Chapter 36
I sat back at my dorm willing for the phone to ring, willing to hear something. I had no idea if they had cameras in the hotel, cameras out on the street that could follow me, track me down somehow.
But if they did, surely those cameras would have caught the culprit? Surely they'd put me in the clear.
I'd never seen a dead person before. Sure, my life had slipped a little further into the underworld of late, but not that far. I didn't know the man, had only ever heard his voice creep from the shadows, but it was still an appalling sight. Even in that half light, even with his body shrouded, it was an image that would always be burned into my memory. The empty look in his half-closed eyes, the blood seeping into the carpet, the handle of the bladeprotruding from his chest - I knew that vision would stay with me forever.
There was nothing I could do right now but wait. I had no control over this, no means of finding out the truth. I had to rely on Kyle to play detective for me. He said his father might be involved, but how, why? Why would his father kill one of his most prominent clients? Nothing made any sense.
The dorm was quiet outside as I sat with my thoughts for company, only the usual chatter of college students going about their evening piercing the silent night.
I sat on my bed, the minutes and hours ticking by, my eyes never closing, never yielding to sleep. I wouldn't be able to sleep, not tonight, not until I heard from Kyle. Would I ever be able to sleep properly again after this?
I heard the phone ring, buzzing violently on my bedside table and disturbing the quiet of the room. I didn't recognize the number. It must be Kyle.
I picked it up quickly and immediately recognized the voice.
“Alice, I can't talk much now. Sorry it's so late. Can you meet me somewhere?”
“Where?”
“Same as before. I'll be there in 20 minutes. Can you make it?”
I checked the time - 1.45 AM. “Sure, I'll leave right now.”
I dashed straight out of the dorm and rushed through the main doors of the building towards my car. I kicked it to life as it groaned and spluttered. Please start. Please start.
After waking up half of the campus the car eventually churned to life and I set off towards Adam's Park. It was dead of night now, the streets quiet and lonely. The lack of traffic sped my journey, getting me to the park soonerthan expected.
I parked as I had before, this time without any fear of getting a ticket, and stepped out. I instinctively looked around me as I approached the entrance, this time even darker and creepier than before. The moon was shrouded by heavy clouds, blocking out its light and casting a thick layer of darkness over the open expanse ahead of me.
I approached the large tree in the center. Why the f*ck did Kyle suggest we meet here - it was so damn creepy.
This time I saw no shadow of a figure beneath it. I took out my phone and looked at the time - 2.00 AM. He'd said it would take him 20 minutes, so I was a fraction early.
I approached the bench and sat under the tree. It was completely silent save the light sound of wind whistling through the leaves. I strained my eyes out to the side of the park, searching for a figure in the dark. I wasn't sure exactly which direction Kyle would come from, so continually twisted my neck this way and that to seek any sort of movement.
I saw a light, a faint light in the distance. It came from the same direction I'd come from, a dot amid the blackness. The dot grew larger as it got nearer, eventually casting a dim light over the figure of a man. The light was coming from his phone, guiding his path, his pace quickening as he came towards me. He hugged me when he arrived, my heart beat slowing beneath the comfort of his arms.
“Alice, I'm sorry to drag you out here. I know it's not particularly welcoming.”
I looked around the place. “No, not really! Did you find anything out.”
He shook his head and crunched up his face. “Not a great deal to enlighten things. I looked at the logs and there was no one else booked in to pay a visit to Mr White. At least, not from us. There was nothing of your booking either Alice. Its baffling.”
“And your father?”
“Nothing. He had already heard about what was going on and said it was nothing to do with him. To be fair, he'd probably say that anyway regardless, so it's hard to know.”
“Did you really need to drag me out here to tell me that?! I mean, you could have told me over the phone. Do you know how late it is!” I wasn't sure a man who ran a strip club had much concept of a 'late' night.
He nodded, bobbing his head lightly. “I know, I just wanted to see you, make sure you were OK. I've got a hotel room for tonight, just over there.” He nodded his head up to a large building above the tree line. “No one knows about it, I paid with cash already, used a fake name.”
He took me by the hand and started walking off towards the exit, the night air chilling me to my bones. I knew I could trust him but there was this lingering feeling that something wasn't being said, that I wasn't being let in on everything.
“So what's going to happen now,” I asked as we walked.
“I guess the cops will already have started their investigation, assuming he's been found. As long as no one knows who you are or saw you go in, you'll be fine Alice.”
“But the concierge. He knows exactly what I look like. He knows that I was going to that exact room. Surely they'll find me.”
Kyle was so casual as he shook his head. “I don't see why. You've got no record do you?”
“No.”
“Well then all they have is a girl matching a basic description and a name. Not only that, but the name you used, they won't believe it's your real name. The nature of why you were there - to strip, or more - they'll think it was a fake name. Basically, they've got nothing.”
“And cameras? In the hotel, on the street? Can't they track me?”
“Possibly in the hotel but they knew you were going to room 640 anyway, so seeing you do it won't be anything new. In fact, if anything the cameras will catch the real culprit, and the autopsy will put anyone else going in there in the clear. The things they can do these days Alice, they'll be able to pinpoint exactly when he died, and it was probably way before you even arrived. I wouldn't worry. Just don't ever go back to that hotel again. In fact, steer clear of the entire street if you can.”
I had no idea how he could be so relaxed about it all. He seemed like a seasoned pro, like this wasn't his first rodeo.
“Mr White then,” I continued to question, “what about him? They'll look at him, find out that he had been using the business to hire strippers. It'll all come back to your father, to you, to me.”
Kyle stopped in his tracks and turned to me, putting his hands to the sides of my arms. He looked at me with his deep blue eyes, shining even in the dim light, a consoling look to his face. “Alice, it's OK. There's nothing that can trace things to us from any client. My father is extremely careful about such things in case anything like this ever happens. Please, don't worry so much. You're in the clear.”
Somehow I didn't quite believe that was the case.