"I next saw him back at the hotel. He arrived probably half an hour after I had, and seemed apologetic, but not angry."
"And the next morning?"
"Next morning he was happy, and we were going to have breakfast together but he was later getting out of bed so I went to the buffet alone. When I was in line, Brigitte approached me and told me that Greg didn't want to be with me, only her. I tried to not engage with her, and hoped she would go away, but she didn't. She was still talking to me when Greg came to the restaurant."
"And what happened when he saw her?"
"He didn't see her at first, as her back was to him when he came in. When he came to me and looked at her, he did freak out. They had a few words, but then he took her by her arm and led her away. I didn't see her again after that."
"What did you do next?"
"I had breakfast and then I went back to my room, and then I went on a bus trip that the hotel organised for me - to the Capilano Bridge."
"When did you next see Greg?"
"When I came back from the bus trip, he was waiting for me in the hotel lobby. We went up to the room and I told him that I didn't want to spend my whole week watching him and his ex fighting, and then I asked him to pack his bag and go … which he did."
"Just like that? He just left, without trying to resist?"
"He looked upset, maybe a bit angry, so I opened the door to the room and asked him to leave. After he left I locked the door in case he was angry or tried to come back."
"And the next time you saw him?"
She shook her head. "I haven't seen him since he left my room."
She took a breather to think about things, as the officer kept writing. She wondered where Greg was, and in the back of her mind she questioned if she thought he might have something to do with Brigitte's disappearance … could he? Could she have been so wrong in her perception of him?
The officer looked at her then, studying her.
"I think I have all that I need for now. Is there anything else that you remember, that could help us?"
She shook her head. "I don't know who the other man was, and I don't know where Greg went with Brigitte that afternoon."
"He didn't say where they had gone?"
She shook her head again.
"No, and I didn't ask. I just wanted him to be gone from my room so I could get on and enjoy my time here without his drama."
"Alright, I think that will do for now. Did you change your flights?"
She nodded. "Yes I will be here for another two weeks."
He nodded in return. "Thank you. And where will you be staying?"
"I am hoping to keep staying at the same hotel, although I might not be able to be in the same room. I will let you know," she said and he nodded. "Can you please let me know when you think it will be okay for me to go home?"
He nodded again. "Of course," he said before he stood up and opened the door for her.
He walked her down corridors again and she felt relieved, but then happened to walk past a room with a window, and in it she saw Greg sitting.
"Greg!" she exclaimed, although he couldn't hear her.
The officer turned to her. "That is the Greg you have been talking about?"
She was confused. Surely he knew that - hadn't the police brought him in for questioning? And didn't this same officer show Tanya a photo of Greg when he first questioned her at the hotel?
"Yes, that is Greg, in that room."
The officer told her to wait, while he popped his head in to the room and asked the officer in there to come out. They exchanged words quietly, out of Tanya's hearing reach, and then the other officer went back in.
The officer with Tanya continued to lead her out.
"Is he okay?" she asked the officer about Greg.
"I cannot say anything right now," he replied abruptly and saw her through to the exit door. "Thank you for coming. We will be in touch again," he said and dismissed her, walking away.
She wanted to ask someone about Greg - what he was doing there, why he was also being questioned - and why he hadn't already left Vancouver. But she understood she could not, and so left, feeling like she was in a bit of a daze, given all that was happening.
* * * *
Tanya walked out of the station, onto the street, and started walking back to the hotel. Halfway back she realised she needed a change of scenery, even if only for a couple of hours, and diverted to a nearby mall. Sitting down in a food court with a cappuccino, she felt like she just needed to be alone for a while - to think or not to think, but definitely alone.
Looking up and around the mall, she noticed a cinema at the far end and decided that was a great option - going to see a movie. She needed escape from everything, and the big screen would be perfect. She knew David would be back at the hotel, wondering what was going on, but she put him out of her mind.
After finishing her drink she wandered over and bought a ticket for the next movie showing, not even caring what it was. It was the opportunity to run away and hide from the real world that mattered.
Inside the cinema, in the dark and with the sound so loud, she let herself tune out from everything and get into the movie before her. Seeing it to be a romantic comedy, she sat back and let herself laugh and get caught up in the cheesiness of it. Perhaps it wasn't the kind of movie that she would normally choose, but it did do the trick of making her, for the most part, forget everything that was real for a while.
* * * *
After the movie finished, Tanya's head felt clear and calm and she took time to stroll through the shops, looking for something nice to buy herself. She looked at clothes, books and souvenirs but, being honest with herself, she really didn't need anything or want anything for herself. When she walked past a lingerie shop, however, her interest was captured. That was one thing she had never done - bought sexy lingerie to impress someone. She thought about the time she had spent with David to date, and was warm to the memory. She stepped into the shop and let the shop assistant guide her in finding the perfect ensemble that would hopefully help to put a smile on David's face.
