Death of a Showgirl Read Online Free PDF Page A

for ten, fifteen seconds. I took my finger off and then went again. So much for the element of surprise.
    From inside I heard a man cursing. He seemed to be kicking furniture on his way to the door. When he got closer I could see that he was short and fat, with a short-sleeved shirt thrown over a dirty white vest. He unlocked the door and stared at me.
    ‘What the fuck do you want?’
    ‘You always receive your guests like that?’
    He screwed his face up. He looked like a bulldog. He was old and unshaven and smelt of booze. His hair was thin and sparse, though. No grey ponytail.
    ‘I’m looking for a bed for the night,’ I said.
    ‘Look elsewhere.’ He started shutting the door. I gave it a good shove with my shoulder and he stumbled sideways, putting out a hand to break his fall. I closed the door behind me and started pulling him roughly to his feet.
    ‘Try to be polite,’ I said. ‘I’ve had a long day.’
    ‘Fuck you,’ he said.
    I let him go again and he fell back to the floor. He was half-asleep and half-drunk and it wasn’t much of a fight. He rolled onto his side to try to push himself up but kept looking over his shoulder to see where I was.
    ‘Get up,’ I said impatiently.
    He was swearing and grunting under his breath as he got to his feet. He didn’t say anything but just stared at me with snarling contempt.
    ‘This is the Hotel del Fiume, right?’
    He smiled sarcastically, like I was really clever.
    ‘You’ve got a guest here called Massimo Mori.’
    He shook his head.
    ‘You haven’t got a guest here called Massimo Mori?’
    He shook his head again, raising his wiry eyebrows slightly to show his enjoyment at being uncooperative.
    I looked around the place with disdain. ‘You got any guests in this shit-hole?’
    He just stared at me. I don’t know if it was exhaustion or concern for Simona, but I felt the furies rising up inside me. Suddenly I found myself lunging towards him. I got my grip around the front of his thick stubbly neck and I pushed him up against the wall.
    ‘A young girl has been abducted,’ I whispered loudly into his ear. ‘From what I’ve been told, the man who abducted her was staying in this pit.’ I gave the neck a squeeze and jammed his head back against the wall.
    I let him go and he fell forward, coughing and holding his throat. I took out some notes and held them in front of him. His gaze followed them like I was a hypnotist.
    ‘Massimo Mori. Is he here?’
    He shook his head, just like before. I was about to lunge again but he started explaining. ‘We had a guest here called Mori. He checked out this morning.’
    ‘Show me the book.’
    He walked towards the thin, chest-high reception desk. He went behind it and reached down for a book. He put it on the desk and spun it round, pointing at a name. Mori .
    ‘How many nights?’
    ‘He was here for a week, more or less.’ He was still rubbing his neck and looking sore.
    ‘Was he with a girl?’
    He nodded. ‘Only last night.’
    I pulled out the snap and put it on the desk. ‘This her?’
    He nodded again. ‘That’s the girl.’
    ‘You sure? What was she wearing?’ I asked.
    ‘Jeans. Red T-shirt.’
    I stared at him, deciding I needed him sweet. ‘When did she turn up?’
    ‘He brought her back last night.’
    ‘Twenty-four hours ago?’
    ‘Right. Nice piece she was. I thought he must have picked her up from the ring-road, but she was classier. You know. Didn’t look like the usual hooker.’
    I wasn’t sure whether he was just telling me what I wanted to hear. He seemed more interested in the cash than the girl.
    ‘What were the two of them like together? Was she being held against her will?’
    ‘When am I going to see some of that dough? Haven’t I told you enough?’
    I held up the notes again. ‘There. You’ve seen it. What were they like together?’
    ‘What do I know what they were like together?’
    I turned round to walk out. I didn’t get two paces towards the door when the