Something woke her, an unfamiliar noise. It sounded like the slamming of a door, and it sounded very close. But, that couldn’t be right, her bedroom had sliding doors, and this wasn’t a noise she’d ever heard in her home. Struggling to open her eyes at the alarm of the noise, she quickly closed them again – they hurt! The light, the bright light, sent daggers into her head, and she took a deep breath with the relief that returned with darkness. Where was this light coming from? It was sunlight, bright sunlight; almost like she was sitting on a beach without sunglasses.
Lying still, and searching her mind, she tried to recall the most recent events in her life – it wasn’t working. Her head hurt, her body hurt, she was dying of thirst, her mouth tasted like an old dirty sock, and she needed to pee. All of these, along with the glaring light were making thinking impossible.
Rolling over, she slowly brought her head up and managed to open sore, bloodshot eyes. She was staring at a rumpled pillow covered by a flowered pillowcase and flanked by a matching bedspread. This wasn’t something she remembered and not something she’d ever seen before – at least she didn’t think so.
Somehow managing to get eyes fully open, she turned back over and surveyed her surroundings; nothing looked familiar. She was on a bed, a large bed, and evidently in a motel/hotel room – based upon the furniture her eyes could focus on. Sitting on the edge of the bed and putting her feet on the floor, she glanced around the room searching for a door – there were two. One was in the corner of the room and partially open, it must be a bathroom. Using the bed and furniture for support, she stumbled into the small bathroom and leaned against the sink. That’s when she realized she was fully dressed, except for shoes – which was odd. Sitting on the commode, things slowly began to come back to her cloudy mind.
She had been at the Country Club drinking with her husband, Roger. They argued, and she left, taking the car and leaving him to find his own way home. Mad at Roger, and not ready to end the evening, she stopped at the VFW to have another drink and visit with friends. The place was crowded, and she recalled sitting at the bar – visiting with John, C.P., Travis and some other people. But then what? What happened then? She didn’t recall driving home, and she didn’t remember seeing Roger again. She couldn’t remember anything past sitting at the VFW and visiting with friends. And, where was she now? This definitely wasn’t home!
Finished, she cupped her hands and used the sink faucet to get a drink – it was refreshing but didn’t do much for the terrible taste in her mouth. She wasn’t sure why she was so thirsty, but it could be the whiskey. She’d definitely had her share last night, that part she did remember! Too much whiskey she told herself, shaking her head trying to remove the hangover cobwebs.
Her senses were slowly returning, and she rubbed sore eyes using the remaining dampness on her hands – trying not to smear make-up, assuming any remained. But, the odor of perfume caught her nose, and she casually glanced around the small bathroom for its source – there was none. A pleasant fragrance, but definitely not one she used or had smelled before. A woman, a woman other than her, had recently used this bathroom and left the lingering aroma of her perfume behind. Wonder who?
Standing in front of the mirror, she checked her clothes and body – everything seemed to be in order except for the large red mark under her right eye. It was just a bruise, the skin wasn’t broken and, like everything else that had occurred over the past few hours, she had no idea where it came from.
With that thought, she glanced at her watch; it was still on her wrist where it should be. Through blurry, but clearing eyes she read 10:45, and based upon the bright sunlight coming in the room, it must be AM. But then her mind asked again, where was she?
Stumbling out of the bathroom, she carefully walked to the other door, the one that appeared to be an exit, and opened it. Slowly stepping out, and not allowing the door to close behind her, she surveyed her surroundings – nothing looked familiar. She was standing in a carpeted hallway, flanked by numerous doors on all sides, each with gold numbers painted in the center. Turning to look at the door she was holding open – she saw the number 14. She was in Room 14, but why?
Still holding the door, and staring at the number, the door of the room next to Room 14 opened and a short man with gray/balding hair stepped into the small hall. He smiled as he walked past, then stopped.
“Are you okay?” he asked slowly while offering an odd stare.
“Yes…yes, I’m alright,” she answered in a weak voice.
Breaking off the stare, he smiled and didn’t respond, before continuing his walk down the hall, where he quickly disappeared around a corner.
Confused, she walked back into Room 14, letting the door close behind her. She needed to find her shoes and purse, and then get the hell out of here – wherever ‘here’ was! Maybe things would be clearer when she got out of this room – out into the daylight that was already washing through open curtains and across the bed where she’d slept. Maybe she would remember how she ended up in Room 14, in some unknown hotel after a night of heavy drinking.
Bending over and searching the hardwood floor, she didn’t see her shoes or purse, but did see something she wished she hadn’t!
Lying between the bed and the wall was a man – a large man. He was face down, and his body partially underneath the bed she had just crawled out of — he didn’t look healthy! In particular, he didn’t look healthy because there was a large knife sticking out of his back, and the floor around his body was covered with dried blood!
Shocked and stunned, she stared motionless at her discovery while rubbing sore eyes. Other than at her father’s funeral, she’d never seen a dead man, so she continued to look at him with curiosity, while a thousand thoughts raced through her cluttered and foggy mind.
It was obvious that this man had met his end in a violent and brutal way, but she couldn’t look away – her eyes fixed on the lifeless body under the bed with a large knife sticking out of his back. He didn’t look familiar, but the way the body was positioned, and with her fuzzy vision, she couldn’t be sure. Trying to gather her senses, she knew she had to get out of Room 14 and had to do it in a hurry. Scared, she frantically searched around the small room for her purse and shoes before looking at the dresser. What she saw stopped her search. Her beige shoes and matching purse were sitting on the dresser; beside them was a key attached to a plastic tag showing the number 14. It appeared that everything had been neatly and purposely placed there. Lying next to them was a revolver!
Reacting in what seemed like ‘slow motion’, she picked up the gun and examined it – it looked familiar, but she couldn’t recall why. Replacing the gun, she picked up her shoes, and noticed small stains that had not been there before – the stains looked like blood! Putting on the shoes and grabbing her purse, she ran from the room and into the hall – stopping when the door slammed hard behind her, making a noise that echoed through the empty hallway. Frozen with the fear that someone might have heard the noise, she looked in both directions – the hallway was empty. Hurriedly, she checked her purse for car keys and any disturbance to the contents. There was none, and keys were in her purse where they should be.
Following the path of the gentleman she had met in the hall earlier, she went around a sharp corner, down short steep stairs and immediately stepped into a large hotel lobby. In the center of the giant room was a rounded seating area; flanked by a reception desk with a young man standing behind it – he looked up and stared. Frightened, she paused and returned his stare while frantically searching for an exit. Hastily walking past a crowded coffee shop and in the direction she believed to be the front door, several patrons looked up – including the gentleman she had met in the hallway. Realizing her mistake, she slowed, smiled, and casually finished her walk through the lobby – exiting through a large glass door, which thankfully led outside and to a sidewalk.
Reaching daylight she stopped, rubbed her eyes again, and finally realized where she was. She had just walked through the lobby of the Humboldt Hotel and was now on Main Street. She had, apparently, spent the night in Room 14, where she’d left a dead man lying on the floor with a knife sticking out of his back!
But, she still had the same question. Why was she here?
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