Marjorie Thelen - Designer Detective

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We checked out the exercise room, sauna and steam room and scared two nude guys wrapped around each other in a serpentine embrace, checked out the restaurant but it was closed, went to the bar again, but no Alice.

“Do you have a woman registered by the name of Alice Wonderland?” I asked the attendant at the front desk, who maintained a plastic smile on his youthful face.

“Alice Wonderland,” he said as he read the computer screen. “No, I’m sorry we don’t.”

“How about just Alice?”

He widened the smile. “I’m sorry but I can’t search on just a first name, we file by last name.”

“Too bad,” I said.

Jake and I stepped aside to consider our options.

“Of course,” I said, “if she were staying, she may not be registered in her real name. Maybe Alice Wonderland isn’t her real name. She may have a hundred aliases.”

Jake yawned. “How about we get some rest and resume our search in the morning?” He checked his watch. “I guess that will be in just a few more hours.”

I looked at him. “You’re right. I’m dog-tired myself. This has been too exciting a day.”

“We’ll go to my room and do nothing but sleep. I can look after you better that way.”

“I think we should check on Opal. We should probably camp out in her room for the duration of this night.”

“She’s been in bed for hours.”

“I know, but I’d feel better if we checked to make sure she’s okay.”

Jake led me by the hand to the elevator.

“Has anyone seen Cody?” I asked as the elevator zipped up to Opal’s floor.

“Not a sign. Vanished.”

We got lost in the endless morass of look-a-like hotel doors and corridors, had to backtrack several times, but finally found the right room number. Jake knocked softly at the door, and we waited.

“Better rap louder. She might be in a deep sleep,” I said.

Jake rapped, then pounded, but still no answer.

“Do you have her room key?”

Jake shook his head. “I brought her to the room, and she said she’d be fine. I never thought to ask for an extra key for her.”

“How are you at breaking into a room?”

“Through these doors? They make them practically burglar proof now.”

“I heard you can open them with a credit card.” I rummaged in my purse and pulled out one. “Let’s see if we can get it open.”

“Wait, what if we have the wrong room.”

“You mean you aren’t sure this is the right one?”

“Maybe we should check with the front desk to make sure. Remember this room number.”

“501,” I said, writing it down on my hand for safekeeping.

Down we went to the front desk.

A new receptionist was on, a young woman with piercings and maroon hair. She matched the décor. Her smile revealed two steel tipped teeth. Our standard of beauty these days escaped me.

“We’re looking for our friend, Opal Crawford, who should be in room 501. Could you confirm that number for us? We’ve come to pick her up.”

“Certainly. One minute.” She ran Opal’s name through the computer. “Yes, that is correct, she is in room 501. You can call her on the house phone.”

Jake followed me to the house phone set in a lighted alcove, and I dialed the number. No answer. The phone rang and rang. I shook my head at Jake and hung up.

“She isn’t answering. I’m worried.”

Jake chewed his cheek. “I know I put her in that room. I carried in her bag myself.”

I tried the number again. No luck.

“I vote for breaking in,” I said. “She may be having a stroke or something. She is in her eighties, you know, and this has been a stressful week for her.”

“Let’s try the credit card thing.”

Back we went and I pulled out the card again. “I’ll take the first pass.”

“Let’s knock again.” Jake pounded away.

No answer.

“Have you ever done this before?” Jake asked.

“Of course not. I’ve never associated with people like you and your friends before.”

I knelt before the door and slipped the card between the frame and the door latch. We worked every position, being as quiet as possible, afraid we’d wake someone up.

“What if someone kidnapped her,” I said, voicing my worst fears.

“How would they get in, if we can’t? Let’s go to my room and re-group. I’ll call the boys. Maybe they have Opal with them for some reason. We can’t keep banging and trying to break in without someone calling security.”

In the quiet of his room, he dialed one of the boys cell phone number.

“Hey, give me a call. We want to know if Opal is with you.” He closed the connection. “He’s not picking up. It went to his answering machine. “I’ll try the other guy.” He listened. “Call me.” He closed the connection again and shook his head.

“No luck. And Hudson has no phone.”

He dialed their room. “No answer. I’m going to their room and see if I can rouse them. They rented a car. I can check the parking lot to see if the car is back but who knows where they may have parked. You wait here.”

“I’m coming with you.”

“No, if Opal or any of the guys show up, someone has to be here. Fiona, promise me you’ll stay here. This is getting weird, and now you have me worried.”

“All right. But call me with reports, will you?”

I stretched out on the bed, thinking to rest my tired eyes for a minute. I dozed off and snapped awake to a tap at the door. I struggled up, disoriented from the new venue and lack of sleep. Jake had the key, so why would he be tapping? Maybe it was Opal or Hudson or the boys. I checked the burglar hole but saw no one. I cracked the door.

A small woman in black with huge dark glasses, red lips and violet headscarf stood in the hall.

“Hello, Fiona, may I come in?”

“Who are you?” I said through the crack in the door.

She removed the glasses and pulled off the scarf.

“I’m Alice. I understand that you are looking for me.”

“Holy Smokes. How did you know?”

“Are you going to keep me standing in the hall?”

“Can we meet in the restaurant in about fifteen minutes?”

“We could but it’s closed and I have only a few minutes. If you don’t want to see me, I’ll be on my way.”

“No, wait, come in. Yes, I want to talk to you.”

She pushed past me and walked to the room phone. “I’m calling room service. I could use a latte. You want anything?”

“Sure,” I said, wanting to be agreeable. “Same for me. Won’t you have a seat?”

After ordering, Alice sat at the little table for two and indicated I should do the same. I eased into the seat and sat on the edge. I had trouble thinking of what to say now that the real Alice sat across from me. She checked her appearance in a hand mirror she pulled from an expensive leather purse and pushed her hair around a little.

She looked at me. “Well?”

I launched in. “How do you know I was looking for you?”

“A little bird.”

“And here you are.”

She smiled. She really did look like Liz Taylor in her younger days. Alice may have been about forty, no wrinkles, dark violet eyes, black hair with not a hint of red in it. Expensive short haircut. Perfect teeth. Perfectly applied make up, lots of it.

She checked her watch. “I don’t have much time. I wanted to meet you, too.”

That was intriguing. “What do you want with me?”

She smiled again. “I don’t know how much you’ve figured out about Albert Lodge’s demise.”

“I have more questions than I have answers.”

“Yes. I assume you wanted to find me because my name came up on the radar.”

I nodded.

“Whatever it is you know about me, it doesn’t matter. I’ve found out a lot about you since you appeared on my radar screen. Frankly, I don’t know what to do with you outside of warning you to back out of your meddling and take a flight to Sydney tonight.”