FROST- Jotun Chronicles #1

The Fake Detective

The hotel room was delightful compared to the last one I’d stayed in. When I walked in I let out a breath of delighted relief. It was a wide, spacious room with a big screen TV and shiny hardwood floors. I poked my head into the bathroom, thrilled to discover it had beautiful marble floors  and a soaker tub, “Oh my gosh,” I had to stifle a delighted little giggle, thinking about relaxing in a hot bath. Just the thought if it made me realize how tense my entire body was. Every muscle ached from the constant stress. I promised myself a long relaxing soak, and walked back into the bedroom.

     There was a living room as well, with a little fireplace with one of those paper wrapped logs on one side. A grin stole across my face. That’s what I would do tonight. I would have a hot cup of tea beside a crackling fire, and then a nice long bath. Then the next morning I’d go see Erik, and he’d answer all of my questions. I sighed. Maybe I could let myself relax for a bit.

            All the same, I still walked over to the front door and clicked the lock into place, then checked all the windows. Yup, everything was locked up tight. I was safe, and tonight would be better then last night. The bed wouldn’t be like a mattress-shaped rock, for one thing.

I walked over and examined it. The bed was queen sized, with a soft, white comforter and fluffy clean pillows. I flopped onto the mattress on my back. It would be like sleeping on a marshmallow.  

I rolled over and grabbed the remote from the nightstand, flicking on the TV, happily losing myself in the ridiculous problems of fictional television characters. The electric kettle was rumbling on the counter, and I went over and poured myself a hot cup of earl grey, enjoying the liquid warmth on my tongue, and how it warmed the palms of my hands as I held the mug. There was something comforting about sitting there on the big fluffy bed, the comforter over my legs, the crackle of the fire and the noise of the television. It was almost like all the crazy shit that was going on had been put on pause for the night. Like I was totally safe in this moment. A cynical little voice told me not to get too comfortable, but I did my best to ignore it. Why shouldn’t I have a few minutes of relaxation? Why did I have to be constantly in fear of the next person coming after me?  It wasn’t fair.

I shifted slightly, and a bump in my jean pocked dug into my leg uncomfortably. I put down the mug and dug out my cell phone, frowning at it. I already had Charlotte’s number memorized and this thing had been nothing but trouble. Sure, the battery was out of it, but who knows. It was better to be safe then sorry. I flipped the covers off my legs and strode over to the far window, flicked the lock up and pushed the window open. The hinges were sticky, and I had to use two hands to push as hard as I could. My window looked down right into the street. There was a movie theatre across from it, and a set of lights directly in front of the hotel.

I looked down at the cars stopped at the light, at the tops of beat up cars and big trucks with all sorts of crap in the back, and an idea struck me suddenly. I slid the back off my phone as quickly as I could, shoved the battery in and turned it on. It took several seconds for the screen to light up, signaling that it was on again, and I anxiously looked at the light the entire time, hoping it wouldn’t turn green yet. Finally the little icons traveled across the screen. It was on.

There was a big white pickup truck right beneath me. The back was filled with sawdust. It couldn’t have been more perfect. I bit my lip, taking careful aim. Heart in my throat, I stuck my hand out, cell phone clutched in one sweaty palm. I dropped it, watched it plummet down flipping end over end, until it dropped into the sawdust pile without a sound.

“Yes!” I did an excited little dance there at the window. I’d done it!

The light changed, and the line of cars began to move slowly forward. I watched the white truck move down the street with my cell phone, triumph blazing through me, a smug grin on my face, “chase that, you bastards! I hope that truck goes all the way across Canada!”