Chapter 3 - The Hotel Lockbox
I whipped my hand out of my purse and pressed the trigger on the aerosol canister.
A thick cloud of pepper spray blasted directly into Detective Miller’s eyes.
He screamed in agony, dropping his weapon as he clawed desperately at his burning face.
I snatched the black ledger off the desk, unlocked the door, and ran out into the precinct hallway.
I kept my head down, blending in with a group of civilians leaving the building.
I knew I could not go home, and I could not trust the authorities.
There was only one place connected to this mystery that I had not yet explored.
I drove across the city to the luxury hotel from the receipts that had destroyed my marriage.
I walked into the opulent lobby, feeling entirely out of place in my dark funeral dress.
I approached the front desk and asked for the head concierge by name.
The elegant man appeared from a back office and recognized me instantly.
He offered his deepest condolences for my tragic loss.
I begged him to tell me what Troy had actually been doing in that permanently reserved room.
The concierge looked around nervously before motioning for me to follow him into a private security office.
He locked the door and explained that Troy never brought another woman to this hotel.
He told me Troy used the room to conduct extremely dangerous business meetings with unsavory individuals.
The concierge then walked over to a heavy wall safe and entered a complex code.
He pulled out a sleek, titanium briefcase and placed it on the desk in front of me.
He explained that Troy had left this box with strict instructions to give it to me if he ever died under suspicious circumstances.
I reached out to open the briefcase, but there were no latches or keyholes.
The only mechanism on the smooth metal surface was a glowing, red biometric thumbprint scanner.
I realized I needed Troy’s physical thumbprint to unlock whatever secret he had left behind.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from the main lobby outside the office.
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The concierge checked the security cameras and gasped in absolute horror.
A man in a dark suit was marching through the lobby, holding a suppressed pistol and pointing directly toward our door.
