having attempted to sleep for a good thirty minutes, Jones set the alarm for 5 a.m. The only productive thought was the need for a schedule. First, he needed to give a hopeful report to Gary Wells. The hope was not entirely untruthful. There was progress being made in that he certainly knew more at the end of the day than a the beginning. Following a brief correspondence with Gary Wells, Jones was then to meet Mr. Hartmann. After a talk with the, by now hopefully more collected, manager, Jones still had to work another shift.


    Dream time finally was able to silence all thought and Jones was asleep. No dreams were had and the rest was empty. His mind felt tired, but his body had to be ready for yet another day of work. Working two jobs was not for the faint of heart. Jones jokingly asked himself whether he would get paid for this work as a waiter. The tip the Texan had left was massive.


    Coffee would have to take upon the burden of waking his mind up tomorrow. If there was anything that could be called a dream within Jones'' mind that night, it was the feeling of that sweet relief coffee never failed to deliver.