Sudden Vacancies (5 page)

Chapter 11

Although everyone assumed that he was part of the kink convention, based on all the stuff he was wearing at the time of his death, the coroner was able to positively confirm that he was an active participant in bondage play. He apparently died from suffocation. However, it appeared there had been a real struggle to try and get out of the grasp he was in. In other words, he might not have gotten himself into autoerotic asphyxiation, as it was initially speculated.

The security camera footage around his hotel room found that several different people had walked into his room during the course of the night. They all had keys to the room and it was assumed there was no problem with any of them, as it appeared there was no forced entry.

However, one noteworthy discovery about the people in the footage alarmed Andrew and Sandra.

It turns out that each person who entered into the room was wearing a mask. They were all form fitting and seemed to be standard bondage masks or at least could be suitable for bondage-related activities.

This posed two different questions—first, if the people who went into the room were wearing masks, then did this mean there were four separate people who went into the room or were there just one or two people who kept on going into the room but had different masks?

Secondly, if there was some kind of suspicious activity involved, then where was the weapon? The coroner confirmed that it appeared the man had struggled as he was being suffocated, and the people seen entering the room carried nothing with them. Had the man been tied down and unable to defend himself? The facts weren’t clear, but one thing was certain—this might not have been an open and shut case.

“I know there has to have been some kind of connection between what happened here and what went on a few days ago,” Andrew said. “I don’t want to jump to conclusions but…”

“You know, I want to believe these are isolated events, but my gut tells me differently. I keep thinking there’s some piece of information that’s being missed. The police want to assign a special task force to look at all of the information again and I think it’s a great idea,” Sandra responded.

Eventually, the police report came in:

“Miss Jones, we found that the person who died appeared to have made some kind of legitimate effort to try and stop either rape or murder. While we have no idea what kind of weapon could have possibly killed him, we noticed a few minor bruises around his chest. We are assuming this is from a struggle to try to get out of a particular position. I’m surprised there wasn’t any blood at the scene.”

“We found a card that belonged to one of those hookers inside the room. It said something about bringing women to your door in a few minutes after you call; his cell phone records indicated that he did call the number listed on that card a few hours before his death so we’re going to keep that as a possible piece of evidence.

“Finally, we reviewed his wallet and while we did not find any prints on anything, we did notice there was a slight scent of worn-out dollar bills coming from it. There were no bills in the wallet at all though; therefore, we are led to believe at this point that there might have been someone with him at the time of his death and they stole the money from the wallet.”

*****

“Maybe he spent that money before he came to the hotel,” Randall said to Tommy the next day.

“You know, Tommy, you’ve been kind of quiet about what’s going on around here. Do you have any idea what’s been happening?”

“I have, but I’ve been paying more attention to my work anyway. I had seven big orders that had to be rushed out by today. I was just worried that they wouldn’t actually show up on time,” Tommy said.

“Well, I don’t know what the hell is going on here but whatever the case is, I bet there’s going to be loads of changes real soon. I don’t know what they’re going to want to do but it is clear something’s gonna happen, I can feel it.”

Tommy shrugged his shoulders and went back to working in his florist shop. He insisted on getting back to work as soon as possible so he wouldn’t miss a single order. After all, two deaths were not going to keep people from wanting to come to the Paradise.

The question now was what would happen if a third death occurred. It’s not as if it would be all that likely …right?

Chapter 12

The news media lingered for a little longer than usual and there were plenty of conversations going on about what might be going on at the hotel. Was someone intentionally harming these people? Was there something sinister going on within the hotel? Or maybe it was just people being ignorant and failing to take care of their own personal safety.

The latter could be the case considering the risky nature of both of the deceased’s’ activities just before their deaths. Still, the lack of knowing what was happening proved to be very troublesome for the hotel.

No one seemed to have a desire to cancel their reservations, but most people with future reservations lived outside Columbus and might be unaware of the recent developments. However, the fear of what could happen in the future was a real problem and uppermost in the minds of all Paradise employees.

*****

“Attention all employees, I understand that many of you are concerned about what has happened here in the last few days. I’m just as concerned about the welfare of this hotel as you are and as a result I have contacted our security chief, Andrew James, to take care of some changes for keeping this place safe.” Sandra looked over the sea of faces in front of her. She had ordered all employees to attend a staff meeting in the restaurant.

Andrew took over the speech. “Several issues- several issues - yes, involved here. We will work with some very specific protocols from here on out. Hoping that these are only temporary but we can never really tell. Our focus with these changes is the safety of hotel guests.

“First, metal detectors are being installed at the front and side doors as we speak. We are also increasing the number of individual personnel who will help us out with taking care of reviewing the individual things that come in and out of the hotel. Every bag entering the premises will be hand checked.”

“Secondly, we are going to have some additional guards outside all entrances to the hotel. Given that both victims had cards from the local streetwalkers in their possession, we can’t rule out that somehow these individuals are entering this property.”

