You’ve Been Warned

Instead, the hallway’s empty. I feel like one of those characters in a scary movie, with the audience shouting, “Get out of there, Kristin. Run! Get away!”

I won’t do that. I worry that I’ve missed Penley or that she’s not even on this floor.

Then comes a woman’s laugh from a few rooms down. Or is it a cackle? Either way, I know it instantly. It’s the Pencil.

I get close and listen, my ear maybe an inch from the door. When they’re not laughing, they’re talking, and though I can’t quite make out the conversation, I recognize the other voice in the room. It’s him.

Stephen.

I listen for a minute to their frolicking. They almost sound like kids in there, albeit very naughty ones. Is this really the woman who has me alphabetize her cans of soup?

I feel for my camera again. No problem this time – it’s there. At the ready.

I spot the door to the stairwell at the end of the hallway. There’s a small cut-out window at eye level. Looks like a perfect place to set up shop.

I figure if Penley and Stephen arrive separately, they probably leave separately. Not that it really makes a difference. Solo shots of them slinking out of the same hotel room will more than do the trick. Michael will be able to fill in the blanks.

I back away from the door, the mix of their giggling and God-knows-what now like nails on a blackboard to me. If I’m going to commit to a stakeout, I can only hope that Stephen isn’t into tantric sex, like Sting. I’ll be waiting forever!

I start walking toward the stairwell. Halfway there, I stop as if I’ve hit a wall. The feeling of dread rushes over me again as I turn and face a room on the opposite side of the hallway. I feel dizzy; I’m shivering.

All because of what I hear.

Chapter 81

IT’S THE MUSIC!

This time it’s not between my ears, it’s behind the door. The same song that accompanies the dream -about this hotel! – is coming from inside this other room. It must be on the radio. How convenient. Or how sadistic of someone. But who?

I lean in and listen, my ears straining. It’s faint, and I still can’t make out the damn lyrics. The name of the song remains stuck on the tip of my tongue.

Not for long, though.

I knock softly on the door. I hate to bother you, folks, but it’s time to play Name That Tune!

No one answers.

So I knock a little louder.

C’mon, answer already!

Are you in the shower?

Asleep? With the radio on? I guess it could happen.

I drop to my knees, peering in at what little I can see beneath the door. It’s definitely dark in there.

This is so frustrating! Whatever it takes, I need to get into that room right now.

I stand and begin banging furiously, my fist bruising right before my eyes. If no one’s in there, I’ll knock down the damn door myself!

I hear a lock snapping open.

Behind me!

It’s Penley and Stephen’s room.

RUN!

I sprint for all I’m worth toward the stairwell. From behind me, I can hear the door opening and Stephen’s voice echoing in the hallway.

“I don’t know; I’ll check,” he’s saying to Penley. “I heard it too. I’m checking. ”

Stupid, stupid, stupid! I was too loud!

I reach the stairwell entrance, frantically pushing through the door. Did he see me? Would he recognize me from behind? Or from the front, for that matter?

I’m about to race down the stairs when my gut steers me in the opposite direction. Up! Go up!

Dashing up the steps, I reach the landing halfway to the next floor and throw myself against the cold concrete wall, out of view, I hope. I hold my breath, listening for Stephen.

Sure enough, he was right behind me. He’s ru

I tiptoe to the railing and steal a quick glance. A couple of flights below, I can see the top of Stephen’s head. Also on display are his bare shoulders. He’s wearing nothing but a towel.

He continues downward, probably thinking I’m headed for the lobby.

That’s when I hear it. The voice I love to hate.

“Honey?” Penley calls out. “Where are you?”

On a dime, he stops. Penley must have him wrapped around her bony little finger.

“I’m down here,” he calls back.

“Who was making the noise in the hall?” she asks.

“That’s what I’m trying to find out.”

“Oh, I see. So you’d rather run around the hotel half naked than have sex with me? Okay. Fine.”

It’s classic Penley. And before you can say “horndog,” Stephen’s racing back up the stairs to her.

It’s a miracle, all right.

Praise the Pencil!

Chapter 82

“YOU’REWHERE? ” he asks.

“Outside the Fálcon Hotel,” I answer. “Where you need to be right away. Please come… Yes, I want you to drop everything.”

I quickly explain why.

“I’ll be right there,” Michael tells me. “Don’t move.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

I don’t. I remain perched on a stool behind the window of a Starbucks across the street. There’s a perfect view of the Fálcon’s entrance, the red awning eclipsed only by the occasional bus or delivery truck passing by. After Stephen chased me into that stairwell, I wasn’t exactly in the mood to stick around inside. Plus, there’s the matter of my history with the hotel. Poor little Kristin’s first days in New York. A horror story in itself. But definitely one for another time.

Anyway, a picture might be worth a thousand words, but having Michael see Penley’s affair in the flesh -as it were – speaks for itself.

Now he has to get here before they leave. Which means I change my mind about one thing: I hope Stephendoes have sex like Sting… on one of his best days too.

Twenty minutes later, Michael storms through the door of Starbucks. All at once, the loitering latte drinkers glance up from their laptops.

“What the hell are you looking at?” says Michael’s expression. “Go back to writing your stupid spec screenplays that will never get made!”

He spots me and hurries over. “They still in there?” he asks, nodding at the hotel.

“Yes, thankfully,” I answer.

He frowns, and I get it immediately. Thankfully really isn’t the right word. As much as he wants to catch Penley red-handed, I have to remember this isn’t something he relishes.

In fact, he seems completely on edge and on the verge of going over the top, which is something I don’t want to experience.

That look of doubting me, of thinking that I’m “Crazy Kristin,” is entirely gone from his eyes, though. He knows I’m not mistaken or making it up. This is real.

He asks me to tell him everything again, from my first steps following Penley to when I called his office. “Give me every detail, Kris,” he says. And I do. Right down to their room number.

Of course, there is one thing I leave out, and that’s the other room and the music. Was there really no one in there? Was there even music playing?

Michael pulls back a sleeve to reveal his Rolex. “How long has it been?”

“About an hour,” I say, watching him tap his loafer impatiently. “Just so you know, they’ll probably come out separately. That’s how they arrived.”

He bristles. “She’s walking out of a hotel, for Christ’s sake. At eleven in the morning. Alone or not, what more do I need to see?”

He sees it anyway, the whole sloppy enchilada.

To my utter disbelief, Penley and Stephen emerge together seconds later. How brazen. How stupid. How very Penley.

And how enraged Michael becomes.

I’m watching him watch them, his face reddening, his nostrils flaring. Maybe a picture would’ve been better. I’m afraid he might explode right here in the coffee shop.

Then it gets even worse.

Penley and Stephen engage in one hot and heavy, no doubt about it kiss. It’s the money shot, and while I no longer need to capture it on film, I do anyway. The photographer’s instinct takes over. Don’t think, just shoot.