December 19 – 10:40 PM
Diamond Hotel.
“I promise I’ll be really quick. Just a look around and I’ll be gone out of your hair. Faster than you can say BAZINGA!”
Detective Merlin jumped into a single hotel room. Number 777.
No guards, no officers, not even forensic unit. Alone. Well, not entirely alone. He was in the company of a staff employee. An assistant manager on duty who escorted him. Merlin would wave him off a good bye, to get him back to his duties outside.
The moment Merlin was out of sight and mind he would leap over to a corner. He took a moment to scan the room, examining every square inch within his vision. He quickly drew up a mental map in his head, trying to play the possible events that lead to the victim’s murder. Every variation he would edit or adjust based on probability, realism, and the evidence he had at hand.
No matter how hard he looked the hotel was well made. Clean, organized, new bed sheets, complimentary towels perfectly folded, even the glass top coffee table was set up with a room service menu and TV programming chart.
A brand new ashtray to replace the murder weapon.
Before Merlin could reach a plausible conclusion--
“Detective Merlin? Is something wrong?”
“Ah. Mr. Hoffman. Always a pleasant surprise to see you. You’re working the night shift again?”
Hotel Manager Karl Hoffman stepped into room 777. In tow was his assistant, who had kept his head down and sweating. The hotel manager sighed before he turned to his assistant with a firm tone. “What is going on here?”
The assistant tried to explain, fumbling on his words. Seeing him caught in a bad position, Merlin popped off from the corner of the room to wave his hands, smiling like a goofy dog.
“My bad, my bad. I coerced him with my badge. I hit a dead end in the investigation, I really wanted to check the crime scene one more time before I can sleep at night.”
“You should have contacted me ahead of time detective.” Karl Hoffman would nod in response. “This room is being prepared for a special guest who will arrive tomorrow. I ask that you do not disturb the room, or else it would give us problems.”
“Oh no panic, no problem! I didn’t touch anything, not even the lights of cou—” The moment Merlin said those words, the automated sensors mistook his phrase ‘lights off’ and turned the room dark. The detective gave a nervous laugh before the hotel manager recited the command to turn them back on. “Sorry about that. Just doing my due diligence, you know?”
Karl Hoffman didn’t answer. Instead he said “Back to your station” to his assistant, who quickly darted out of the room, not bothering to close the hotel door behind him. Karl Hoffman then turned his attention back to the detective with a polite tone. “Detective, the hotel and staff are always ready to be of assistance to officer of the law. However, I hope you would consider we have a busy schedule, especially during the seasonal rush. As much as I wish to help you in your investigation, these interruptions may cost the hotel more than financial losses.”
“Ooooooh. I didn’t want to be a thorn in your side. I thought I drop by, take a quick peek, and head back out. Didn’t want to drag you away from your duties, knowing you’re so busy and all.” Merlin clapped his hands to rub his palms together, trying to light up the atmosphere. So far it wasn’t effective, Karl Hoffman still had a polite frown on his face. “I simply wanted to look for something.”
“What would that be?”
“The murderer.”
An eyebrow was raised.
“...Pfffff.” Merlin slapped at his thigh with a laugh. “Joke, joke. We have Tessa Roads all locked up, she ain’t going anywhere. It’s just that, it’s my inspector. It’s not often he could be on headlines after a swift arrest, doing justice to the community. He wanted me to make ABSOLUTELY sure there aren’t any loose ends. We didn’t want to give the suspect any wiggle room for an appeal or bail, right?”
“Do you have a search warrant?”
“...Search Warrant...yeah uuuh.” Merlin shuffled his hands into his pockets, searching. Other than spilling convenience store napkins and some take out straws, nothing much. “...Forgor.”
“Detective. I appreciate your dedication to seeking justice. Please remember, the hotel are very strict when it comes to maintaining a safe environment for our patrons. I hope this will be the last time, or else I would have no choice but to bring this up to my superiors and they will file a complaint against your superiors.”
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
“Wh-whoa, hey now. N-no need to go that far. Hahaha—T-think about my pay cheque!”
“If there is nothing else—”
“Nope. I’m done. Donzo Gonzalez. I’m out of your hair in one, two—”
Merlin BOLTED out of the hotel room, the sound of his feet bounding down the halls.
