Then we heard a knock on my door. I wanted to shout but when he pressed his gloved finger to his lips and pulled out a gun, I froze.
“Susan, are you still awake?” I heard Trisha say. Then she said, “She must be in bed already. We’ll see her in the morning.” Then I couldn’t hear them anymore.
When I glanced near the sink, I saw my mace spray resting nearby the cold water faucet. My eyes betrayed me as I tried to reach for it as fast as I could, but Vernon was faster.
“I wouldn’t try that if I were you,” he said, snatching my sprayer before he pocketed it into his jacket.
“Now, try to have a good sleep, and don’t think of knocking on the wall, I’ll hear you. See you in the morning,” he said, closing the door in my face.
“What was I going to do?” I asked myself as I locked the door.
I sat down on the closed toilet lid and looked at my makeshift bed for the night. All sorts of scenarios filled my mind how I could escape from him at the airport. I could fall, or try to trip him up, or scream. But the threat to my friends is real.
Not coming up with anything viable, I opened the toilet lid. Before I was about to go, an idea occurred to me. I went ahead and flushed the toilet. It made a perfectly ordinary sound echoing about the small bathroom. Opposite from the tub side of the main sleeping wall of the motel room, I bent down on my knees to reach under the counter and made two solid knocks, paused, and one more knock on the outer corner wall while I flushed the toilet again. Vernon didn’t knock on my door.
I tried to get a little shuteye. I tucked the pillows under me but the hard surface made my hips hurt. Whenever I woke up, I flushed the toilet and knock in the corner. Surely, Larry or Trisha could hear me.
—-
Larry was sound asleep when he felt her give his back a push with her hand.
“Honey did someone just knock on our door?” he heard her ask as she moved his shoulder.
“Huh? I didn’t hear anything.”
“Check the eyehole,” she said, giving him a push.
“All right.”
He rose out of bed and looked through the door’s viewer.
“Nope, no one there. Must have been someone looking for their room and knocked on ours by mistake. I made sure the locks were secure. Night Hon.”
“Night Luv.”
Larry rolled on his side and wondered if he had been dreaming. His unease faded into a deep sleep.
Chapter 27
The Airport
I woke up and tried my little trick several times during the night but I never got a response. I had dozed off when I heard the other side of the bathroom door knock. I stood up, still in my clothes from last night and unlocked the door. Vernon was standing there smiling, the jerk.
“Well, I hope you slept well. You must have a weak bladder,” he said.
“I do,” I lied.
“Here comb your hair out. I want my ‘wife’ to look presentable.”
I glared at him and at the comb he offered me. I grabbed it out of his hand and did my best to comb my blond curls into a decent style. Finished, I set his comb on the counter. He reached over to pick it up. Then I made my move.
I pulled on his arm to make him fall forward to the floor. He caught himself near the toilet. I ran past him and attempted to unlock the room door. The deadbolt and the chain held me up. He darted around me and slammed the door shut. His strong hands grabbed my shoulders and shoved me away from my escape.
“Fool, you’re going to behave yourself or one of your friends will die,” he said under his breath.
Clenching my hands close to my side, I wanted to rip his eyes out. I wanted to bawl.
“Now, calm yourself down and when I tell you, we’ll walk out of here as husband and wife. Is that clear?” he asked me.
“Clear,” I replied as the heavy beating of my heart felt like it was about to jump out at him.
Then there was a knock on my door. I held my breath.
“Susan, are you up?” I heard Trisha say.
Vernon shook his finger at me. I clamped my teeth on my lower lip and said nothing.
“Maybe she’s in the restaurant,” I could hear Larry suggest.
Then there was silence. They must have left my door. A few minutes later, Vernon was about to turn the doorknob when we heard another knock on our door.
After a few seconds, someone I knew spoke at outside in the hallway.
“Susan, it’s me, David. Are you ready for breakfast?”
I started to wring my sweaty hands while Vernon looked out of the peephole. Recalling the photocopy of Henry’s picture, I placed my hand behind my back and swept the paper photo onto the floor. Maybe somebody will notice it.
After watching David leave my door, the Henry look-alike turned to me.
“Who was that?”
I just shook my head.
“Who was that?” he yelled into my ear and grabbed my wrist.
I cringed away from him.
“I don’t know. I met a lot of people on the ship, please you’re hurting me,” I cried.
We waited a few more minutes and then he said, “Let’s go.” He slung my large purse over his shoulder and opened the door.
I grasp the handle on my rolling suitcase and we walked out of my room. We strode by the registration desk with Vernon’s arm folded into mine.
“Don’t even look at them. Ah, I see our car now. Step lively, Susan,” he
