Now, however, I could think of nothing else. Kyle was right - the words did suggest that he'd had another visitor that day, another visitor like me. Stripper, prostitute, someone to provide pleasure of a particular nature. There was nothing else his words could mean.
He'd have told the police about it all. He'd have told them about me as well. I just hoped Kyle was right: that any post mortem would take me out of the running. That it would show that he was dead long before I'd got there.
I thought back. When I'd reached for his pulse, touched him to check if he was alive, was he still warm? Was he cold? I couldn't remember, it hadn't been noticeable either way. If he was still warm, perhaps he'd only just have been killed.
But the blood - it had seeped everywhere. Through his shirt, onto the armchair, down to the carpet. That would take time surely, for all that blood to leave his body? And with that blood loss, surely he'd be cold.
Fuck Alice, think. My mind turned it over and over, trying to conjure an answer from nothing.
What did it matter anyway. Kyle had assured me I'd be fine. I had to trust that that would be the case, that nothing would connect me to things. Perhaps they'd find the culprit soon, and that would lay everything to rest.
I walked to the window and looked out at the gathering clouds. It was a Sunday, and Adam's Park, across from the hotel, was beginning to clear as the morning sun began to become shrouded by heavy clouds. I could see people hastily gathering up their picnics and groups of young people - probably students - deciding that this was a Sunday best spent inside as they rushed towards the exits.
I heard a knock at the door that made me jump.
“Excuse me, is anyone in there?” The voice sounded foreign.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Sorry miss but I need to clean the room for the next guest. Check out time is midday.”
I looked at my phone and saw that the time was approaching that mark. I walked towards the door and opened it up, seeing a couple of cleaners waiting patiently outside in the corridor.
“All yours,” I said as I walked past them and down the corridor, my purse in hand.
“Thank you miss, have a good day.”
I could hear the sound of thunder cracking in the sky as I entered the lift and hit the button for the lobby. Fuck me this storm has come around quick. Not twenty minutes ago the sky was clear blue.
I stepped from the elevator and set the keycard for the room at the front desk. As I did another bolt from Zeus flashed outside, lighting the now darkening sky as the rains began to pour down. Perfect timing, just perfect.
I stepped towards the exit and peered out. I could see several people gathered under the canopy at the front of the hotel, squeezing up against the outside wall to hide from the rain. I laughed slightly at the sight. For some reason I always found it amusing when people were caught out by the weather. And round here, it was prone to change on a whim.
I stepped through the main door to the sight of a torrent. I looked down the street to see my beaten up ride being hammered by the downpour. She'd certainly suffered a lot worse in her time.
OK Alice, make a run for it. It's only fifty meters.
I tucked my handbag under my coat and took off, much to the surprise of the others gathered under the shade of the hotel entrance. Within ten meters I was getting soaked, the rain turning me into a water-rat within seconds, my hair mangled and wetted, make up cascading down my face.
I reached the car and pulled the keys from my purse, opening the lock and diving inside. It was loud as I shut the door, the tin can roof exaggerating the sound of every raindrop, the view through the windscreen obscured by dancing droplets.
I put the key to the ignition and turned it, the car groaning as it always did. The engine chugged feebly, a heavy choking sound I'd grown accustomed to hearing, before giving in.
I turned the key again, the engine once more gargling like a drunk. Great. Perfect timing.
I tried again and again but knew it was in vain. By my fifth attempt, the sound of engine had been reduced to nothing more than a whimper. Perhaps it was time for a new car.
Well this was just perfect, it really was. I was sat there trapped in a fucking tin can, the world falling to shit outside. I had so much work to do I couldn't even begin to know where to start, and oh yeah, I'd just witnessed a murder.
I reached for my phone to call a taxi. Out of charge. Wow this really is the day that just keeps on giving.
OK, back to the hotel, they can call me a cab.
I braced myself for the hit as I opened the door, the water immediately splashing up off the ground and into the car. I stepped quickly, shutting the door, and ran back towards the hotel.
When I got about halfway I saw a car cruise up beside me, the window winding down as it came to a stop.
“Alice, hey Alice,” I heard a man shout through the heavy thunder.
I looked in through the window to see Tom behind the wheel of his car, some four wheel drive Land Rover or something. “Yo Alice, hop in.”
Without thinking I stepped into the front seat beside him, the inside warm and comfortable. I could see him grimace slightly as my soaked clothes rubbed against the material of my seat, but he didn't say anything.
“I saw you in your car down there. Having engine trouble?” he asked.
I nodded. “Fucking thing won't start. Need a new one really.” I hadn't seen Tom since that night at his frat house, so my guard was well and truly up. And now, of all times, wasn't the time to reminisce about it.
“So you need a lift back to campus?”
“Um, I was gonna go call a taxi from the hotel.”
“Nonsense, I'll take you.”
He put the car into gear and pulled off, the engine purring as it should, the ride smooth and quiet, even with the torrential downpour outside. He didn't give me a chance to protest.
