Chapter 37
My eyes slowly opened to the sight of a large and spacious room in the Grange Hotel, just across the road from Adam's Park. I was lying on a king sized bed alone, Kyle's whereabouts given away by the sound of water splashing to the floor in the next room.
I checked my phone to see that the day was still young, the sunshine bursting in through the half closed curtains. When we'd gotten back we'd crashed out immediately. Or, at least, I had. Whether Kyle had followed I didn't know.
His presence, though, had comforted me. He made me feel safe, reassured me that things would be OK, that life would continue for me as normal. They were the words I needed to hear, words that finally set my mind to ease and allowed me to fall away to sleep. It wasn't quite the lustful or romantic night that a new young couple might usually have enjoyed, but it was just what I needed.
I reached for the remote control for the television and clicked it on, flicking through the channels as I lay there on the bed. I stopped suddenly, the image of the Globe Hotel filling the screen. In front of it stood a reporter,talking to the camera with a microphone steadied under her mouth.
Little is known about the details as of yet, and the police are remaining tight-lipped about what has actually happened here. The deceased has, however, been identified as Michael Cooper, a banking magnate from New York, who was visiting on business. Why he was at the hotel, and the details of his death, have yet to surface.
Michael Cooper. The name rang a bell for me, a man who was highly prized in the banking industry. He had once been CEO of one of the largest banks in the world before retiring and setting up his own Hedge Fund. As far as I knewhe was a billionaire. Christ, to think I'd been dancing for someone like that. I wonder who the others had been?
Kyle came out of the shower and dragged my attention from the screen. On this rare occasion his ripped torso wasn't front and center of my mind.
“The man was Michael Cooper,” I said as soon as he stepped through the door, water dripping off his tanned body and soaking into the towel around his waste.
He stopped short, as if he knew the name. “Do you know him?” I asked, seeing his face change.
He nodded pensively. “I'm sure he used to have dealings with my father. He's a finance guy, right?”
“Yeah.”
“How did you find out.”
I tilted my head at the TV. “They're not saying anything about the murder, about what actually happened.”
“No surprise there,” Kyle scoffed, “I doubt they have a clue what went on. This wasn't a crime of passion, it was premeditated. Whoever did this knew exactly what they were doing.”
He sat down and gazed at the TV. I could see his head working things over. Perhaps his father was involved after all.
I didn't want to ask him that though. If that was the case, it was nothing to do with me. I wanted to stay well out of this. Perhaps a business deal gone wrong or an old vendetta that he had against Mr Cooper. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more it seemed as though Mr Logan must have been involved. He'd know that Mr White - or Cooper - would be there, in the Globe Hotel and he was probably the only one. It was a set up of some kind, one I wish I hadn't become embroiled in. It unsettled me to think that my involvement could only have been intended.
But what could I do? Get on with my life. There was nothing else for it, no other route available to me. I could quit, do what Kyle had wanted. I wish I had done so before now, then I'd never have stumbled upon that scene in room 640. Maybe now it was time for me to throw in the towel, return to my normal world. This one clearly didn't agree with me.
“I have to get going Alice.” With everything running through my mind, I'd barely realized that Kyle was getting dressed and preparing to leave.
“Where?”
“I've more questions for my father. I need to know if he was involved.”
“But you said it yourself - he won't tell you even if he is.”
“I know that, but I have to try again. It's too coincidental that it's an old associate of his. I'm going to ask him straight. I want to know that you're out of it, that there won't be any splashback onto you.”
“I need to quit don't I?” I asked out of the blue. “All of this, I need to get away from it all.”
Kyle turned from the mirror where he'd been crafting his hair into place and looked at me. His eyes held hope, as if he'd wanted to hear those words fall from my mouth for years.
“I'd love for nothing more. I'll tell him that as well. Don't worry, I'll say nothing of us. I'll just tell him that seeing the man in the chair, murdered, that it shook you up. Who wouldn't be screwed up by that.”
He came forward and sat beside me, his hand on mine. “Look, the sooner you get out of this shit, the better. I'm stuck in it Alice, I was born into it, but not you. You're better than this, you shouldn't be sullied by it.”
I watched as his eyes dropped, his voice matching them. “I should never have brought you into this. I'm so sorry.”
I could see the regret etched onto his face. He was so much more sensitive than you'd think, so much more pained by what he did for a living, the life he led. He'd been masking it for a while, turning his head away from it all, not connecting with anyone. Now, though, he'd connected with me, and the reality of his world had begun to sink in.
“You're not to blame,” I said. “Only I can be held accountable for how my life has turned out. You never forced anything on me Kyle, it was all my own free will.”
He shook his head, speaking quietly as he looked to the floor. “I prey on people Alice, people who have no other option. I take advantage and use them. I want to get out, just as you do.”
My eyes lit at his words. “So do it. Quit. We can leave here together, I can move to another college, you can get a job. We can be free to live, away from all this secrecy.”
“I can't do that. There's nowhere I could go where my father wouldn't find me and bring me back. We all live within his shadow, me and all my brothers. There's nowhere for us to turn.”
God he sounded like he was living under subjugation, like his father was this evil overlord who controlled him and his entire life. It sounded a little far fetched.
“But he can't tell you what to do. You're a grown man, you can make your own life decisions. I mean, sure, I understand why you can't date someone who works for you, but not letting you do what you want to do with your life, that's taking things to another level.”
He shuffled slightly, his expression changing, hardening. “No, I'm speaking out of turn. It's really not that bad Alice. In any case, what the hell would I do if I didn't work for my father. I don't exactly have a laundry listof transferable skills.”
He stood up, suddenly the boss again. “Look I'd better rush. I'm gonna try to get to the bottom of this Alice, give you peace of mind, OK. I'll call you on the same number as before later on. Listen for my call.”
He leaned in and gave me a kiss, the sort of kiss that lingers and makes you want more, before turning towards the door. He stopped as he grasped the handle and spoke before turning it. “If ever you meet my father, never repeatwhat I just said Alice.” His words carried a heavy weight.
Then, he opened the door, and was gone.