Pirate

Forty-four

Slow night?” Sam asked the desk clerk when they were checking in. He hefted his backpack on his shoulder. Remi called it his just-in-case bag since it contained assorted small tools, knives, as well as a very light but sturdy rope. Other than that, neither of them had any luggage. “Only saw two other cars in the parking lot.”

“For us, that’s busy.”

“Nice and quiet, then. Just how we like it.” He leaned against the counter. “If you don’t mind my asking, any pets staying in the hotel? My wife is allergic.”

“Not belonging to any guests. The owner has a dog, though.”

“That wouldn’t be a big, black dog, would it?”

“You’ve seen Teddy, ’ave you? A sweetheart, ’e is. The other party staying ’ere? Taking ’im out for walks the last coupla days. Not to worry. I can put you above stairs, if you like.”

“Not necessary.” Sam smiled at the clerk and slid a twenty-pound note across the counter toward her. “We’d definitely like a ground-level room. On the east side. We like to watch the sunrise.”

The clerk eyed her computer monitor. “We ’ave one room left on the east side ground floor. Right next to the ’appy couple.”

She handed him the key. “The rooms are around the corner, past the potted palm. One-oh-one is next to the north staircase. Enjoy your stay.”

He and Remi thanked her, then walked toward the palm. Sam peered down the hall, realizing the one big flaw in his plan was getting to their room unobserved if the unthinkable happened and Ivan or Jak walked out their door. At least they knew the dog wasn’t as deadly as it seemed.

One less thing to worry about, he thought as they walked past Ivan and Jak’s room. Sam paused a moment. Someone was talking. The next door belonged to the newlyweds, then theirs at the end of the hall. The open-beamed room was small, with a double bed, a nightstand, a small dresser with a TV on it and an ice bucket and two glasses. He walked over to the window, pulling the curtains closed. “Wish I had some way to listen in to that room,” Sam said. “Any chance we have an app that turns my phone into a listening device?”

“It’s called a phone call. Sort of ruins the whole element of surprise, though.” Remi picked up a glass, putting the bottom of it to her ear. “Of course, there’s also the old-fashioned way.”

“Lot of good that does. There’s a whole room between us and them.”

“We could ask the newlyweds to trade rooms with us.”

“I thought of that. But, frankly, I’d feel better if they weren’t even in the hotel. What if something goes wrong?”

She looked at the clock on the nightstand by the bed. Just after six. “How far a drive from here to London, do you think?”

“Under three hours.”

“We have the room at the Savoy. Paid for and sitting empty.”

“That, Remi, is brilliant. As usual.”

She smiled. “Let’s hope they accept.”

“One way to find out. Shall we?”

He knocked softly on their door.

A young man opened it about two inches.

“Next-door neighbors,” Sam said. “Heard congratulations are in order.”

The man’s wife appeared behind him, her young face a mixture of curiosity and excitement. “Who is it?” she asked.

“The people next door.”

She reached around him and pulled the door open. “Hi.”

Sam didn’t give the couple an opportunity to turn them away. He and Remi walked in, Sam closing the door behind them.

“Congratulations,” Remi said. “We heard you were just married?”

The woman beamed. “A few days ago.”

“On your honeymoon, then?” Sam asked.

The man shrugged. “Taking a few days.”

“Ever stayed at the Savoy?”

The man gave a cynical laugh. “You think we’d be here if we could afford that?”

“Tell you what,” Sam said. “If you don’t mind the drive, there’s a free room waiting for you.”

The woman’s eyes widened.

Her husband, however, crossed his arms, suspicion clouding his features. He took a threatening step toward Sam. “I think you should leave.”

“If you’ll just hear me out,” Sam said, slipping his wallet from his pocket, “I happen to need this particular room. And the suite I have at the Savoy, bought and paid for, is sitting empty.” He pulled several hundred pounds from his wallet along with the key card to the room at the Savoy and laid it all onto the bed. “This should cover a few meals, your gas, and the price of this room. Even if you choose not to stay at the Savoy, that should more than cover another room somewhere else.”

“What sort of scam are you running?”

Remi took her cell phone, found the link Selma had sent for their reservation when they’d first arrived in London, and opened it. “No scam. I’ll add you to the reservation. All you need to do is show up. Or take the money and run.” When the mobile Internet site came up, she held out her phone and showed them. “Type in your name and email. You should get a confirmation.”

He hesitated. His wife, however, grabbed the phone and looked at it. “Looks real.”

“It is,” Remi said.

The woman typed the info in.

“Are you crazy?” her husband asked, trying to take the phone away from her.

She held it away from him, then turned so he couldn’t take it from her. “It’s just our name and email. Not like we’re giving them our credit card! I’d like to go to the Savoy for our honeymoon.” She hit send, returned the phone to Remi, then told her husband, “Check your email.”

“But they’re bringing us a bottle of champagne!”

“Yeah?” she said. “It came with the room that cost us less than sixty pounds. How good can it be? Check. Your. Email.”

He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, looking surprised when he opened his email. “This is real?”

Remi nodded.

“But why?”

“Not important,” Sam said. “Just know you’re doing us a huge favor.”

The man looked around the room as though trying to decide if it was worth it. “Fine. Guess it’s enough money to go wherever we want if it’s not there.” They gathered the few things they’d taken out of their suitcases.

“Congratulations again,” Remi said as she walked them to the door.

“One thing,” Sam said. “Might want to be quiet. They’re sleeping.” He pointed toward Ivan and Jak’s room.

The man nodded, both waved, and then they left.

Remi closed and locked the door after them. Less than thirty seconds later, they heard a soft knock at the neighboring door, followed by Fisk’s voice demanding that someone let him in.

Interesting. Fisk didn’t seem the type to dirty his hands with anything but the most important matters. So what exactly did Nigel know? Remi picked up two empty glasses on a tray next to the ice bucket, then motioned Sam over, whispering, “Time to see what’s going on next door.”