“So what are you doing out here? Caught in the park?”
“Oh, yeah,” I said, lying, “it really turned suddenly.”
He laughed. “I know. Sorry, I don't mean to laugh, it's just funny, you know, when people get caught out by the weather.”
“I know what you mean. I thought the same until that person was me!”
He laughed again. He seemed so much more normal than I'd seen him before, much more casual. I guess I'd never actually seen him on his own - he was always either surrounded by friends or drunk at a party.
“So Alice, I haven't seen you for a while around campus. Been busy?” I couldn't tell whether there was any suggestion in his voice, or if I was just imagining it.
He must have remembered what happened the last time we saw each other. Or maybe I was giving him too much credit.
“Yeah, lots of work on.” I regretted the words as soon as I'd said them. I knew what was coming next: some sexually loaded remark about the nature of my 'work'.
“Oh yeah, college is getting busy huh.”
Surprising - no mention of my stripping. Maybe Tess was right, maybe he really had promised to keep things to himself.
I nodded and looked out the window. “And you?”
“Same I guess. It's tough sometimes, managing my college work with my football. It takes up so much damn time. Not just the training and the games, but the social side of it as well.”
“Yeah,” I scoffed, “but you can't complain about that!”
His eyes were falling flatter than I'd ever seen them. “Yeah, that's what most people think. But at the end of the day, getting a good degree is gonna do more for me than playing football here. It's not like I'm gonna go pro or anything, so what's the point?”
This was a side to Tom I'd never seen. He actually seemed sensible, even sensitive.
“I thought you we
re gonna go pro?” I asked. He was supposedly the star player in the team.
He shook his head. “Do you have any idea how many people actually make it from college teams? Not many. I'm doing all right here, but the NFL is another step up. It's low percentage.”
“Shit, yeah I guess.” I'd never seen him so serious, so practical. It was like he'd given up on his dream. Or, at least, what I'd assumed was his dream.
“So what are you gonna do instead. What's your degree again?” I don't think I'd ever known.
“Law.”
“Law!?”
“Yeah,” he said, laughing slightly, “why are you so shocked?”
“I dunno, I guess I had you pegged as someone here on a football scholarship doing a Mickey Mouse subject. Sorry, I didn't mean it like that. I just didn't have you pegged as an academic, that's all.”
“No, no that's fine,” he said shaking his head, “it's a misconception that lots of people have about me. Don't dwell on it.”
I was in a slight state of shock sitting there are an awkward silence fell on us. I thought it was common knowledge that Tom was a bit of a dunce, a guy getting by with his old man's money and sporting proficiency. To be doing law he must have been clever as well, something I'd never in a million years have thought about him.
But then, I'd only ever seen him at parties or cruising round campus with his football cronies. He was the type of guy who'd always been popular, always been adored. I guess that had sunk into him to make him what he was. Now, sitting there with him alone, I could see another side to him entirely. I bet Tess will love him even more now!
“So Tom, I wanted to ask you about the last time I saw you. You know, at your frat house.” I don't know why, but something compelled me to bring it up, clear the air.
“Yeah, I'm sorry about all that. I know I can be a major dick sometimes.”
“It's just a sensitive topic for me. It's not really true, all of that.”
He glanced over to me, his eyes friendly and understanding. “Yeah I know Alice, that's what Tess said. That sort of rumor can get someone chucked out of college, so I put it to bed right there.”
I felt an overwhelming feeling of thanks towards him. I don't know why. It was only something that any decent human being would do, quash a rumor like that. But then, I never thought he was that person, so it just jumped out as an extraordinary thing for him to do.
“Thanks Tom, I really appreciate that.”
He screwed up his face, as if it was nothing. “Nah, don't mention it. I'll always have your back Alice.”
“I think you're misunderstood around here!” I said, bringing a jovial tone back into the conversation.
“Yeah, don't tell anyone though, I kinda like the image sometimes.” He said it with a smile, his white teeth flashing against his tanned skin. He really was beautiful. I knew that, of course, but his personality had never fit with it. It didn't matter how good looking you were if you were a dick, and that's the regard I'd held him in. Until now.
“Right, here we are.”
He pulled the car into the lot outside my halls but kept the engine running.
“Thanks so much Tom, you're a lifesaver.”
“Yeah, well, it's nice to be seen as a good guy from time to time,” he joked.
“Haha, yeah I'll bet. The bad boy football player can be a real turn off for the girls huh!”
“The right girls, yeah.” His tone was more serious as he looked at me. “The types of girls attracted to that image - they're not for long term consumption! There's a reason I'm always single.”
“And I thought it was so you could fuck as many girls as possible!”
He laughed. “Well, there's an element of that to it.”
I smiled as I opened the car door, the rain still bombarding the tarmac outside. “Thanks again Tom, I'll see you around.”
“Don't leave it so long this time.”
Chapter 39
The storm continued to rage outside as I sat at my desk, a library of books open in front of me. I was always hopelessly disorganized, and that always made revising for exams a real nightmare.
