Chapter 11 - The Parking Lot After Midnight
The ballroom was empty when I finally got back to the staff locker room. It was past midnight. The chandeliers were still on but dimmed, and housekeeping had already started stacking chairs in the hall outside. My feet hurt in my flat shoes and my hands wouldn't stop shaking.
I pulled my key from my apron pocket and unlocked my locker. It was wrong before I even touched anything. My uniform sweater had been folded on the top shelf when I left it. Now it was pushed to one side. My street bag was unzipped. The small white envelope with my tips from the cocktail hour — forty-seven dollars I'd counted at break and tucked under my sweater — was gone.
I stood there staring at it. The envelope wasn't much, but I'd put it there myself. Someone had gone through my things while I was upstairs with the police. It wasn't random. The girl next to me had left a twenty on her shelf and it was still there.
I zipped my bag closed slowly. My breathing got shallow. I took off my apron, folded it, and put it on the shelf like I was supposed to, even though my hands were trembling. I changed into my cardigan and jeans. I kept looking at the hallway door, listening for footsteps.
Victor was waiting in the doorway. He hadn't changed. His suit jacket was still off, his black shirt sleeves pushed up once. Dmitri stood a step behind him, holding my coat. I hadn't realized I'd left it hanging there.
"Your locker?" Victor asked.
I nodded. "Someone went through it. My tips are gone."
He didn't look surprised. He stepped inside just enough to see the open locker. His jaw tightened once.
"Did you have anything else in there," he asked. "ID, keys."
"Just the money," I said. "And my bus pass. That's still here."
Dmitri handed me my coat. I took it but didn't put it on.
Victor watched me for a second. "Dmitri will drive you home tonight. He'll park outside your building until morning."
I shook my head right away. "No. I don't need that."
"It's not a request to discuss your schedule," he said, quiet. "Someone searched your locker while you were a witness. That's not housekeeping."
"I can take the bus," I said. "I'll be fine once I'm home. I just want to go home."
"The bus at twelve thirty," he said. "Then a walk to your apartment."
He wasn't raising his voice. He was just laying it out, and that made it worse because he was right. My apartment was three blocks from the bus stop on a street with one streetlight out.
"I don't want someone watching my door all night," I said. My voice was thinner than I wanted it to be. "I live alone. People will notice. My landlord will ask."
"Then just the ride," Victor said. "Dmitri drives you to your door. No watch. You lock up. You decide tomorrow."
I looked at Dmitri. He gave a small nod, not smiling, just acknowledging. That helped a little.
"Just the ride," I said finally. "That's it. No one stays."
Victor nodded once. "Just the ride."
We went out through the service hallway to the staff parking lot in back. The air hit cold after the hot locker room. It smelled like dumpsters and rain on asphalt. The lot was half empty, just a few staff cars and Dmitri's black SUV idling near the back fence, exhaust puffing white.
I had my bag against my chest, coat over my arm. The police cruiser that had taken the blazer guest's statement was still parked near the kitchen entrance, lights off. Two officers stood by the back door talking to the night manager.
Then I saw the other car.
Across the lot, near the street exit, a dark sedan sat with its parking lights on. The windows were tinted but I could see a guy in the passenger seat, looking our way. He had his phone up. When he saw us come out, he lowered it. I didn't know his name, but I'd seen him earlier that night standing next to the blazer guest at the bar, same build, same short haircut.
My stomach dropped.
"Victor," I whispered.
He followed my look. Dmitri did too, his hand moving slightly toward his jacket.
At that exact moment, the kitchen door opened and the officers brought the blazer guest out in handcuffs. He wasn't resisting, just walking with his head down. They put him in the back of the cruiser. The cruiser's brake lights came on.
The sedan's lights came on too. It didn't move right away. The guy in the passenger seat kept watching. When the cruiser pulled out onto the street and turned left, the sedan pulled out right after it, keeping a car length back, and followed it toward the highway.
It wasn't subtle. It wanted us to see it.
Dmitri opened the SUV's passenger door for me. "We go now," he said quietly.
I looked at Victor. He was watching the street where both cars had disappeared. His tattooed hand flexed once at his side.
"You're sure you want just the ride?" he asked me, low enough that only I heard.
I swallowed. "For tonight. Just the ride."
He held my coat while I put it on. "Text Dmitri when you're inside and locked. If anything feels off tomorrow, you call."
May you like
I nodded. I got into the SUV. The seat was warm from the heater. Dmitri closed my door, walked around, and got in the driver's side. Victor stayed on the asphalt, hands in his pockets, watching the lot entrance like he expected that sedan to circle back.
As Dmitri backed out, I looked through the window at Victor getting smaller in the rearview, standing alone under the yellow staff lot light. I had my bag tight on my lap. My locker key pressed into my palm where I'd made a fist. I knew going home wouldn't feel like being safe anymore, and I didn't have a plan yet for what I'd do in the morning.
