‘Kate?’ I shout, running inside. She doesn’t answer. I rush into the living room but she’s not there. And neither is she in the kitchen. I pause, wondering if I imagined it. But I swear I heard a voice … ‘Kate?’ I shout again, running into her room.
A woman is on her knees tossing things into the suitcase. She has brown hair tied in a ponytail and hope blazes for an instant but then she turns around and it fizzles out. It isn’t Kate. It’s a stranger.
‘Who the hell are you?’ I shout, my heart pounding. ‘And what the hell are you doing?’
The woman who isn’t Kate rips earbuds out of her ears and scowls at me. ‘I’m packing up your things,’ she huffs.
‘What?’ I shout, crossing towards her and grabbing clothes out of her hands. Those are Kate’s things. ‘You can’t do that!’ I yell. ‘Stop it. How the hell did you even get in here?’
She stands up, hands on hips. She’s about thirty, taller and bigger than me, with muscly forearms and a solid frame, but I’m so angry that I raise my hands and am about to shove her away from Kate’s things when she says, ‘You were meant to be out of here by twelve o’clock. There are other guests arriving.’
‘Oh my God,’ I whisper. I step back from the confrontation, dropping my arms to my sides. ‘I’d forgotten.’
‘I’ve been calling.’
I spin around at the sound of a man’s voice. It’s Sebastian. He’s standing in the doorway to the bedroom, vibrating with anger. ‘You did not answer.’
‘I didn’t get a call,’ I explain.
‘I called the number on the booking,’ he huffs.
‘That’s Kate’s number. I didn’t make the booking. And she’s still missing. She doesn’t have her phone with her.’
‘That is not my problem,’ he says. ‘We have new guests arriving in two hours and Rita needs to clean and remake the beds.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I say. ‘I forgot we were meant to be leaving today. I’ve been at the police station filing a missing person’s report.’
I cast a glance around Kate’s room, half her clothes are still lying on the chair where I piled them yesterday and the other half have been dumped unceremoniously inside her suitcase. Rita, the cleaner, has moved over to the bin and is picking it up. I watch her nose wrinkle as she spots the used condoms inside.
‘I’m sorry about your friend,’ Sebastian says, still mealy-mouthed, his nostrils flaring. ‘But I need you to vacate the property. I will have to charge you extra for the overstay and inconvenience.’
Is he kidding me? But what can I do? ‘Fine,’ I say with a weary sigh. ‘I’ll pack my things. Just give me half an hour and I’ll be gone.’ I look at Rita. ‘And leave Kate’s things. I’ll pack them.’
Rita shrugs, already moving on to strip the beds, gingerly, as if she suspects they’re contaminated.
I hurriedly pack the rest of Kate’s clothes and shoes and then rush into the bathroom where I’m surprised to see all her toiletries already zipped into her multiple washbags. What if Rita found Kate’s stash of drugs? I gather up the toiletry bags and drop them in the suitcase.
As I zip it up I hear Sebastian talking to Rita in Portuguese and look up to find them both heads bent, studying the carpet. Oh dear. They’ve discovered the stain. Sebastian is irritated, crouching down to rub at it with his fingers. ‘What is this?’ he asks tersely, looking at me.
‘Um, wine,’ I say, hedging. ‘I’m sorry.’
He mutters something and before I am made to feel any more like a naughty schoolgirl I rush out of the room. I hurry into my room, half-expecting to see Rita has packed my things too, but luckily she’s not made it this far. I drag my bag from inside the wardrobe and start to toss my things inside. Thankfully, I didn’t bring much so it doesn’t take long. I gather my things from the bathroom, pausing for a moment to catch my breath in front of the mirror. Don’t cry, I tell myself. Don’t you dare bloody cry.
But what am I meant to do? I’ll have to find a hotel. And what about the cost? And how long will I need to book it for? Reza said not to leave the country. What am I going to do? I pull my phone out and call Rob. He’ll know what to do. But the call goes straight to