by Maria Quick
‘So, think of it as going vegan,’ I suggested breezily, trying to interrupt his flow. He glared at me, angrily pulling himself back in the room.
‘You don’t get it, do you? I can’t touch anything. I can’t do anything. I just am. I’m never going to experience anything ever again.’
I shrugged helplessly at him.
‘What do you want me to do?’
‘Nothing,’ he laughed nastily. ‘You’ve done enough.’
Alright... I let that weird remark sail right on by. I wasn’t about to start an argument, especially as I heard a knock at the door. Fast service.
‘I’m going to go get my food. Ronnie, help him out please,’ I requested of the Englishman, who’d been trying to stay out of it. He grumbled at me.
‘Chin up, Jerry. What’s got you down?’ he said anyway, managing to get off his backside and do something for once. I searched for my bag, hoping I had a couple of bucks spare for the bellhop.
‘We’ve always thought that the body is nothing without a soul, but now I see it’s the other way round,’ I heard George say morosely. I wondered if he’d minored in Philosophy. That thought filled me with dread.
‘Right, yeah. Anything I can do?’ Ronnie stammered. I stifled a laugh as I opened the door, trying to appear normal. I didn’t manage to stifle a scream.
‘What is it?’ the lucies barked in unison, floating over to where I was staring at the floor, horrified. Or more descriptively, what was on the floor. It was a body. A definitely dead one.
‘Oh my God. Who is that? Or was, I should say,’ George shivered, looking at the mutilated heap.
‘I don’t know,’ I cried. All I knew for sure was that it wasn’t room service.
Whoever he was, he didn’t go out quietly. His face was beaten to a pulp, and he’d started to bleed all over the pristine carpet. Luckily, it was burgundy.
Yeah, that’s important right now. Carpet color. Focus, Ann.
‘Is he actually dead?’ I asked, thinking I should probably call an ambulance.
‘His head’s the wrong way round,’ Ronnie pointed out. Oh, yeah. So it was. I was about to puke.
‘I should call the cops,’ I announced. Neither nodded their agreement.
‘Right?’
‘We don’t know who he is. Maybe you should drag him in first,’ George suggested.
‘Drag him in? I am not touching that!’ I yelled. That obstinacy lasted a whole of a millisecond as I heard the elevator ding.
‘Help me,’ I hissed at them.
They didn’t bother to reply. Cringing, I grasped onto the guy’s collar and hauled with all my might. I was not a physically strong person, but luckily neither had he been. I managed to drag him in before the bellhop rounded the corner. Brutally kicking him behind the door, I hastily pulled a hotel robe on over my clothes and mussed up my hair. Rushing to the mini fridge, I took out a bottle of water and splashed my face and hands. I thought I was safe enough.
I met the hotel employee at the door, giving him a grateful smile.
‘Where would you like it?’ he asked.
‘I’ll take it, if that’s okay,’ I said breathlessly. He seemed confused until the body moved behind the door.
‘Ah. Of course, ma’am,’ he smiled knowingly. I could feel my stomach begin to turn again.
‘Right. Thanks. Here you go,’ I grinned, handing him a soggy bill. He didn’t seem too thrilled about that.
I snatched the plate off his tray before he could complain and rudely slammed the door.
That was the fastest I’d ever lied.
I slumped down, looking at my wholly unappealing food. The fries didn’t look so bad, I thought, and then caught sight of the body again. Yelping, I threw my plate in the air and scrambled away from it.
There was a body in my room. That I’d touched, with my bare hands and all. His head had been twisted 360 degrees- no, that wasn’t right. I was bad at math, but not that bad. 180, that’s it. His hands appeared to be bound in something that I couldn’t make out right now. Against all my better judgment, I edged forward to take a closer look.
‘His hands aren’t there, if that’s what you’re looking for,’ Ronnie trilled.
‘Feet are gone, too,’ George whistled.
They groaned as I threw up my guts over the beautiful Oriental carpet.
