Hotel Nigh

Chapter 30

The Finale

The storm began to cease when we awoke the next morning.

Melina and I slept together that night, abusing the privacy we now had by making love slowly and tenderly. Twice. Then again in the morning when we woke up. That condom I had kept in my wallet proved useful, and luckily even Melina had a few stashed with her "for emergencies" as she phrased it.

Prior to breakfast, she wanted to speak with Betty (her sister) so after we finished making love, she went off to be with her for a little while. I was okay with that. With the knowledge that there was no longer a murderer on the loose at the hotel, I felt rather safe that night on my own with no one to torment me. And I also felt immensely blissful with the night's occurrences. Melina was endlessly incredible.

Once Mr. Perry had phoned the cops, they said they'd be at the hotel the moment the storm began to clear up, and as I ambled down to breakfast, I saw them navigating Danny out of the hotel with a rather impassive Mr. Perry who was watching on. He had dark crescents under his eyes, and so did Elliot when I had the chance to glance at him. They'd shared the nightshifts to watch Danny to ensure he didn't escape.

"They've taken the bodies," Mr. Perry announced gravely. "Honestly, I don't know what the future holds for this hotel now that a murderer was someone who was working here... Rose was livid when she found out. She was livid right before she burst into tears claiming that they were friends and she shared a lot of stuff with him."

Suddenly sympathetic for Rose, but thankful that she was safe, I asked, "Anyone know it was Danny behind it all?"

"Gerald has just gone into the restaurant and saw so he knows. Hilda and Jenny checked out first thing this morning just before the police arrived. Told her about Danny and that you and Melina solved it. She said to tell you thank you." He was mildly perplexed when he added, "And also that she hopes what she told you assisted you."

"It did," I mused aloud.

Danny didn't say anything as he was escorted out, but glanced back at Mr. Perry and I before exiting the hotel. When the doors shut, Mr. Perry sighed and meandered off to behind the desk in the corner. He flicked through a few papers as Melina came ambling down the stairs. She was holding something in her hands.

When she approached me, she smiled warmly before leaning in quickly for a kiss. My hand found her waist just as she pulled back, her cheeks a rosy colour. "Hey," she whispered. "One second and we'll go to breakfast."

I could barely nod before she as standing on the opposite side of the desk to Mr. Perry.

"Here you go," she exclaimed, almost slapping down the adhesive glue and stapler we had carried with us last night and did not utilise, onto the desk, "free of charge. Just for you." She grinned, and I wondered what had been said between her and Betty to get her in this mood.

Mr. Perry glanced down at the items, slowly placing the papers he'd been scanning back on the lower half of the desk. "What are these for?"

"I quit my job," she explained, though mainly to me. "Want to try something else." She grinned at me. Was that her way of implying she was going to see about becoming an actress? It surprised me, that thought, but I admired her a hell of a lot more. "So you can have these free of charge."

He shook his head, rummaging in the cash register before pulling out a wad of cash. "In exchange," he replied. "You caught a murderer, and God knows this hotel probably won't be in business for much longer. Maybe I can retire early. You earned it. Maybe you two could split it."

For me, I didn't want his money. The satisfaction of knowing we caught a murderer, despite who it was, and have prevented future murders in the hotel, was enough for me. Melina seemed to be on the same wavelength, also, as she shuffled through the money and dumped the majority back onto the the desk.

"Cab ride home." She smiled at him, waving the few notes she had kept to herself.

As a rarity, Mr. Perry actually smiled back, and I'm sure he was quite relived that she had not just accepted the entire compensation he had offered to her.

Melina took my hand and together we went to breakfast where Elliot greeted us, blearily eyed. He thanked us for having Danny arrested as we thanked him for getting to Mr. Perry in time to keep Danny in captivity until the cops could come to properly arrest him. He smiled at that point, announcing a full breakfast was going to be ordered for us.

After sitting down, Melina was silent for a little while before softly announcing, "I'm sorry we never really figured out who killed Ethan."

I shook my head. "I think I'm better off not knowing. If I did, I would probably go crazy with revenge. Just knowing we'd figured out who killed the three occupants in this hotel was enough, especially considering we stopped more deaths. Anyway, what did you say to Betty?"

"I persuaded her to come home." She paused to thank Rose for the breakfast as she had brought it out herself. Evidently staffing duties were going to be a lot heavier today, and it was presumably going to be a long day for them all to accomplish them all. "And then I asked how she would feel if we invited you back for a while."

I'd been cutting up some bacon when she spoke. "Seriously?" I asked.

"Honestly, I don't want you to go back home and we pretend like we never met and whatnot. Maybe for a few days, you could come to Feyreburg with us, and then I come to Burnmeadow after? I think we're both in need of jobs as well."

She smiled at me tentatively, and without thinking of my actions, I stood up and walked round the table to her. Holding out my hand, she took it and I helped her stand up. She fell right into my open embrace and we hugged. "Thank you," I whispered to her. "I'd love to."

We kissed again as Betty entered for breakfast. Melina was flushing furiously when we pulled away and continued eating, asking permission if Betty could join us. Complying, I pulled out another chair for her, and for the first time since she'd been here, I was sure, she was having her first proper meal.

What Melina said about jobs got me thinking we Betty ordered a full breakfast like us. We both required jobs now, as I could go no longer without one. Melina would need some cash, also. Where I would get a job, whether it be in Burnmeadow or Feyreburg, I did not know. What I did know, however, was that perhaps I needed a fresh start away from Burnmeadow. It was at that point when I began contemplating career choices.

Maybe this whole escapade had already chosen a career for me: a detective.

THE END