Right now, setting my mind to the task was even harder. Funnily enough, after seeing a man struck through with a fucking dagger, I was finding it hard to focus. I don't think I was only me who might struggle with such a thing.
Despite everything, however, I needed to get my head down and work. I'd prided myself in the past on being able to shut things out, block out any disturbing realities in my life and focus on whatever priority I'd set myself. OK, so I'd never seen a dead man before, but the principle was still the same.
As the afternoon drew on and the skies began to darken further, I managed to make steady progress. I'd locked the door to avoid intrusion and put Enya on in the background to sooth my mind. I don't know what it was about her ethereal tones, but they always helped me study. Since I was in high school, I'd listened to her whenever I needed to work.
By early evening I'd almost almost forgotten about Kyle and his mission. It wasn't until the phone buzzed on the desk in front of me that everything came crashing back into my mind.
I looked straight at it to see a text message flash up on the screen. It was the number he'd used to contact me with before.
“Alice, I need to see you urgently. Come to the club and I'll see you there.”
My heart leapt as I read the words. It sounded like something was wrong.
In the blink of an eye I was throwing on some clothes and darting to the door. As I reached the main entrance to the halls at the bottom of the stairs I was hit by a realization. Damn it, my fucking car.
The weather was still crashing down outside as I reached into my purse and dialed for a taxi. The phone rang and picked up quickly.
“Zero Taxis.”
“Hey, I need a cab asap.”
“From where miss?”
“Erm, Dulwich Halls at the college campus.”
I could hear the woman typing away at her computer. “And going to?”
“Pine Street, halfway down.”
“OK miss, I can have a car there in 10 minutes.”
“Fine, thanks.”
“And the name?”
“Alice.”
I shut the phone off and went back up to my dorm, moving to sit by the window to keep an eye out. I took my phone out again and began writing a text.
“Car out of commission. Just waiting for a cab, be there in about 25 minutes. What's going on? Should I be worried?”
I kept one eye out the window and one on my phone for the next 10 minutes as I waited for my cab to arrive. By the time I saw a pair of headlamps round the corner over to my left and pull up outside the halls my phone had remained inactive, no response yet given.
I quickly downed the stairs and jumped into the back seat of the car. “Pine Street please,” I said on autopilot. He already knew where I was going.
A response to my text continued to allude me as we went, the windscreen wipers working overtime to make the road even passably visible to the driver. It didn't matter. I was about to arrive anyway and then I'd get all my answers.
Upon arrival I handed the driver a 20 and stepped quickly from the car, rushing towards the safety of the club to escape the deluge. Mace was there, as always, standing guard like a titan. He didn't look best pleased with the weather though, cowering in the doorway to stay as dry as possible. Poor guy, he was a real sweetheart under all that muscle and gristle.
I made the usual trip towards the bottom of the stairs and down the corridor to Kyle's office, knocking on the door as I arrived.
“Come in,” I heard from inside. He sounded weird, more throaty and gruff than normal.
As I opened the door I realized why that was
the case. Before me, sitting in Kyle's usual spot behind the large desk, was a middle aged man, dark hair neatly positioned on his head. His sideburns were flecked with grey, and his face roughly covered with speckled grey stubble. He had dark, narrow, eyes, and a strong, square jaw. His body, covered in a dark suit, looked to be in good shape for a man of his age, his dimpled cheeks and chiselled chin testament to that.
I stopped in my tracks as I entered, the door hanging open behind me.
“Shut the door please Alice,” he said, his eyes narrowing on me, his voice gravelly. I thought I recognized it from somewhere. I was sure I'd heard it before.
I turned and shut the door, closing it with a click as the sounds of the club down the corridor faded away.
“It's nice to finally meet you for real,” the man spoke, “you truly are a vision.”
I bowed my head slightly, sheepishly. “Thank you.”
“Do you know who I am?” he asked.
I had an idea but shook my head in ignorance.
“My name is Charles Logan. I'm Kyle's father.”
I could feel my heart rate stepping up a gear in my chest but tried to maintain my breathing, keep my composure. He must know about me and Kyle. Where was Kyle?
“Nice to meet you Mr Logan,” I said, trying to stay as relaxed as possible.
“Do you know why you are here?” he asked, staring deep into me. His eyes burned, but I kept my gaze to his.
What should I say? Plead ignorance, say no? I'd come at the request of a text from Kyle's phone, or one of his phones. Mr Logan clearly knew that something was going on. Had he made Kyle send the message? Had he taken the phone and sent it himself as a trap? Was this all about Michael Cooper? Perhaps it had nothing to do with me and Kyle.
“Kyle said he would try to find out what happened with Mr Cooper. I witnessed it, I found him there in the room. I suppose he was texting me to let me know what had happened.”
The Logan Brothers - Books 1-4: (EXPOSURE, CRASH, TWIN PASSIONS, and ADDICTED TO YOU) Page 15