Chapter Two
Lisa rested her elbow on the desk, clearly irritated.
"Mr. Clark," she said, trying not to show the desperation in her voice, "we've already booked room 32. I'm afraid you'll have to stay in another room."
"That's not the point," Mr. Clark said, looking dangerously angry, "I booked this room six months ago. You've already made a promise to our family. We need this room."
"I'm sorry, but I don't think you understand," Lisa said, not bothering to hide the annoyance in her voice, "when you booked this room, you should have listened when Ms. Johnson clearly said that you can only book a hotel for three months in advance. If you had been listening, which I know now that you weren't, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Do you understand now?" she looked hard into his eyes, which had the desired effect.
"Er, I-I guess I misheard Ms. Johnson," he said, looking scared.
"Alright," Lisa said, now smiling brightly. "Why don't I assign you to room 34? It has an amazing view, and I think you and your family will enjoy it."
"Al-alright," said Mr. Clark.
Lisa smiled and picked up the phone. "Ms. Johnson?" she said, trying to sound as professional as she could without laughing, "Please prepare room 34 for our new guests."
"They're still here? I thought you'd scared them away," said Audrey Johnson, sounding slightly disappointed.
"In my dreams," Lisa said. She put down the phone. "Please wait in the lobby, your room will be ready shortly.
Mr. Clark ushered his family to the corner of the lobby farthest from the clerk desk. Lisa smiled with satisfaction. She had been hoping that the Clark family would just run off to another hotel, but this was better. At least she was getting money.
Suddenly, the phone rang. Hoping that is wasn't another angry customer, she picked up the phone gingerly.
"Caraway Hotel, how may I help you?" she said, pulling out a pad of paper and a pencil to write down the latest complaint.
There was silence at the end of the line. "Hello?" Lisa said, more firmly this time.
"Check your inbox."
"Excuse me, what-?"
But the phone went dead. She looked at the phone in confusion. That was weird. She hung up the phone. Why do I need to check my email? She wondered in confusion. I checked it five minutes ago.
Figuring it might be a good idea to just check it, she headed to the computer. She entered her password for her email, and settled down to wait for it to load.
When it finished loading, she scanned her mail thoughtfully. Nothing there, except for the mail she had just checked a few minutes ago. She laughed at herself inwardly. Oh, Leese, you are so gullible.
Just as she was walking away, she heard a ding, which she knew was the signal for a new message. She walked to her desk. There, in her inbox, was a simple message. It was labeled "Read Me." Sitting down at the desk, she clicked on it.
"Meet me in the alley in Westwood Avenue at midnight tonight, or your family dies. No exceptions. I know exactly what you're doing, and when you do it. If you alert the police, I will know. J."
Ah, the plot thickens! Chapter three will be up soon. Enjoy!