I didn’t need to call the cops after all. I needed a damned exorcist.
16
‘Do you know him?’ I asked Ronnie hopefully.
He chuckled, apparently finding the whole situation hilarious.
‘I can’t bloody tell if it is a him,’ he replied, shaking his head.
I hadn’t moved from my spot on the floor since I’d brought the body in. Ronnie and George had enthusiastically picked up the mantle and attempted to find out what they could. There wasn’t much they could find, however. The way I’d dumped it, you couldn’t see the guy’s face. Not that it would’ve helped much, anyway. The only guy I knew in Florida was Jose, and I could tell from the matted hair that it wasn’t him. So, no point ever touching the body ever again, really. Nothing I can do, no sirree.
‘You should check his wallet for ID,’ George pressed.
‘Why would I want to do that?’
He blinked at me.
‘Are you not remotely curious as to who this is?’
‘Nope,’ I decided.
‘Really? You don’t want to know why someone saw fit to deliver a mutilated corpse to your hotel room?’
Again, I thought about it.
‘No. My guess is, it’s a Floridian thing.’
He waited. Ronnie watched, perplexed.
‘I’m not touching that thing!’ I screeched.
‘That thing used to be a human being,’ George tutted.
‘And now it’s a bloody mess,’ I pointed out, shuddering.
‘Man, I know that feeling.’
He’d been dead too long. If he was in my position, he’d know how terrifying this special delivery was. Not to mention gross. I pitied the poor maid who’d have to clean up after this guy tomorrow morning. Which reminded me, I ought to do something about that.
‘What are you doing?’ Ronnie asked as I started rummaging through drawers. I held up what I needed. They groaned.
‘A do-not-disturb sign? Really?’
‘What else am I supposed to do?’ I hissed. The John Doe was propped against the door, but I managed to shove it open enough to hang the sign. I sighed. Job well done.
‘You know that didn’t help matters, right?’
‘Shut up, George.’
‘You gotta turn this body over. This could be somebody’s husband or father. You owe it to them to find out what happened.’
I gave the body yet another once-over. A thrice-over?
‘Nah, he doesn’t seem the type. He looks like a bachelor with no friends or family whatsoever.’
‘Annie,’ he warned.
‘Don’t call me that,’ I snapped. ‘It’s Ann.’
‘Is that really the most important thing at this moment in time?’ he retorted, sighing. I chewed my lip. Maybe it wasn’t, but I’d rather focus on that, alright? Sue me.
‘Look,’ he said, trying a gentler approach. ‘I know this is incredibly hard, but we need to find out who this guy is. He basically died for you, Annie- Ann.’
‘He’s not Jesus,’ I mumbled.
‘How do you know? He could be one of Jose’s friends,’ Ronnie snickered, and George laughed with him.
‘Wait, maybe he is.’
They looked at me as if I was insane.
‘Well, I don’t know anybody else here, do I?’ I pointed out. ‘Although, maybe I could make a list of who it could be.’
I was quite clearly wasting time and I think we all knew it. But I was not touching that. Not in this life, or any other. Don’t get me wrong, dead people were fine; as long as they were in ghost form. I could deal with that. But an actual body? Ugh. It was too real. Believe me, I’ve come face-to-face
with quite a few bodies before. They’re kinda disgusting. Especially when they’re still leaking.
‘Ann? You know you gotta do it.’
I glared at George and groaned. There was no way I was getting out of this. Well, this is what happens when you help people. You get crapped on from every corner.
I crawled back to the body and gulped, dragging it so we could see his face and torso.
‘I don’t recognize him,’ I sighed.
‘Check his pockets,’ Ronnie said.
‘For what?’
‘A wallet, ID. A note from the killer, perchance. I thought you said you were good at this?’ he frowned.
‘I said nothing of the sort.’
He thought back to our previous conversations and shrugged.
‘Alright, I’ll give you that.’
‘You said you’ve done this a lot,’ George said in an accusing tone.