And hollered “—FIVE!”
image [https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/e5d49d01-e685-46aa-8d92-b07d57dc33fb/didaiyy-7cc70b06-faf9-4771-a24f-b7127efe7b76.png/v1/fill/w_1280,h_207/moon_tavern_page_break_by_suimaifiles_didaiyy-fullview.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7ImhlaWdodCI6Ijw9MjA3IiwicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvZTVkNDlkMDEtZTY4NS00NmFhLThkOTItYjA3ZDU3ZGMzM2ZiXC9kaWRhaXl5LTdjYzcwYjA2LWZhZjktNDc3MS1hMjRmLWI3MTI3ZWZlN2I3Ni5wbmciLCJ3aWR0aCI6Ijw9MTI4MCJ9XV0sImF1ZCI6WyJ1cm46c2VydmljZTppbWFnZS5vcGVyYXRpb25zIl19.V__LDKPGxPLEElJXKGgxKvmlMcRIG9Nv3hgCGY_VlEE]
Karl Hoffman was tired. And it wasn’t from work.
Taking the elevator back to the ground lobby, he borrowed a moment to pull off his glasses and rub at his nose bridge. It had only been a few hours since he started his shift started, yet he felt like wanting to go home and lay in bed. He took this chance to enjoy the peace on the ride down, closing his eyes and mind to just block out the world for a few minutes to regain his senses.
It was only when he saw the flashing elevator numbers reaching Lobby, did he start to put his glasses on to compose himself. Break was over, time to work like a bee. The elevator doors opened for him to exit. He adjusted his cuffs and made sure his collar was set straight.
He was ready to return to his du--
“Thank you for your patronage!” He heard a desk clerk speak up at the front counter, “This is the key to your hotel room, Mr. Merlin.”
“The pleasure is all mine. Now, before I depart for the night – might I know your name my dear?”
Karl Hoffman’s body stiffen like stone. He rubbed at his tired eyes to make sure he wasn’t dreaming or hallucinating. After setting his glasses back on, he clicked his tongue. So unprofessional. “Detective Merlin? What are you still doing here?”
“Huh?” Merlin would turn from the nice clerk lady to see the hotel manager marching right up. After a blink and eyeing his hotel key card, he remembered why he was here. “Oh. Mr. Hoffman, funny seeing you again so soooooon!”
Karl Hoffman approached the desk. Immediately he eyed the number on the keycard.
777
“Detective, explain yourself.”
“Oh you mean this?” Merlin wagged the key card to room 777. “Well I just got off the phone with Inspector Saul to give my report. Told me everything was done and will be pushing charges against Tessa Roads first thing in the morning. Essentially, I am off duty. However, my apartment is literally on the other side of the city. By the time I get there, I have to brush my teeth and take the metro back to work – no time for a wink of sleep or even a shower, can you imagine? Hahahaha!”
The detective would lean his back against the counter, elbows on the table. Every now and then he would use his eyes to flirt with the lady at the front counter (who couldn’t stop smiling at the idiot). “So I was like – I’m at a hotel, why not!?”
Karl Hoffman eyed the keycard then the detective. “Specifically Room 777?”
“About thaaaat.” Merlin tapped the counter and gestured a nod towards the counter. “Your adorable staff here—” He waves at the cute lady “—Told me most of the rooms were fully booked. Tourist season, like you said. But by some stroke of luck she said Room 777 was vacant in the system so she booked me in. Presidential Suite! It’ll kill my wallet but hey: a man’s gotta pamper himself every now and then right?”
“...”
“...Ooooh right. Mr. Hoffman, you said Room 777 was prepared for a special guest right? Did you forget to log it in the system?”
The lady at the front counter suddenly froze over. She eyed the detective and her manager, not sure what to do. Caught in between a rock and a hard place. Did she just sign her death warrant!?
Karl Hoffman took in a deep breath, before he turned to the staff. “How long will he be staying for?”
Merlin spoke up on behalf of the lady at the front counter. “One night, check out at 6:30 AM as I got to rush to work. If I stay one more night, and I’ll go bankrupt, hahahaah! There’s no issue right?”
“...No, no sir. We’ll mark down Room 777 in need of urgent house keeping and rapid turnover before the client arrives. We will handle it.”
Karl Hoffman merely gave the clerk lady a nod and she frantically processed that as quick as she could – keeping her head down from the rest of the conversation.
Merlin felt bad for her, she was really nice and cute he thought. So he asked the hotel manager, “Look. If, tonight is a bad time...you guys got a refund policy?”
“You paid for your room, sir. You have every right to indulge in the services provided by the hotel. You are our guest for the night.”
“Pheeeew! Now that you say that, I can really sleep good tonight! For a second I thought I loss big time at the slots!” Merlin laughed. Karl Hoffman did not. When the conversation ended in dead air “Ooookaaaay. Well I’ll be heading to my room!”
“This way Detective.”
“Oh! Why thank you my dear manager. Don’t worry, I promise to give your hotel a good review on AirBnB, Trivago, and Yelp!”
“...We do not do AirBnB, sir.”