Hotel Nigh

Chapter 03

The End is Nigh

Luckily, I'd transported my laptop with me so I was able to do some research about the hotel. That was my next step.

The internet connection wasn't exactly superb in Hotel Nigh, but it'd have to make do for now. I didn't even think I would have required it on this trip, but at the last moment before hauling my pathetic packing of a suitcase into the taxi, I thought I'd bring it just in case. This is the just in case moment that I may have inadvertently planned for.

Loading up my browser, I typed in HOTEL NIGH. Several searches were generated including a webpage advertising the place (didn't know they made enough money to actually afford a website) to several articles all ranging from thirty years ago, to now. I clicked on what appeared to be the oldest article that had been written about Hotel Nigh and began reading. It has picked up some notoriety since then, I gathered.

The End is Nigh – Murder in Hotel Nigh
By: Betty Tibet
On December 29th 1986 11:28PM a man was found dead in his hotel room in Hotel Nigh, just off-piste from the town centre of Feyreburg along quite a deserted road. Hotel Nigh had never appealed much to people to pay to lodge there for a few days or so, but everything was about to change for them.
The man had died due to three bullets in his head and one in his chest. The type of gun is yet unidentified, but the police are working on it and questioning everyone inside of the hotel. Yet what they've discovered is near to nothing.
No one claims to be the murder. No one has owned up to acquiring a gun or even knowing how to accurately use one and shoot specific targets. Only one girl has made a statement. She said, "I tried to ring for service at the desk, but no one was coming. Where were all the staff?"
The manager, Mr. Wellington who has been running the hotel since 1957 was tied up in his office – or so he says. The rest of the staff had been coaxed into retiring to their rooms early for the night having knocked off work a little earlier than normal. All they say is, "I finished work for the day and that was that. When I'm finished, I can go to my own room and relax."
No murder weapon has been located. The murderer is still out on the loose – whether he's part of the crowd being interrogated or had the sense to depart hastily and flee from the crime scene, no one knows.
No one is safe. The reason for the murder: unknown. But there have been three other murders across nearby towns in hotels similar to this.
The difference between them: Hotel Nigh covers up secrets you could never have thought were true.

Elliot had mentioned about a shooting, I suddenly realised. But I was so focused on the story about the woman who came here and the whole ordeal about the secrets commenced, that I didn't give the shooting a second thought. Until now.

Before I could read another article, I could hear muttered voices emanating from what I primarily thought was the corridor. But when I opened my door a little so there was a crack, the sound of the voices didn't intensify. Instead, I closed the door again and wandered to the wall inside my room where there was a room on the opposite side of. The voices grew louder.

"I've been trying to come up with a plot for the book. I thought this hotel would be the perfect place for a mystery novel, but it's harder than I anticipated." There was a pause. "Yes, I understand my other books didn't do as well as my first one. I need this book to follow suit."

Looks like I've got a writer next door to me, I perceived, frowning, and wandering back to my laptop. After glancing at the time, I realised I didn't have much time left until lunch, so I shut my laptop down and stored it away in my suitcase. I hadn't bothered locating the safety deposit box yet. Maybe it would become useful later.

On my way down, I found an elderly lady at the desk chatting with Mr. Perry. He waved idly when he saw me, but the elderly woman turned around. Some of her wispy, grey hair fell over her shoulder. "Hello, dear," she said.