CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO
VICTÓRIA MENDOZA
I approached the front desk relatively sure that Tilo was drunk and more than likely passed out in her room. Tilo could not handle her liquor and was probably loudly snoring as I spoke. “I would like to get a room please.”
“I’ll be happy to assist you. How many nights would you like to stay with us?” The smile on the receptionist’s face was so different from the grimace it held when she was dealing with my nemesis, Tilo.
“A week, maybe two. I’ve never been to New York before and I heard there is so much to do. I want to make sure I have enough time to do it all,” I said with fake enthusiasm.
“I heard that. I have a room with a king-sized bed on the tenth floor, or would you prefer to be up higher?”
“Actually, I’d rather have a suite if you have one.”
“Certainly, let me check on availability.” The fever in the lobby had calmed down and I was ready to get a room and relax. I hadn’t realized how tired I was until I started thinking about a hot bath. I’d never spent the night in a hotel, and I was going to take advantage of the opportunity being in New York afforded me.
“You’re in luck, we have one available. Will you require assistance with your luggage?” As she looked around me, the smile disappeared from her face.
“Not at the moment. The airport has misplaced my bags, but I hope to have them soon. I’m really missing my toothbrush right about now,” I said in a joking manner, but she had to know if it were really true, the last thing I would be doing was joking about it.
“Okay, I will need your credit card and identification please. And just so you know, we have a wonderful gift shop that is open for any incidentals you may need. And of course, we do have some courtsey items in your room.”
She handed me the key and my information after I signed the receipt.
“Thanks.” I exhaled a deep breath as I walked to the elevator. I was relieved to have someplace other than the lobby to hang out.
“Enjoy your stay.”
I waved my hand, acknowledging her wishes. As I exited the elevator, I bumped into the same bellman I saw assisting Tilo earlier in the lobby.
“I’m sorry, miss. Are you okay?” the bellman asked as I read his nametag.
“No problem, I wasn’t paying attention.”
He kept on moving, but I couldn’t get him off my mind as I entered my room. He was definitely sexy, but something about his eyes bothered me and I couldn’t put my finger on it.
I checked out the bathroom to see what toilet items I needed and wrote a list using the pen and pad from the desk. Knowing Tilo, I was feeling pretty confident that she was in for the evening, but I didn’t want to take a chance on losing her. I was going to need assistance. With Moses being out of pocket, I wasn’t sure how I was going to get it. I was about to order from room service when I got a call from Moses.
“You must have been reading my mind,” I said.
“Oh yeah, how so?”
“I was trying to figure out my next move, and I started thinking about you, that’s all.”
Moses was still an enigma to me. I wanted to believe that he was on the up and up, but my trust level with people in general had been shattered, so I was still leery.
“What’s Tilo up to?”
“She’s probably sleeping it off in her room.”
“What do you mean probably?”
I didn’t like his tone of voice. “Hell, I can’t see through walls, shit. So I can only assume she is asleep. Jeez.”
“Victória, chill. I didn’t understand what you meant.”
I was tired and hungry and didn’t feel like any shit from him, or anyone else for that matter.
“Yeah, all right. I got myself a room and I’m going to eat something before I go back downstairs, but I seriously doubt she’s going anywhere else today.”
“Good, I’m glad you’re getting some rest. I’m still trying to get someone to listen to me, but I will be back as soon as I can.”
I didn’t like what he was saying and wondered just how long he expected me to maintain this vigil. If I knew how to get into her hotel room, I was ready to end it tonight, but first I needed a weapon. “Okay, Moses, room service is at the door. Let me know when you’re headed back this way.” Disgusted, I ended the call before he could say anything else that might piss me off. Part of me realized I was being irrational, but the other part of me didn’t give a fuck. Patience was never one of my strong suits, and mine had been stretched past its tolerance level.
As I waited for my sandwich to be delivered from room service, I made up my mind to end this shit one way or the other tomorrow. I finally understood why Verónica wanted to let this go, because it was tearing me up inside. I was thumbing through the yellow pages when someone knocked on the door. It scared me until I realized it was probably room service with my food.
