The Bloody Canvas

by KJ Kalis

  Kat peered around the edge of the dumpster. A long black shadow crossed the edge of the alleyway from the street where she had come from. A figure emerged from the corner, staring in her direction. She shivered. She didn’t want to look, but she didn’t have a choice. She needed to know if he found her. Her leg started to cramp from squatting down and she slid it on the street, her shoe catching a piece of gravel, the grating sound echoing off the brick walls that surrounded her. Her eyes grew wide as the man looked right at her.

  Kat couldn’t tell if the man had seen her or had just heard the noise. She hoped for a moment that he chalked the noise up to a stray alley cat. A moment passed and then he started walking toward her. The breath caught in Kat’s chest. There was nowhere to go. She looked behind her and saw a screen door that was propped open — she hadn’t seen it before. It was about twenty feet from where she was sitting, the light coming out from inside what looked to be a restaurant.

  She glanced back down the alleyway, the man steadily approaching. Kat knew she couldn’t just wait for him to come around the back of the dumpster. She had no idea who he was or what he wanted, but it was pretty clear it had something to do with her trip to London. Kat had to move, and she had to move now if she hoped to survive. She stood up and sprinted, the cramp in her leg screaming for relief, toward the open door. She didn’t stop to look, but she heard heavy footsteps following her. She got to the edge of the door and yanked it open turning quickly inside the restaurant.

  The bright lights from the kitchen shocked her eyes as she maneuvered between tables and kitchen equipment, running as quickly as she could. Someone yelled at her, “What are you doing here? Get out!” Kat kept moving, feeling the presence of the man behind her. She ran to a dark space between the seating area and the kitchen and paused for a moment. She leaned up against the wall and glanced to her right, towards the back of the restaurant. As she did, she saw the man coming at her. She had no time to wait. He grabbed for her arm, catching the sleeve of her jacket. Kat groaned and wrestled free. For a moment, she felt his hot breath on her face. She charged out of the front of the restaurant, dodging tables and people. As she exploded outside at a full run, the door to the restaurant slammed against the wall like a crack of thunder. Kat glanced up and down the street and saw a cab sitting right in front of the restaurant. She opened the door and jumped in and locked the doors quickly. “Drive!”

  The startled cabbie threw the vehicle into gear and sped off into traffic.

  Kat leaned back on the seat, trying to catch her breath, “Sorry about that.”

  The cabbie, a middle-aged man wearing a gray flat cap with a brim looked back at her, “That was the most excitement I’ve had all bloody day. Are you all right? Where to, missy?”

  Kat gave him the address to the hotel, hoping that the man that had chased her didn’t know where she was staying. If he had found her on the street, he probably did, but she didn’t really have any other choice. There was nowhere else to go. As she sat in the cab, she weighed her options. She couldn’t think straight. The adrenaline was still running through her system, her heart pounding. She licked her lips, feeling how dry they were from the running. She’d decide what to do when she got back to the hotel.

  Kat’s breathing started to slow as the cab pulled up in front, the lights from the entry seeming friendly and safe. She glanced both in front of the cab and behind the cab to make sure that the man hadn’t somehow beat her back to the hotel. The streets were deserted. She got out of the cab and handed the driver some money. The driver shook his head, “The fare has already been paid.”

  Kat frowned, “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”

  A thin smile crossed the driver’s lips, “Your investigation is raising eyebrows. It might be time for you to go back to the United States. Stay out of business that has nothing to do with you.”

  As the cab sped off, Kat stood on the street, stunned. What had just happened? Questions rolled through her head as fear took over. The driver could have taken her anywhere, but he didn’t. He took her back to the hotel. Kat walked into the lobby, numb and terrified. She sat down on one of the upholstered chairs, putting the bag of trinkets she had bought on her lap and hugging it close. Her heart was nearly beating out of her chest. She picked up her phone and texted Henry. It rang back right away.

  “Kat, are you okay?”