When she got back to the hotel she excitedly removed the articles from the carefully layered package, and looked closely at them again. The question was when to wear them. She had extended her home flights out by two weeks, and she thought he had said he was going to be here for most of that time also. But where was she going to be staying? She shook her head, not wanting to think about that yet. She still had a few nights left in this hotel. She looked at the lingerie once more, wondering if it was too soon for her to act in such a way, like she was in a relationship with David. Would it seem too eager, if she had gone out and bought new lingerie for his benefit. Would she scare him off? No, she thought to herself, for now it was best to act normal and not make him feel uncomfortable by her eagerness. She carefully packed the package up again and packed it away into her travel bag.
She showered and changed, and caught the elevator to the 11th floor, walking slowly to David's room before knocking. At first there was no response so she started to walk away, when behind her she heard the door open and he was leaning out it, subconsciously. She could see he was wearing only a towel, and she smiled at him.
"I can come back later," she said to him.
"No!" he said eagerly. "Come in."
She walked past him in the doorway and turned as he closed the door. What a sight he was, standing in a towel with freshly washed hair.
"Did you just jump out of the shower?" she asked him, enjoying the view.
He nodded. "Yes, I heard you knock so came out, hoping it was you."
His hair was dripping wet, like he hadn't had time to put a towel to it at all, and Tanya could see drops running down his face and neck. She laughed softly at him.
"I think you need me to dry you off," she said suggestively and he blushed.
"Maybe."
She approached him and kissed him, removing his towel as she did so. He accepted it confidently, not un
comfortable about standing naked in front of her. She brought the towel up and started drying his hair, neck, face and chest, before telling him to turn around, and taking time to look at, touch and dry his back. She marvelled at how toned he was for his age. There certainly was nothing 'middle-age-ish' about his body.
He looked alluring, tempting … able to pull her in even without trying. She stood before him, put the towel on the table, and walked him back to the edge of the bed, sitting him down on the edge. He sat still as she removed all of her clothing, standing in front of him, naked also. God she was breathtaking, he thought to himself.
Leaning down to kiss him, she then knelt on the floor and removed her lips from his before kissing him down, down … this was something she had always truly enjoyed, and hearing him gasp as she took him in her mouth was a wonderful sound to her.
"Oh Tanya," he moaned out loud, not trying to stop her at all.
She continued caressing him with her tongue and lips until he gave her warning that he was close, and then she continued to caress him, quickening her moving, until he exploded in her mouth.
David shuddered in pleasure, wondering again how he had stopped thinking about sex all these years, when it was so wonderful to share with someone. The way she kissed him, touched him … and this. He remembered once when he had first met Laney, asking her about it, and she had said then that she would never be able to kiss him 'there', and so he had accepted it as something women did not want to do. And yet, now with Tanya before him, looking and sounding like she enjoyed it, it didn't seem something that every woman didn’t enjoy at all.
Tanya stood up before straddling him, there on the edge of the bed, and he was intoxicated with the closeness of her. She didn't need anything from him, just to be close to him, holding him. He clung to her tightly, like he had found something he didn't want to let go. She pushed him back on the bed, lying on him, and started kissing him. She enraptured him, being so forward and proactive in making things happen. He was excited by her, and the result was him feeling more young than he had in a very long time.
He nudged her forward and she followed his instruction of where to move, how to move, and then found his tongue on her again, only now she was facing a different way - another new way of pleasure. Did his knowledge know no bounds when it came to teaching her new things? And oh how it felt, the way he was leading her to orgasm again, which happened quickly as she climaxed heavily over him.
She pulled away and lay down on the bed, the two of them repositioning so they were facing one another.
He stroked her hair, cheek, lips, appreciating the beauty before him before coming back to reality.
"How did things go with the police?" he asked.
"They asked questions about what I saw of Brigitte at the start of the week," she started saying, then remembered seeing Greg there, the memory starting to worry her again.
He saw the cloud pass over her face.
"What?" he asked, worried.
"At the station, when I was walking out, I saw Greg," she said and saw a look of surprise cross his face.
"He was at the police station? Why?"
She shrugged her shoulder. "I don't know. He was in a room with an officer when I walked past. He didn't see me..."
David was starting to look horrified.
"Do you think he has something to do with what happened to her?" he asked, the thought crossing his mind that Tanya had been alone with him and if he were the one who killed that poor girl…
Tanya thought about the question - it was one that had crossed her mind also; there was no point denying that to herself or anyone else.
"I don't know."
They held each other, each thinking horrible thoughts about so many possibilities.
"What happens now?" he asked her.
"Well I still have to stay in Vancouver for another couple of weeks so I need to go downstairs and see if I can continue to stay in my room…" she began and was cut off.
David had already thought long and hard about this, even before she spoke.