“Coming,” I shouted as I went to get my wallet for a tip. As I opened the door I realized it was the same bellman who I’d bumped into earlier. “Can you put it in the sitting room?” I asked as I allowed the door to close.
“Sure.”
I followed him as he unloaded my food from his small cart to the table. “Hey, I remember you. Are you the only one working here?” I said jokingly.
He chuckled. “Sometimes it feels that way but, trust me, there’s a boatload of us working here. Oh snap, I remember you too. Weren’t you with that dude who was asking all those questions?” He tipped his head from side to side. He caught me off guard because I thought we’d done a good job at being less than visible.
“Yeah, that was my brother-in-law,” I said, laughing to hide my embarrassment at being busted.
“You should tell old dude he needs to step up his tip game, especially if he wants some information on our guest. He could have me losing my job over a lousy ten dollars and shit.”
“I hope you won’t hold it against him, he wasn’t trying to insult you.” I didn’t know what else to say to him, but I did get more money out of my wallet to make up for Moses’ shortcomings. He was staring at me as I went through my wallet and it was starting to make me feel uncomfortable.
“No offense taken. I was just letting you know just in case you needed something else,” he said. He looked out the window, as if he didn’t see the elephant that he allowed into the room.
I held out a hundred dollar bill for him to take. But he shook his head no.
“Sorry, lady, I can’t break that bill for you.”
I wasn’t offering him the money expecting change, I was baiting him with a promise of more.
“Oh, I wasn’t asking for change. I was trying to make up for my brother-in-law’s mistake.” I smiled to let him know that I knew what time it was and I was fine with it.
“Cool, appreciate it.” He reached forward and took the money from me. “So, what did she do?” he asked after the money disappeared into his pocket.
He was one step ahead of me because I wasn’t sure how to answer his question. My gut told me that I could tell him the truth, but my gut had also lied to me before, so I was hesitant to listen to it now. I continued to stare at him for a few more seconds before I answered him. “See that right there?” I pointed to my head so he could see the trace markings of the bullet that grazed my head.
He jumped back in surprise. “Ah, damn! She did that shit? I thought you were going to tell me she fucked your man. I’m sorry, shorty. That’s fucked up.” He pulled the money back out of his pocket and tried to hand it back to me.
“It’s okay, keep it, because I really do need your help.”
He lowered his arm but didn’t immediately put the money back in his pocket. “I feel for you, boo, but I ain’t into none of that gangster shit. I knew that chick wasn’t right the moment I laid eyes on her, and that’s the only reason why I’m talking to you now.” He was clearly nervous and I understood his fear. If I hadn’t been so mad at Tilo, I might have been afraid too.
“Do I look gangster to you? That woman killed my brother and shot me and left me for dead. The only thing I want to do is keep an eye on her until my brother-in-law returns with the police to put her ass behind bars where she belongs.”
“So what do you want me to do? I believe you and I want to help, but I can’t afford to lose this job. I’m paying my way through college, and this job gives me spending money. Plus, I can sneak away and study when I need to.”
I couldn’t get mad at him for trying to do something with his life. After all, he was no different than I was before Tilo came into my life. “If you help me keep an eye on Tilo until help comes, I could contribute twenty thousand dollars to your college fund.” I was scared. I didn’t really know this guy from a can of paint, and for all I knew, he could bash me over the head and no one would be the wiser.
“Yeah, right. I may have been born at night but it wasn’t last night,” he said, laughing. He turned around to leave, taking away the only hope that I had at the moment.
“I’m dead serious.” I really needed his help but I wasn’t going to beg.
He said, “She has a gun.”
“Figures, but I’m not trying to kill her. I just need to make sure she doesn’t disappear again. She faked her death, and we’re trying to prove that she’s still alive so she can stand trial for the murder of my brother.” Waiting for him to respond one way or the other seemed like an eternity.
“You’re still going to need a gun. That bitch is crazy. I could see about getting you one, but it’s going to cost a little more.”
For some reason I trusted him. Maybe it was because I didn’t have much of a choice, but regardless of the reason, I did. “Fine, I’ll have the money tomorrow.”
Instead of leaving he took a seat and got comfortable. “I just hope this shit ain’t gonna come back and bite me in the ass, because I really can’t afford the trouble, you know what I mean?”