  “I think so,” Kat said. “I don’t know what just happened. I went to take a walk and there was a man following me. I ran through a restaurant, got in a cab and that man must have known the other man.” She knew that what she was saying barely made sense.

  “Where are you now?” The question from Henry sounded more like a demand than a request.

  “I’m sitting in the hotel lobby.”

  “Good. Stay there. I’ve got police on the way. I will be there shortly. Don’t move and don’t go to your room.”

  Kat nodded, “Okay. I’ll stay here.”

  As she ended the call, she noticed her hands were shaking. She set the phone down in her lap for a moment, and then picked it up again, calling Van.

  “Hi, honey.”

  “Van…” she muttered.

  “Kat? What’s wrong?”

  “I, I was just followed. I barely made it back to the hotel. Someone tried to grab me.” Kat stopped, not sure what else to say. Her heart was still pounding in her chest, the fear surging through her body.

  “What? What do you mean?” Van’s tone had taken a serious turn.

  “I got back to the hotel and decided I wanted to take a walk. It’s a well-lit street with restaurants and shops. I just wanted to clear my head and then some guy, he started following me.”

  “Are you sure it wasn't a coincidence?”

  “No! I ran down an alleyway and hid behind a dumpster. He found me there and chased me into a restaurant. I barely got away, or at least I thought I did.”

  There was a pause. “What does that mean?”

  Kat could barely speak as she thought through what had just happened to her. “He nearly had me between the kitchen and the dining room. He grabbed ahold of my sleeve, but I wrestled away. I ran out the front door. There was a cab sitting right there. I jumped in. I thought it was safe.”

  “What happened when you got in the cab?”

  “I thought it was safe. I really thought I was. He drove me the whole way to the hotel and then when I got out of the car, he told me the fare had already been paid.” Kat looked up from her phone and saw that two police officers had just walked into the lobby. “Van, I have to go. The police are here.”

  “Wait. What did the cab driver say to you?”

  “He told me to stop nosing around in their business and that I should go home.”

  There was silence on the other end of the line. Van didn’t respond to what she had just said. “Have you called Henry?”

  “Yes. He’s on his way.”

  “Good. Do exactly what Henry says to do, okay Kat?”

  As Kat tried to answer him, the words catching in her chest, tears started rolling down her cheeks. “Yes,” she whispered.

  “I love you. Be careful.”

  She put down the phone as the police officers approached her, “Are you Kat Beckman?” one of them asked. She nodded. “We were told to stay with you until Henry Nash arrives.” Kat nodded again.

  Kat sat quietly, trying to suffocate the terror in her chest. She watched as one of the police officers, a tall man with thin limbs, went and stood by the entry door, the other, a woman with blonde hair in a ponytail, sat right next to her scanning the entrances. Apparently, Henry had called the police department and let them know what was going on. The police officer that sat next to her looked at her and said, “Can I get you anything?”

  Kat looked at her and said, “Maybe some tissues?” Admitting that she needed something as simple as a tissue made Kat cry even more. She hated being that weak. There was no reason to cry, she told herself. She was okay. She had gotten away. But there was part of
her that didn’t believe she was okay. Like many of the other investigations she had been on, things went from fine to dicey fast. This seemed like one of those moments.

  Kat blew her nose and dabbed at her eyes, as Henry charged in through the front door. “Kat! Are you okay?”

  She stood up and he put his hands on each of her arms. “Yes, I’m okay.”

  Henry dropped his hands and looked at the two officers, “Any movement?”

  The woman sitting by Kat shook her head no. “We haven’t seen anything since we got here, but it’s only been a few minutes.”

  Henry nodded. “Thanks for getting over here so quickly. We can’t risk losing this one.” He smiled at Kat.

  The words hit Kat like a ton of bricks even though she realized it was nothing but a simple sentiment. She doubled over, crying.

  “Kat? Love? Are you okay?” Henry bent down to be on her level.

  “It’s just, it’s just...” Kat sat up. “It’s just that every time I get on one of these big investigations, I end up being the target.” She stared at Henry, “I was so scared. I thought they were going to get me.”

