Andreas leaned forward, watching her through the door.
She wrenched on the bath tap, which whined. She yelled over it, “She wouldn’t have heard much over this. It quiets down after a few minutes, once the pipes warm up. She’d wait for the water to warm before she closed the drain. Hedy liked a scalding bath and knew it took a while. She must have died before it did. The tub was damp but empty, so someone stopped the water running.”
She squeaked the tap closed, then went to the sink and traced her finger around the basin. “She brushed her teeth. Perhaps to eliminate the unpleasant taste of cyanide?”
“Could be.”
“Ha, you admit it was cyanide! I knew it,” she said.
“And you admit to knowing that. But your enthusiasm says it’s for honest reasons.”
“An educated guess.”
“Well, you’re right. The examiner said brushing her teeth might have moved it into her system faster. Micro-abrasions,” he said.
“She never called for help. There were no calls from Room 5. At least, none before I disconnected the system.”
“Correct. Time of death preceded that, around two fifteen. There were no fingerprints from her on the phone.”
So there was nothing Sterling could have done to save her. The realization failed to heal the guilt clawing her insides. Before the emotion had a chance to surface, she continued. “Let’s assume David dies first. He quietly slips away. If the water’s on, she didn’t hear a thing. But she took a while in here, like she was stalling.”
“Waiting for him to die?”
Hedy was a lot of things. But a murderer? She’d be lying if she said it was impossible.
She leaned against the bedroom wall, between two serpent-shaped sconces, red bulbs set in their fanged jaws.
“I’ve said enough. Tell me about the security guard,” she said.
“Sterling, there are limits to what I can tell civilians.”
“Hey, we made a deal. Honestly, after everything I’ve done, I’m owed more than a—”
“Heast oida. Listenfor a second.”
She sat across from him. Given the cramped space, their knees touched.
To slow her heart, she counted the fine lines trailing down his cheek, formed by a life spent suppressing any symptom of joy.
“Whatcanyou share?” she said.
“I can confirm phone calls to the Orient were made using an internet system that anonymized their location. But they didn’t come from anywhere near the Hotel.”
“Are you sure? Did you check the little cell phone tower triangles or whatever?” she said, flourishing circles in the air.
He bit back a laugh. “I’m sure. Did the caller actually say anything to prove he saw you?”
“Oh… I guess not.”
“It’s a common trick. Fraudsters claim they’re watching someone through their laptop camera and then demand Bitcoin as ransom for the footage. It’s a classic scam, usually aimed at elderly people who don’t understand modern technology.”
“Hey, I understand technology.”
“Yeah? What’s Bitcoin?” he said.
“A fetish shared by loud men who are as lousy in conversation as they are in bed.”
He laughed. “Fair. So. I spoke to the consulate security guard—”