‘That was different. I had help from a cop,’ I explained. ‘Now, I’m registered as being a time-waster. Face it, I’m on my own and I’m not very good at this.’
‘We can see that. How exactly have you managed so far? I get that you had help, but you must’ve done something of note.’
‘Uh, guys? Lucies are usually aware of their killer. They tell me who it is, I send the police an anonymous tip. Sometimes I’d get pressured into doing a bit more, and that’s when the trouble started. I’d tell them what I could, but you don’t have evidence, they don’t listen. Simple as.’
I was sure I’d already explained all this once. But if he really wanted to know, I’d describe it all again in minute detail so I could avoid touching that thing for as long as possible. But decomposition would set in and he’d putrefy... Oh God, I had to get this over with.
‘Not simple,’ George argued, as I started poking around his pockets. He was wearing dark baggy jeans and a black oversized jacket, thank you God. I did not need to get too close. Thankfully, the colors masked the blood, too. ‘You must’ve known things you would’ve never known otherwise. Someone must’ve believed you, somewhere down the line.’
‘Yeah, you heard her on the phone. There was a cop named Tommy, but he’s gone now. And yeah, I did know things,’ I huffed, trying the last pocket after coming up empty. ‘But we have Google, you know? Facebook, Twitter, whatever. People share things now. They assumed I was an attention-seeker, following a tragedy and trying to get myself involved. Like I was trying to be a savior of some sort. Mediums and psychics are known for that. Now I am, too.’
‘But-’
‘Jackpot! Wow, what a wad,’ I breathed, finally finding a wallet. I counted almost three thousand bucks in twenties, no change. Strange amount in cash, considering I also spotted a bank card or two. I found a driver’s license, but still didn’t recognize his face. The ID said his name was Jorge Garcia, though. The name rang no bells for me.
‘Italian leather. I know that brand,’ Ronnie whistled, gesturing to the wallet. ‘You pay a pretty penny for one of those. This guy was raking it in.’
‘Was it the three thousand dollars or the wallet that gave it away for you?’
‘The wallet, actually,’ he replied, breezing past my sarcasm. ‘Anyone can have money in an instant, but something like that takes time to find. Same with his watch.’
I hadn’t even noticed he was wearing one. Since he had no hands now, I’d been trying my hardest to avoid that area. The face had a lot of dials on it. I shrugged my ignorance.
‘Best watch in the entire world. Better than a Rolex, that,’ he breathed.
‘I don’t know. They all tick and tell the time, right?’
‘I cannot believe you just said that,’ he shuddered. He turned to an equally clueless George for help.
‘Hate to admit it, but I’m with her on this one.’
‘Kids today,’ Ronnie sighed. ‘No appreciation for the finer things in life.’
‘You mean like the birth of a child, or the sun beaming-’ George listed happily.
‘Babies are abominations and the sun shines every bloody day. What’s your point?’
‘Wow, it’s true what they say. The good die young,’ George sniggered.
‘Fifty-one’s not that young.’
‘I know.’
Ronnie looked ready to hit him, which would have been seriously freaky to watch. I waved the cash to catch their attention instead. Instant eye contact.
‘Can we focus here? Who the hell is this guy?’
‘Like you said before, we have Google. Google him.’
‘All we have is a name, and not exactly an uncommon one,’ I told George. ‘That’s not going to help me here.’
‘Then, what do you suggest?’
‘I don’t know. I told you I was terrible at this,’ I reminded them both.
‘So, you want us to do the work for you?’
‘Yeah, could you?’
George shook his head, heading for the balcony.
‘You’re unbelievable.’
‘Can’t you ask your friend if there’s been any missing person reports? What’s her name, Ally?’
‘Oh, come on!’ George yelled. ‘How can you get her name straight off the bat, but you still don’t know mine?’
‘Your name’s not George?’ Ronnie blinked.
I ignored George’s ranting and sent off a text to Ally. It was a good idea. Well, it was an idea. She still hadn’t come through on Ronnie yet, but maybe I should be like her and have faith in nonexistent things.
