Chapter 34
I stepped out from the car and headed in through the lobby of the Globe Hotel. The grand entrance and lavishly designed interior wasn't a foreign sight to me any longer, so failed to draw my eye as it had on previous occasions.
Immediately I could see the familiar face of the concierge smiling happily at another guest as I walked in, busying himself in offering any help and advice he could. His gaze drew up and he spotted me once more as I walked towards him, a knowing smile spreading over his face.
He nodded his head slightly down as I approached him and spoke in his usual official tones. “Good evening Miss Newton, so nice to see you once more. I assume you'll be taking a further visit to room 640? Mr White has quite an appetite today.” He hushed his voice with his final words so as to keep them from anyone else's ears, a slightly abashed look on his face.
“I will,” I said, his last comment slightly confusing me. Quite an appetite today - what did he mean by that?
I walked over towards the lifts and stepped inside, pressing the button for the 6th floor. I felt the usual pang of excitement as the lift slowly ascended, this time mixed with a lingering feeling of doubt and nerves. The last time I'd come here, Jen had warned of Mr White's intentions, a thought that didn't sit happily in my stomach.
I stepped out as the lift opened and turned to my left, eyeing the number 640 on a door down the hall. I knew the drill from before:
Knock on the door, wait for a response. Go in, lock the door, and dance until he is satisfied. Then leave.
All in all, a pretty simple nights work. I knew that Mr White wasn't much of a talker. I knew he'd be sitting there in the shadows, unwilling to reveal his face, his true identity. Fine by me.
I knocked on the door as I reached it and waited for the usual growl from inside. It never came. I knocked again, this time accompanying my knock with “Mr White, I'm here,” as I did.
Once more, no voice issued from within.
I steadied my hand and reached for the handle, turning it to open the door. The scene inside was as usual: a darkened room, lamps lit in the corners, a single spotlight highlighting the center of the room. Beyond I could see the armchair, hidden in the shadows, and the shape of a figure sitting there as always.
But things weren't as always. Something was off.
I crept closer into the room and spoke again. “Mr White, are you there?”
Once more no sound came from the room, from the chair, from the shadow.
My pulse began to soar as I stepped closer, moving in towards the spotlight, trying to get a better look at the figure in the chair. I could see the shape of a man's head, not upright against the back of the chair, but slumped to one side, the neck arching and laying the head to rest on the shoulder.
I whispered again, my voice quieter now. “Mr White, are you OK?”
He didn't answer.
My breathing was heavy now as I inched closer to the chair, the figure coming into vision, the shape of his body and features of his face growing in clarity. His eyes looked to be half open, staring forward with a vacant gaze. His heavyset body was completely unmoving, his chest failing to raise in breath.
Then, suddenly, I saw it, my eyes growing accustomed to the dim light. A knife, plunged deep into his heart, nothing but the handle issuing from his flesh. I staggered backwards slightly as the vision dawned on me, his shirt soaked in blood. I looked to the floor to see that it had seeped onto the carpet, through the chair, everywhere. In the dim of the room it had been hard to see. Now it was all I could see.
My hands were shaking as instinct took over and I stepped forward, reaching for his neck. I searched quickly for a pulse but there was none. His heart had given in, cut through by the blade in his chest.
I turned and looked back towards the door. I'd forgotten to shut it, leaving it open a crack. I could hear people walking past down the hall. I thought about crying out for help, but my voice stayed hidden.
They might think I had something to do with it, that it was me.
I stepped back from the body and ran for the door as the footsteps disappeared, pulling my phone right out of my handbag as I did. I quickly slipped my head round the door to see nothing, emptiness, before shutting it as quietly as possible.
I dialed Kyle's number on my phone and listened for his voice. It rang over and over before going dead. I rang again, hoping, praying, for a response, for help.
The line clicked to life and I heard his voice, once more stern at the other end.
“Alice, I told you NOT TO CALL THIS NUMBER! I will be in tou....”
I cut him off before he could do the same to me. “He's dead,” I said, trying my best to keep my voice down for want of someone hearing through the wall.
“What are you talking about? What's going on?”
“Mr White is dead,” I said again.
I could hear his breathing increase down the phone as the words sunk in. “You're with Mr White? What are you doing there?”
“To dance, what do you think! I came to the hotel as usual and he's f*cking dead Kyle. There's a f*cking knife in his heart!” The thought was making me want to spew.
“OK Alice, stay calm. Where are you now? Come on Alice, where are you.”
“In the room.”
“OK, that's OK. You need to leave right now. No one knows who you are there. No one knows your real name. Just walk out the front of the hotel, get in the car, and tell the driver to take you to the club. OK, can you do that?”
I nodded to myself without realizing that he couldn't see me.
“Can you do that Alice?”
“I can.”
“OK, do it now, and act calm. I'll meet you at the club.”
I turned to the door and listened for movement. There was none, no sound of footsteps or voices out in the corridor. I quietly opened the door and stepped out, shutting it behind me. If nothing else, this would be my last visit to room 640 at the Globe Hotel.
I gathered myself as I walked along the corridor, trying to correct the shaking at my knees. I kept my composure, a trait instilled in me by Mrs Jones. For that I was thankful.
I entered the lift as it opened in front of me, stepping in with a couple of other men who couldn't help but eye the cleavage beneath my coat. The journey in the lift felt like it lasted a lifetime as it kept opening at every floor, more guests stepping in as it descended.
I stepped off quickly as it opened to the main foyer, trying to plant the most casual smile on my face as I could. I sensed the concierge eyeing me up as I left, but didn't look towards him, instead heading straight out into thenight as per Kyle's instructions.
I stepped into the waiting car and gave the driver his orders, the privacy in the back seat finally giving me the chance to unleash my emotions. My eyes welled up and I breathed heavily as I scrambled for a drink, spilling whiskey to the floor as I hastily filled a glass.
I sunk it down, the liquid helping to numb me as my mind tumbled in several different directions, questions bombarding my brain.
Who killed him? Why? Would they think it was me when they found him? Would I go to jail?What the f*ck was going on?!
The thoughts forced me to sink another whiskey as the car zoomed forward. Kyle would know what to do. I could trust him, rely on him. He'll make things all right.
I hoped to God I was right.