"Stay here, with me," he said quietly, and she looked into his eyes to try and determine if he really wanted that, or had felt that he should offer, out of politeness.
Tanya considered the offer, and it brought back the memory of Greg saying that he wanted them to stay together in Vancouver for the week - and that didn't pan out so good!
"I wasn't offering because I have good manners," he smiled and laughed softly at her. "I had already thought about it before now."
"It feels a bit intrusive, David. You told me you are here out of memory of plans you and your wife had together," she said quietly.
David took a moment to think about that - to remember why he had ended up here, in this place. What he could not deny, however, is that in coming to Vancouver to live out plans he and Laney had made together, he had now met Tanya, and perhaps fate had done that for a reason. Perhaps he was meant to meet her.
"I will always love my wife, and there will always be times when I think of her and miss her," he started to say, and Tanya stayed quiet, prompting him to go on. "There may never come a time when she leaves my thoughts and my heart completely."
Thinking about Laney now, David felt a tear threaten.
"But I am here. And you are here. And you have awakened in me something that has been missing for a long time," he said, looking deeply at her. "I am enjoying this time with you - it doesn't feel wrong to me, to be with you." Another silence. "If I can have the privilege of sleeping beside you every night while we are here, I want to take that."
Tanya watched his face, seeing emotions pass over him, but did believe his sincerity. She nodded.
"Okay," she said, and he smiled widely. "When I have to check out on Monday, if you still want me to, I will come up here and stay with you."
He dwelled on the thought of sleeping beside her and enjoying the feeling of her body against his, and now his body responded eagerly to the thought.
"Oh," she said, smiling. "I see you like this thought."
He grinned sheepishly before kissing her again. He was excited, and Tanya's practical mind jumped in to do a quick check.
"Condoms are in my room," she said, self consciously.
He smiled at her and reached over her to the bedside drawer, also looking sheepish.
"Actually when you were out this morning I took the liberty of hoping I might get to ravish you in my bed, so went and bought some."
He kissed her again, let her put a condom on him, and moved on top of her, into her … and both forgot everything else.
* * * *
After sharing a private room service dinner in David's room, Tanya stood up.
"I am going to say goodnight now, and go back to my room. I have a few things to sort out," she said, smiling at him, whilst taking a moment to admire the man before her, before they said their goodnights and she went back to her room.
On opening the door to her room, she noticed a piece of paper lying on her floor and picked it up as she closed the door behind her.
'I need to talk to you urgently. I am in Room 526. Greg.'
Tanya took a deep breath and realised that reading the note had put her into a mild shock. She could think of Greg and remember the nice time she had shared with him, but also in the forefront of her mind was the death of Brigitte, and the wonder if he had had something to do with it. No, she thought to herself, I won't be going into any room with him. And why was he in a room at this hotel anyway? Had he been here the whole time? No, he couldn't have - the receptionist would have told the police that on the day they were here if it were the case. Tanya's mind thought over everything and out of fear she once again triple locked her door. She had already arranged with David to meet for breakfast the next morning, and luckily they had decided to go out to a breakfast restaurant in the city, and not the hotel buffet. If there was a knock at her door tonight, she knew she would not answer it.
In bed later, Tanya thought about all of her time
with Greg. She knew that when they were on the ship, she had been entranced by him, but now when she thought about him, she recognised there were no emotional feelings inside of her about him. Perhaps it was because she had met David, or perhaps it was because of everything that unfolded during their time in Vancouver.
Startling her out of her thoughts was the sound of the bedside phone ringing. She wondered who it was - could it be David, who of course she would want to talk to, or was it Greg, who she did not. The third option was that the police were trying to contact her, but she doubted they would be ringing at this time of night. She ignored it, waited for it to stop ringing, and then unplugged it from the wall so it could not ring again.
Chapter 12
Tanya woke up the next morning to her bedside clock alarm, which she had set to make sure she wasn’t late, so David would not have to come to her room - the thought of Greg seeing him there did not sit well with her, and she needed to be proactive to make sure it didn't happen. She had slept well, despite the worry and slight fear she had felt when she had gone to bed.
Now she showered and dressed, hoping she would not cross paths with Greg at all when she went downstairs to meet David.
On entering the lobby she saw he was already there, smiling at her, unaware of the note that was left for her the night before, or her phone ringing in the night.
She greeted him and took his hand, leading him to head out of the hotel at a faster rate than what he had seen her walk before.
"Hungry?" he asked, laughing at her.
She smiled back. "Starving!"
They had just walked to the outer hotel doors when she saw the police officer who questioned her, coming toward her.
Tanya stopped walking and looked at him.
"I am afraid I have some more questions for you," the officer said, looking at Tanya and then David, beside her. "Are you available now?" he asked and she nodded.
"Yes, we were just going to get some breakfast," Tanya said, feeling the hairs on her arms rise.
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