“I feel you, but if I let her get away with what she did to my family, she’s going to keep on destroying lives and I can’t live with that.”
“I think she’s been here about a week and doesn’t go out much, but when she does, it’s always a big production. I think she’s having a nervous breakdown because she’s always talking to herself. Housekeeping hates her. She’s creeping us all out, so I hope your brother-in-law gets back soon.”
“You and me both.” I wanted to say more but it wasn’t necessary. I could tell he knew where I was coming from just from the look in his eyes.
Craig wrote his number on a piece of paper and handed it to me. “Call me if you need me and I’ll let you know if she moves.”
“Thanks, Craig. You won’t be sorry for helping me.”
“I hope not.”
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
TILO ADAMS
I knew I was teetering on the edge of insanity and little things would send me into tantrums. I remembered going shopping a few nights before, but I couldn’t find any of the items I bought. I scoured the entire suite and couldn’t find a single bag from the store. All of my underwear were soiled, and I didn’t have anything else to wear. I walked out of the bathroom wearing a towel after a brief shower. I lost track of the days and had no idea how long it had been since I ate anything. The only thing I was doing consistently was drinking until I passed out.
I needed to allow housekeeping into my room today because it had started to stink. “What the fuck am I going to put on?” I still had some clothes that I hadn’t worn, but the thought of my southern lips kissing the inseam of my jeans wasn’t something I wanted to do. I poured my first drink of the day as I contemplated what to do. I damn near dropped my glass on the floor when the door opened.
I panicked. “Greg, what are you doing here?”
He put down the bags he was carrying and looked at me real strange. “Are you fucking kidding?” He was staring at me like I was crazy or something.
“What?” I snapped. I had so many questions to ask, but I was afraid of his answers. I obviously had invited him to come because there was no other logical reason for him to be here. This only made me question what else I’d done that I didn’t remember.
“For real, Tilo, I think you need to lay off the booze. I’ve never seen you act like this before, and you’re starting to freak me out.” He walked over to the bed and handed me the bags he had brought in. He dumped the underwear on the bed and walked over to the bar and fixed himself a drink.
I stared at the underclothes, afraid to touch them. Evidently I had a few gaps in my memory, but I didn’t know how to get them back without admitting to him my confusion. I continued sipping from my glass as if nothing abnormal was happening to me. I was going to follow his lead until I could remember what the fuck we were supposed to be doing.
“Are you going to get dressed?” he demanded. He had a stank attitude and it was starting to piss me off.
“Look, you can check your attitude at the door. I’m not your child.”
“I can’t fucking tell,” he mumbled.
I tried to ignore his comment because I was still trying to understand why he was in New York. Things were so tense in the room, I was waiting for the next shoe to drop. I didn’t know whether I should consider Greg to be friend or foe.
“I’m sorry. I’m not myself, but I’m going to get my shit together.” I wasn’t used to playing this contrite apologetic role, especially with him. I had always been the dominant one in the relationship and overnight it appeared as if this had changed.
Greg’s face softened. He put down his glass and came over to me. Pulling me to my feet, he wrapped his arms around me. I felt so comfortable and secure, I started crying.
“Stop crying, baby. I’m here now and I’ll make sure nothing else happens to you.”
Happen to me? What was he talking about? My mind was spinning and it wasn’t from the booze. I forced myself to remember as he stroked my back. I remembered coming back from the store. The people from the hotel were upset because I’d trashed my room. I lifted my head from Greg’s shoulder and surveyed the room, but nothing appeared to be out of place except for some suitcases near the door. At the risk of sounding like a complete nut, I inquired about the bags.
“Whose bags are those?”
Greg turned his head and followed my gaze. If he thought I was cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, it wasn’t etched on his face.
“Ours. We can’t show up for a cruise without any luggage. What will people think?” He started laughing.
“Yeah, that would draw some curiosity.” I chuckled nervously. I didn’t remember telling Greg about going on a cruise. “I got to go to the bathroom.”
He dropped his arms to his side and I slowly backed away from him. I grabbed some underwear off the bed and my clothes. I stumbled to the toilet and kicked the door shut.
“What the fuck is going on?”