“It’s clear that changes need to be made with regards to what is going on. Our first priority is to make sure everyone in the hotel is safe. Now, I don’t know if these deaths are related or just accidents that happened in close proximity of each other. These new measures are designed to give everyone a better feel for what is happening within the hotel and if there is someone responsible for these deaths, these new protocols could potentially help to track them down.

“Most importantly, if anyone here sees something that is suspicious, then I need you to speak up and tell me. Every piece of information we get can be critical.”

Andrew paused for a moment and looked over the room, noting that most employees seemed to be taking the changes in stride.

“Now, I know what you are thinking. I’ve heard some of you questioning whether or not we have a killer amongst us. I expect each and every employee to do their part.”

After the presentation, Sandra thanked Andrew for talking with everyone about what has happened. Deep down inside, Andrew felt that whatever was going on involved a hotel employee, but he didn’t want to assume that something was going on inside the hotel.

He had that lump in his throat—a feeling that something bad was still going to happen. Even with all the security measures added in the hotel, there were still concerns over what could happen next.

Chapter 13

The hotel went on with business as usual from the inside. Everything was going on as normally as it could. The questionable activities taking place just around the corner from the hotel went on as if nothing was amiss. The whole sense of normalcy was intact in many ways.

After all the security measures were added, there were some serious concerns over what was going on with the hotel. There was the fear that something new would happen even with all the changes that took place. Employees began to worry about what would happen the next few days and if some further measures actually had to be undertaken.

The hotel used all of these key features to make sure it was secure but at the same time there was always going to be that one question – were they doing enough? Sure, the place was secure but there’s always going to be that one hole that anyone can get through.

No matter how secure a place is, there is always going to be a risk that someone will sneak through or there will be some vulnerability exposed.

The Paradise was about to experience such an issue.

While the hotel was kept under a strong amount of control, another body was found in yet another room. This time it came at the top level of the hotel.

*****

In room 1905, one of the hotel’s many luxury suites, a man was found by a woman who was about to visit him. The man who had rented the room had left a key for her at the front desk. At the time the body was found, there was also one master key checked out, registered to the custodial department.

The man was found lying face down in the middle of the sitting room, his wallet lying open on the floor next to the body. All the cash was gone, but his credit cards and ID were still intact. The only other items found were several condoms lying on the bedside table indicating he was most likely intending to have sex with the woman who found him.

Those were the only clues found by investigators. No weapon was found. It was clear that the man had suffered some kind of neck trauma and he struggled to try to get away. The broken blood vessels in his face and eyes indicated he had been choked and there was bruising around his neck, but the implement used was not identified.

This was definitely murder. Was this death connected to the other two?

*****

“What the fuck is wrong with this place!” exclaimed Andrew.

“Andy, I really don’t appreciate that language,” responded Sandra.

“Jesus H. Christ, don’t you see what’s going on here? We do all these changes to make the place safer and for what? Nothing! Do you even realize how much effort I put in just to figure out which things had to be done in order to make this place safer?”

“Well, it’s still no excuse …”

“Bullshit it isn’t! Look, don’t you see what’s going to happen here? There are still people dying, nothing’s changed! I swear, someone is clearly up to this. I knew there wasn’t a real way to say that someone was responsible at first but I think it’s pretty obvious now that someone is out there to get everyone. I don’t know who, but someone’s doing it.”

“Well, there’s always vulnerability in security.” Sandra understood Andrew’s frustration. She felt completely lost as to what the hotel’s next steps should be.

“You’re saying that it’s no big deal.”

“It is a big deal, Andy! And look, we have to do something much stronger in order to keep the place safe. I don’t want to risk having to close this place down and if we can’t control the PR coming from these deaths, I won’t have a choice.”

Although the Paradise had been getting plenty of business from outside clients over the years, there were still worries about what was happening all around the Columbus area. While it was true that the hotel was still turning a profit, there were worries about how long it could last before the recent events brought it all to a screeching halt.

The pros and drug lords kept their distance. If the hotel’s image slipped, what would keep them from moving their operations to the front doors? What would happen if the prostitutes took up residence under the front canopy? How long would they be able to control the drug lords?

These thoughts rushed through Sandra’s mind, making her head hurt.

Andrew had a suggestion. “Why don’t I get out of your hair and take another look at the new protocols. Maybe there’s something I missed that will help us prevent this from happening again.”

Exhausted, Sandra gave him a hug. “Andy, I hope you know I appreciate all your hard work. Let me know if you come up with something.”

“Will do,” Andrew said as he exited her office. His mind was already going over the security protocols.

*****

Sandra watched Andrew leave her office and then let her head drop into her hands. The hotel was in serious trouble and making simple changes wasn’t going to cut it. The news media had taken up residence in the front lobby and while she wanted to throw them out, she knew that unless she worked with them, the hotel would suffer.

News of the most recent murder was the top story on the nightly news, and the headline on the front page of the paper. Keeping the hotel’s name out of the media had been impossible this time and she feared the repercussions were just beginning.

Something had to be done.