  He put his arm around her shoulder. “You are safe now. We’re going to go upstairs together and clear out your hotel room. You are going to come and stay with me for the rest of the trip.”

  “What about Eli? If I’m not safe, he isn’t safe either.”

  Henry nodded, “You may be right about that. We’ll collect Eli on our way out.” Henry looked at Kat, “Do you happen to know what his room number is?”

  Kat nodded and pulled up the information on her phone. “He’s on the sixth floor. Room 606.”

  Henry looked at the two officers. “Okay, you,” Henry nodded at the male officer, “Go up and check on Eli in room 606. Tell him I will be right there.” Henry looked at the female officer, “You, come with us. I want back up in case someone has gotten into Kat’s room.”

  The four of them, Henry, Kat and the two officers, walked to the elevator together. As they got on, Henry looked at the bag she was carrying. “You went out for a bit of shopping, huh?”

  Kat nodded. She tried to smile, “I won’t be making that mistake again.”

  “Now, now…” Henry said, “We are generally very friendly here in London. The blokes you ran into must’ve been troublemakers.”

  Joking around with Henry made Kat feel better, “As I remember, this isn’t the first time I’ve run into bad guys in London. You are developing quite a reputation.”

  The elevator beeped as it got to the sixth floor. The male officer got out without looking back. The elevator doors slid closed. Kat punched the button for the eighth floor where her room was. The elevator gave a quiet beep as it stopped. Henry stepped out first, “Now, I want you to hang back while we get your room open. I want to clear it before you walk in.”

  Kat nodded. After what had just happened, she had no interest in going into her room by herself. She’d had quite enough excitement for one day. She watched from outside in the hallway as Henry and the other officer went into her room first. In less than a minute, Henry called for her. “Kat?”

  Kat stepped into the doorway. “Everything okay?”

  Henry nodded. “Seems to be.” He took one more look in the bathroom, nodded, then said, “Take a few minutes and get your stuff packed. We will check you out on the way.”

  Since Kat had come from New York City to Savannah and then to London, she had a few more things to pack than she would have liked. Henry plopped down on a chair that was in the corner of the room, crossing his legs, watching her pack. He had told the other officer to stand outside of Kat’s door until they were ready to leave. Kat quickly pulled her clothes off the hangers and stuffed them into the suitcase. There would be time for folding later. As she went into the bathroom to gather her toiletries, Henry called out, “So, what do you make of what the thugs said to you?”

  A chill ran down her spine. Kat had been trying not to think about what was going on. She sighed and pushed her toothbrush into her carry case, “I’m not sure. My head is still reeling. First Hailey, then Oskar and now this? I think we’ve tripped into a bigger hole than we were anticipating.”

  “I think you could say that fairly.” Henry scratched his ankle and then put his feet back on the floor, “You ready?”

  Kat rolled her suitcase toward the door, slinging her backpack over her shoulders. “I think so. Let me look around one more time before we go.”

  Kat walked through the room making sure she hadn’t left anything behind when she spotted her laptop charger, “I’ll need this.”

  Henry nodded, “Good job. Now let’s get going.”

  As soon as they opened the door, the officer stationed in the hallway turned towards them. “Everything okay?” she asked.

  Henry nodded, “Yes. Let’s go down and collect Eli.”

  The three of them rode the elevator back down to the sixth floor. When they got out of the hallway Kat glanced left and right, trying to determine where Eli’s room was. She saw the tall police officer stationed down to their left. When they got to Eli’s door, Henry looked at the police officer. “Any trouble?”

  “No, sir,” the officer said. “Eli, that’s the man’s name, is it? He was a little surprised to see me, but he’s packing.”

  Henry nodded. “That figures.” Henry knocked on the door, “Eli? It’s Henry. Open the door, please.”

  Kat heard some scuffling behind the door and the metal of the locks scraping against each other. She shook her head. Even with a police officer standing outside the door, Eli had apparently bolted every one of the locks the hotel had made available to him.

