“Where do they go?”
“The one on the left is the en-suite bathroom, the one in the middle is the walk-in closet, and the one on the right is a passageway that leads to… I think you’d describe it as a panic room.”
“You’ve got a panic room?”
Thomas snorted. “It’s a room you’d panic in, yes.”
“I…I don’t understand.”
“Whatever you do… Don’t use the door on the right.” Thomas turned to leave. “Goodnight.”
“Wait,” Scott said, gripping Thomas’s arm.
Thomas tensed, and Scott released him.
“Where are you going to be?”
Thomas narrowed his eyes. “In my bedroom.”
“Which is where?”
“In my quarters on the top floor.”
Scott stared at him blankly.
“You keep taking the corridor until you get to a spiral staircase. Any issues, I don’t want to hear about them. Night, Scott.”
“Wait.”
Thomas paused in the doorway.
“Thank you,” Scott whispered.
“Don’t mention it…and I mean, don’t mention it.” He glanced back at Scott. “And don’t use the door on the right.”
“Not even if I think I’m in danger?”
Thomas shook his head. “You won’t find help at the other end.”
He stepped out into the corridor and closed the door without looking back.
Scott slid the bolt lock across, then dropped his bag.
He wanted to have a shower, wash his face and brush his teeth, but exhaustion led him over to the bed. He kicked off his shoes and threw himself face down into the pillow. His eyes slid shut as he inhaled a stale kind of cleanliness. No one had slept in this bed for a long time, and the crisp white sheets had lost most of their fragrance, but if Scott burrowed his nose deep, he thought he could pick out the scent of lavender. He slipped under the duvet, telling himself he just needed to rest his eyes for a moment, then he’d get undressed and wash ready for bed, but his brain had already gone into shut-down mode, and he closed his eyes with a long sigh.
When Scott woke up, he was on his back, staring up at the ceiling.
No unhappy face stared back at him.
There were voices outside, and the sound of a reversing truck.
Scott dragged the duvet with him as he crossed the bedroom to look out the window.
He pulled open the blinds and peered through the glass with blurry eyes.
It was another sunny day. The gates were wide open, and men in high-visibility jackets were walking back and forth along the front of the property. They were collecting the chairs and stands used the day before for the auctions.
The sun was high in the sky, directly overhead. Scott stumbled back towards the bed and snatched his phone off the nightstand. It was midday. He’d slept better than he thought he would, so good in fact that he hadn’t noticed all the workmen outside loading up their trucks.