‘How come he’s not like us, then?’ Ronnie asked me. I looked at Jorge and shrugged.
‘Hell if I know.’
‘You must have some ideas.’
‘None, actually. I haven’t even thought about it.’
He followed me as I went into the bathroom. Usually that’d kinda piss me off, but I was only looking for a towel to cover the body.
‘But I thought we had unfinished business or some other such nonsense.’
‘Maybe you do, maybe you don’t. Maybe he was sleeping, and he didn’t know what hit him.’
‘Could that affect it?’ he pondered, following me back out.
‘I’m pulling this out of my ass. I have no idea,’ I spelled out. ‘About anything. Zippo. Nada. Stuff happens, I do my best to sigh and ignore it.’
‘You really are a useless sack of-’
‘Oh my God! Jorge means George. How did it take me so long?’
We both turned to a super-excited George as he darted back into the room.
‘Um, sorry for your loss?’
‘No, not that,’ he tutted, irritated.
‘What does Garcia mean?’ Ronnie asked, also apparently not getting it.
‘You!’ he exclaimed, pointing right at me. Great, what did I do now?
‘What?’
‘In Angela’s cabin. You shouted “George, run.” Those guys must’ve known him, and they killed him for being a traitor. You did get him killed.’
‘There must’ve been another reason,’ I said, immediately putting the kibosh on that. ‘People don’t kill people because of something they might’ve done.’
‘People have killed for less. 50p got an old lady killed once,’ Ronnie shuddered.
‘And those guys almost killed you just for being there. Face it, Annie. There’s some serious stuff going down here. This guy died for you,’ he reiterated, in case I hadn’t quite gotten it the first time.
‘Well, what do you want me to do? It doesn’t change anything. The guy’s still dead, and we still need to find out what’s going on with Angela.’
Ronnie grimaced. George stared at me in disgust.
‘That was cold, even for you.’
‘I don’t know this guy. I didn’t beat him up, and I didn’t unhand him. My conscience is clear.’
‘Do you really have so little respect for human life?’ George asked, full of- probably not awe, but that’s what it looked like.
‘No, I have lots of respect. But as I mentioned, I didn’t do the deed here. If this
guy was involved with the others, he’s obviously a bad guy, too. Look, you can rant all you want about how every life is precious, but I know it’s not. I’ve seen the worst of the worst of humanity. People like Ronnie here, for example-’
‘What did I do?’ he protested.
‘You don’t want justice, you want revenge. You think you’re the first? You’re not. People suck, George. Get used to it. You’re gonna see it a lot now from your side, I guarantee it.’
He looked about ready to argue, but I was done for the day.
‘I’m going to bed. Debate all you want with Ronnie, but leave me out of it.’
Ronnie wasn’t particularly thrilled with that idea, but screw him. Screw them both.
17
I woke up to a beautiful summer’s day; obviously, it being Miami. A glorious sea breeze was wafting in through the open window, and I could hear a pretty good busker outside playing one of my favorite songs. I didn’t have school for another couple of months- hey, wait a minute. I was seventeen. I only had another year left, but I was averaging a C in all classes. Why was I even going back? I’d never make it to college, unless my dad decided to donate a sports arena to one. Forget school, I was done with it. Wow, that was a load off. I could finally get back to enjoying a relaxing day.
Except I couldn’t, because of the dead body in the room.
I knew I was trying to make a point about something.
‘Ah, Sleeping Beauty has awakened,’ Ronnie announced, as I greeted the room with a groan.
‘I was never asleep,’ George piped up.
‘Funny. Very funny. Did you have any ideas about George the Second whilst I was asleep?’
‘Yes. You should call the police,’ Ronnie said. I sat up, nodding and wondering why I was even in this position.
‘I guess it was heading that way. I’ve only been putting off the inevitable. Well, better get this phone call over with,’ I sighed, reaching for my cell.
‘That’s a bad idea,’ George trilled. I stopped, hand in mid-air.