  “Oh, Kat! Are you okay?”

  Kat looked at the police officer. His face flushed. “Sorry, ma’am. I had to tell him what was going on to get him to cooperate.”

  Kat closed her eyes and shook her head. He was nothing if not suspicious, “Yes, Eli. I’m okay.”

  Henry stepped in front of the door. “No time for chitter chat, Eli. We need to get you and Kat out of this hotel. The two of you are going to come bunk with me until we get this straightened out.”

  Eli nodded, “Yes, yes. I’m all packed. Ready to go when you are, sir.”

  Kat wasn’t sure if the “sir” was a bit of sarcasm on Eli’s part, but if it was, she could hardly blame him. A lot had happened since they had arrived in London.

  Henry took the comment in stride. “Good man. Now, let’s get moving.”

  It didn’t take long for the four of them to go down in the elevator and check out at the front desk. The clerk tried to give them a hard time, saying that their stay had been guaranteed for another four days. Henry glared at the young man and said, “Do you really want to make an issue out of this? We could go down to Scotland Yard and have a chat if you’d like about interfering in government business.”

  The clerk’s eyes bulged out of his head, “No, sir. Of course not. Enjoy your stay in London.”

  The police cruiser that the two officers had arrived in and Henry’s Scotland Yard vehicle were parked right in front of the hotel. The officers helped Kat and Eli load their luggage into Henry’s car. Henry slammed the lid on the trunk. “I’ve already called your sergeant,” he said. “He gave the approval for you to follow me back to my house. I’d like you to help me clear it before I bring Kat and Eli in, okay?”

  The female officer nodded, her ponytail bouncing, “Of course, sir. More than happy to help Scotland Yard.”

  Eli and Henry got in the front of Henry’s car, with Kat sliding in the back. Kat tried to settle in the backseat, her backpack sitting next to her. As Kat unzipped the front pocket of her backpack, looking for gum, she glanced up, just in time to see a cab sitting across from the hotel, the same kind of cab that had brought her to the hotel in the first place. A shiver ran up her spine…

  25

  After the cabbie had dropped at the front door of the hotel, he circled the block and took up a parking space directly across from the main ent
rance. David Walther had been the backup on this operation. His partner, a guy named Sam, or something like that, was told to grab Kat on the street and warn her. Their bosses thought that would be more intimidating, more effective. But Sam, or whatever his name was, couldn’t get the job done and Kat got away.

  David heard the back door of the cab click open and then closed. Sam slid into the backseat. “Man, I almost had that bloody girl. She got away from me at the last second.”

  David shook his head. “That’s why the boss sent me as a backup.” He glanced into the back seat using the rearview mirror. “Making sure she got the message was the most important job of the night. You almost screwed it up.” David wanted to make sure that Sam got the message. In his line of work, which ranged from slightly shady to completely illegal, David knew there was value in getting the job done right the first time. If you didn’t, it could cost you your life.

  “I’m sorry. She was slippery, that one.”

  “She’s a journalist. And half your size. You should have been able to deliver the message with no problem.” David rubbed his hand across his unshaven face, the whiskers pulling against his skin, “I’m not going to tell the bosses, but don’t let it happen again.”

  Sam didn’t say anything. Quiet settled over the cab as the two men slid down in the seats to watch the front entrance of the hotel. Before David pulled away from the front entrance of the hotel where he dropped Kat off, he watched her walk in. Unless she had slipped out of the back entrance, which he decided was highly unlikely, she was still in there.

  A couple of minutes passed. David watched the traffic going up and down the street, wondering what would happen next. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a police cruiser pull up and park right at the entrance. A tall man and a shorter woman stepped out of the car and headed straight for the lobby. “Dollars to doughnuts, they are there to help Kat,” he mumbled.

  Sam’s eyes were closed, his arms folded across his chest. He was slumped down in the back seat of the cab. “What did you say?”