I need you to pull up surveillance for a hotel in Chicago called the Marquess. Our main suspect is here and she’s got a new man in her grasp.
PETRA
On it.
Petra was the only one I had brought into the investigation on the level of telling her everything. Well, almost everything. She had no idea of what I’d done with Maurelle, no one did, and I wanted it to stay that way. Within minutes of sitting down at the booth, I heard my phone chime with an email.
Surprising me, which by now I knew it shouldn’t, Petra had come through with the goods.
GARRICK
Find out everything you can on the man with her.
Petra replied with a simple thumbs up emoji and I pocketed my phone, my mind racing just as Brent came back.
“Bad news, Kane,” he said. “I gotta head home.”
“It’s all good,” I said, getting up from the booth again. “Like I said earlier, I had to get up early and see a witness.”
I walked him out of the hotel foyer and said our goodbyes. It was only now that I realized just how hungry I was when I smelled the pizza place across the road wafting through my nostrils. I headed that way to the pedestrian crossing and into the parlor where the smell of oil and hot meat seeped into my senses.
“Pepperoni slice,” I ordered when I got to the counter. The man with the oil stains on his shirt nodded and moved into the counter display and grabbed a slice of pepperoni, and threw it onto a plate before he handed it over to me with a napkin. I grabbed a seat at the window and ate. The pizza was the perfect amount of cheese, pepperoni, pizza sauce and oil. Exactly what I needed to soak up all that alcohol. I finished my pizza slice and headed back over to the hotel.
It was almost as if I were trying to see if she was here, watching me. I felt eyes on me everywhere in this hotel.
Was she staying here? What were the odds that I would see her when I was working on another case, a cold case at that. It’s almost as if our universes were aligned and we were connected in a way I couldn’t understand.
I walked down the hall after getting out of the elevator and to my room. Swiping my keycard on the door latch, I moved inside. Pulling my jacket off, I threw it over the back of the chair and sat on the edge of the bed.
I felt hot and sticky from the pizzeria, so I undressed and headed into the shower.
Feeling refreshed with a towel wrapped around my waist, I noticed a couple of mini bottles of Jack Daniels on the table with a note.
Mr. Garrick,
Please accept our apologies for the delay in getting your room made today. We’ve comped some Jack Daniels for you. We hope you enjoy your time with us.
Staff at Marquess.
Damn. The delay wasn’t that bad when I checked in, but I suppose if you’re forking out what I was, they had these niceties in place for when things went awry. I cracked it open and drank straight from the little plastic bottle.
A nice little nightcap before bed would be perfect. I put the TV on for some background noise and turned the volume down. It was getting beyond a joke now that I couldn’t focus on sleep unless I had some stupid show on in the background.
I grabbed the second little mini bottle and downed the Jack in that too. Petra hadn’t gotten back to me, so she must be deep diving on Maurelle’s next victim. The woman drove me crazy, but she was damn good at surfing the net for anything and everything.
I looked over at the empty bottles of Jack, my mood elevated slightly. Strange, they usually offered wine or beer, not spirits as an apology in places like this, didn’t they?
Slowly, my mind reeled. How did they know I preferred Jack Daniels over all over brands or that I drank it all?
My gut burned as I realized the note that came with it wasn’t on their stationery or even typed. It was handwritten on a piece of blank paper. My vision blurred as I dropped the note on the floor, and suddenly I felt very dizzy. Had I really fallen for something so blatantly a ruse? I made my way to the side of the bed to grab my phone but instead, I fell onto the bed just as I heard the unmistakable sound of the door lock clicking over, followed by the smell of violets invading my nostrils.
Even though my vision was blurry, I could see her hovering over me with that evil smile of hers.
“I noticed you started to figure out something was off a little too late,” she said, reaching up to the corner of the room and pulling a wire down. A little camera fell into her palm and she put it in her purse before she sat down beside me. I could barely move, and every movement felt slow. “I have to say, you surprised me by being in Chicago. I had thought you wouldn’t be able to trace me unless, that is, you’re here for another reason.”
I didn’t think I had reacted but she sighed in response. “I see. Unlucky for me. I wasn’t lying though, it is good to see you, Detective. I don’t say that to many people in my life.”
“Why?” I managed to say.
