Chapter 5: The Bolt Hole

Within one hour I had managed to pack most all of my stuff. I pulled my bags out into the living and threw myself onto the couch and let my gaze slide to the bookshelf. I quickly stood up and ran my fingers over the spines of the books. When I found the one I was looking for, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, I plucked it off of the shelf and tucked the worn book into my suitcase. "Mum!" I called. "I'm done!" A minute later she came out toting her own luggage.

"Good." She replied. "Put Dolly in her crate and get your jacket and boots on. We leave in 5 minutes." My mother walked back to her room for a minute. By the time she came back out I was in my coat, scarf and boots with Dolly and all of my things ready. My mother put on her jacket as well and we walked out of our apartment and into the elevator.

When we reached the street there was a cab waiting. The cabby got out, placed our bags save for Dolly in the trunk, and drove off without mum even telling him where to go. We drove all night, stopping for gas twice before we reached a small hotel at 5 am. The neon sign overhead read Butler Inn & Suites. The cab pulled in and the cabby got out, walking into the office. I looked at my mum, hoping for an answer but I only received a forced smile on top of her mask of composure. The cabby came out again and drove around to the back of the hotel. We got out and walked into the hotel with the cabby trailing behind us, carrying our bags.

I followed my mum to a room marked Staff Only, and was surprised to see her walk inside. I quickly followed, the cabby not far behind. When the Staff Only door was shut, my mother walked over to a book shelf and pushed it to the right, revealing an old door. She opened up the door and I followed her into the new room. Only for some reason, I felt as if I had been there before.

It was small with an old looking red couch seated in front of an ancient TV with rabbit ear antennae's on top. In the area behind the couch there was a whole wall lined with bookshelves and a rocking chair in the corner. Further in there were two wooden doors and an archway. Through the archway I could see a small stove and even without looking I knew that the door to the left of the archway would be the bathroom and the door to the right would be the bedroom. I looked up to my mother who was taking the bags from the Cabby.

"Thank you Grimmer." I heard her tell him as he shut the door behind him when he left. I heard the bookcase sliding against its hinges outside the door a part of me feeling that it should scare me at least a little, but for some reason it felt familiar.

"Mum?" I asked looking around again. "I've been here before." I told her looking at her.

She smiled the first real smile that I had seen since the night before. "Yes." She said "This is where we lived while your father found us an apartment."

I looked around again, trying to remember something- anything about my father but I could not. My mother pulled out a litter box from a bag I had not noticed before and walked into the bathroom. In a minute she came back out and told me "You can let Dolly out now" as she waked into the kitchen.

I opened Dolly's crate and took her out. However instead of letting her go I held on tightly to her soft form while I sat on the couch until I drifted off to sleep. I was barely awake as my mother carried me into the bedroom and laid me on the bed. "I love you forever." She whispered to me, holding me tighter than ever before.

"I love you too mummy." I said before I fell back to sleep.

When I awoke, I had completely forgotten where I was. I sat up quickly, confused by the room which I laid in. It wasn't really decorated. The walls were a greyish color and there was a book case over flowing with books to the left of the bed. On the right there was a large trunk, on top of which sat my pink suitcase and backpack. Suddenly it all came back to me. My suspension. Leaving my home. Driving all night. This funny yet familiar hiding place. I pushed the covers off of me and quietly walked out of the room.

I was surprised to not see my mother in the living room. I peeked quickly into the bathroom and the kitchen. When I did not see her in either of those rooms, I felt a little nervous, but I shoved the feeling down. The clock on the stove read 3 o'clock. Surely that meant in the afternoon, but how was I supposed to know for sure? There were no windows in this place. I walked into the kitchen to inspect a note that I had seen hung up on the fridge. It was from my mother. I picked it up and read the note aloud.

My dear Lexie,

I had to go out for a bit. Do not worry, I am sure that your father will be there soon. Please show your father this note when he arrives.

I love you forever,

Love mummy

I sat the note down and rummaged through the cupboards trying to find food. All of the boxes were covered with dust, so I kept looking. I opened the fridge but there wasn't any food inside. Finally in a drawer I found a candy bar. I knew that mummy would not be happy with my choice, but I really wanted that candy bar, and she wasn't here. I ripped it open, took a bite and walked back into the living room.

I sat down on the couch, found the remote and almost turned on the TV when I heard talking coming from outside the door. It wasn't my mum. It was two men. I listened closely, recognizing the voice of the Cabby. There was another man out there with him. For some reason his deep baritone voice sounded familiar too, but I couldn't place it. I needed to be able to hear better. I looked around and grabbed a water glass that was sitting on the end table by the couch. I picked it up, tossed the water on a fake tree that was in the corner and placed the glass to the door and my ear to the glass.

"What do you mean you didn't know she left?" I heard the semi-familiar voice ask. I heard a muffled reply belonging to the cabby and then "You were supposed to be guarding the door. Not sleeping. Idiot. No. Shut up. Let me think." I heard the voice come closer and then I heard nothing for a moment. I was just about to give up when I heard the bookcase sliding open. At the sudden noise, I dropped the cup, it shattering into a million pieces at my feet and then I heard the bookcase stop. Everything was very quiet for a moment and then I saw the door knob turn. I turned and ran back to the bedroom, glass cutting up my feet, and dove under the bed. A part of me felt ridiculous, like I could trust the voice, but the other part was scared-stiff and currently that part was winning. I listened as the door scraped over the glass and froze solid even though my feet like they were on fire with all of the cuts I'd received from the glass. The pain seared up my leg, and I was pretty sure that there were a few pieces of glass stuck in my foot.

I heard boots crunching on the glass and the door sliding back over it again. I heard the voice mumble something under his breath and then heard footsteps come towards the bedroom. I closed my eyes and held my breath, hoping that whoever it was would not find me. I relaxed a little as I heard the steps walk into the kitchen. I heard a slight rustle of paper and then a few cupboard doors open and close. Then the footsteps came back to the bedroom door again, and this time they entered.

I watched as black leather shoes walked around to the side of the bed. The shoes then turned into knees with a long wool coat folding onto the ground. Next long bony hands came onto the floor followed by the face of the hat detective.