Heartbreak Hotel: Concubine

Kazoku

December 30th

11:00 am

The first night I had actually slept through. I got up when I was ready to roll my tired body out of bed, hit the shower and then dressed in my worn clothes. I didn't know where my search would exactly start, or when the clue will show up, but I knew we would take the night of the second murder as the beginning.

While I was dressing and fixing up the bed, Elle came to inform me that she would be accompanying me while I study the documents and papers the Queen has left. That was the moment I realized I kept calling that woman by her 'given' nickname and that I had no idea what her actual name was. I felt stupid asking Elle in that moment, but I certainly need to find out sooner or later.

I left my chambers at 11 o'clock. The study we would be occupying was at the end of the other hallway on the second floor. It was kind of tucked in between the twists and turns, rarely anybody went there, so it was free for use.
I made my way towards the spot, glancing at passing workers who seemed more hungover than awake. Couldn't blame them. Their job required full time availability, but I supposed there were a couple of hours in between when they could take their wanted break.

Taking a turn to the left, I found myself in a small hallway with dimmed purple lights that shone above a door of same color. It was slightly ajar, so I took no time in pushing it open. It revealed a small office, with bunch of stocked cases and shelfs, one big table in the middle and several chairs around. The space was relatively cramped, but the atmosphere inside it was completely different than in the rest of the hotel.

It felt warm, normal and it gave me no nervous, ticking feeling like the building did. I looked around a bit more, noticing the prepared files that were stacked on top of the workspace.

Flopping into the chair at the other side of the desk, I let myself sink into the comfortable seat. There's a lot to do and a lot of choices to start from. Three stacks of files and I had no idea from which side to start. I let my intuition do the work.
I moved the files to the side and picked the stack on the left. Opening the folder on top, I sat back and began reading through the papers..

Minutes ticked by, my eyes raking over the words written in ink, jumping from page to page until the clock hit one hour. The first pile was finished and I started the second, going in the order I had chosen.
Nothing caught my eye and no suspicios information traveled through my brain as I read through the lines. Everything was just...Perfect.

I was genuinely amazed at the amount of information each folder had about a customer. I even read some two times just to confirm that nothing actually fitted what I was searching for.

A knock on the ruby door caught my attention and I looked up with a raised eyebrow. My legs were sprawled on top of the table as I rolled down in the chair and made myself comfortable in that position. Elle, who was the intruder, chuckled at the sight and place another box of files on the table.

"I think that's it for now. Customer information is strictly confidential, but for this Madame decided to give you everything we had."

I scoffed, reaching out and running my fingers across the edges of thick fascicles.

"You mean the thousand customers you have? Not even a detective woul remember what they read in these files."

"But you will."

My eyes rose instantly at her argument. She had a content smile on her face, a mischievous glint sparkling in her eyes.

"I will."

I muttered a bit curtly. She was right about that, I couldn't argue. I would remember everything, my memory is very deficit, latching onto even the most absurd things and stacking the memories into drawers around my brain. It was the only good gift I had gotten from my parents. The only.

Elle gave me a soft, apologetic smile, as if I was being forced to memorize all the crap that was written in these papers.

"If you need me to help you with anything..."

She paused, unsure whether she should continue on or not. That's when an idea clicked in my mind: I genuinely had no knowledge of this place or its owner. Perhaps, if I got to know it better, I would be able to divide the important info from less important ones.

"Actually...Why don't you sit down. Close the door first."

She blinked in surprise, before reluctantly doing as I've requested. Once she was seated, I let the fascicle flop on the table and I prepared the first question.

"Tell me about this place."

Elle furrowed her brows, not understanding the question, or rather the demand. I repeated, adding that I want to know more about this brothel and its origin. She then hummed and shifted in her seat.

"Well, I haven't been around for long. Maybe two years. But from what I know this hotel was built on the grounds of some old brothel. The owner was from Japan and the girls that worked here were called Oiran, like the ancient prostitutes in Japan."

I lowered my legs from the table and bent forward, focused on listening to the story.

"There isn't  much to say about the past owner or the ruins of his brothel. From what I heard, the owner died in his office and later the whole place was shut down as his successor didn't want to continue the business. That's when Madame came. "

She paused for a moment, pursing her lips in thought.

"She rebuilt it and opened it once it was safe for anybody to enter. She recruited the best at first, but when her place got popular and more people came requesting for service she had to figure something out. Being short on staff didn't help."

I tilted my head, guessing in my mind what she would say. None of the thoughts matched what she actually told.

"She began accepting those who...Were lost. Homeless, abandoned, depressed, just name it and you'll see she accepted any kinds of people. We're divided into sections so that people with specific preferences could find affordable, right partners. The rankings are something different though..For example, Isaac is an exclusive prostitute; while Madame is the head and an untouchable, beneath her are those called the Oiran, who are highest in ranking out of us all. They get to choose their customers, or if necessary reject them. She put the name out of respect for the previous owner."

Sections, rankings, divisions, the whole place was built on a solid base and a strong system that covered all the necessary aspects. People who came here chose their jobs wisely. They didn't have to be prostitutes necessarily.
Angela, for one, was just a hostess; she prepared the clients, directed them rightly, but she did not sleep or offer her body to them.

"We are a family...Some of us don't have parents, some were abused, some damaged physically and mentally, others traumatized...Some of us are normal and just like sex. But we're still one big family and this is our safe place."

One big happy, kinky family.
Who lost two members to a crazy serial killer.

•••••

I'm sooo exhausted, my eyes are closing😪😪

I know that this chapter is boring, but we need to set a proper base right?

VOTE, COMMENT AND SHARE!!

Till next time my babies.

-E.J