I glanced at the floor. What was wrong with me? Now was not the time to flirt with cute paramedics. Could they tell that I was hiding something? I cleared my voice. “Yes, the victim’s body…er…the man is on the twelfth floor. Right this way.” I should just keep my answers short and vague. No need to imply there was a crime happening here. As we were about to step into the elevator, two police officers came through the glass front door. “What happened here?” one of them asked.
“A guest had a heart attack. I believe he is dead,” I replied with a straight face.
“How do you know it was a heart attack?” The cop glared at me suspiciously.
“I…I just assumed.” My pulse quickened.
“Humph.” He grunted, and followed us to the elevator while the other cop stayed in the lobby
We rode up the elevator in silence. With my eyes glued to the floor, I felt heat rising in my face. I was sure it was due to guilt and not the handsome paramedic standing next to me but if anyone noticed, I would confess being in such close proximity to a handsome man in uniform as being the cause of my red cheeks. I’m sure that had happened to him before.
The elevator bell dinged. The red glowing number twelve illuminated above the steel doors. Nervousness skittered up and down my spine like a fast snake just slithered its way through my body. The feeling made me want to jump out of my skin, but I had to remain calm and try not to think about what I had done right now. I just wanted to get this over with and get the dead man, and the police, out of here. It may be a cheap hotel, but it was also my place of employment, and the thought of working in a place where someone died made me feel uncomfortable, almost as if there were something dark and sinister filling the air in the hotel like second-hand smoke. The same air I had to breathe every night while I worked the front desk.
I used my master key to open the door to Room 1215. The EMTs set to work immediately, talking among themselves and going through the routine they were trained to do. One of the paramedics took out his stethoscope and checked to see if he could find a heartbeat or a pulse. After I held the door open for all of them as they filed into the room, I hung back near the plastic potted palm near the door. The police officer made a quick visual inspection of the man on the bed then positioned himself opposite me to ask questions. He didn’t appear all that interested in the man on the bed, seemingly happy with my assessment that the guy was dead. The paramedics set down their red medical bags and put on latex gloves to examine the body.
“So who are you?” the police officer asked me as he pulled out a notepad.
“I’m the front desk clerk.”
“Your name, miss?”
“Dani…I mean, Daniella Carrington. I work the night shift.”
“Was he like that when you found him?” He waved his notebook in the direction of the dead man. “Did you cover him with the sheet?”
“Well…yes. I threw the sheet over him, he was naked…it seemed an undignified way to die…I just….”
“Look, Miss Carrington, next time don’t touch anything, leave that for the police, okay?”
I lowered my gaze to the floor and bobbed my head.
“You work here all alone?” He scribbled hectically on his little pad.
“Yes, there is not that much to do in the middle of the night. Not many people checking in and out.”
The officer nodded. “But he did?”
“Yes, he came earlier tonight.”
“I need to see a copy of the identification you took when he checked in.”
I suddenly fell sick to my stomach. “I didn’t get any identification. I asked him but he refused. He paid in cash.”
The cop stared at me with annoyance. “You know it’s the law to acquire identification of any guests in a hotel?”
“No, I didn’t know that,” I replied as my gaze fell to the
“A guest had a heart attack. I believe he is dead,” I replied with a straight face.
“How do you know it was a heart attack?” The cop glared at me suspiciously.
“I…I just assumed.” My pulse quickened.
“Humph.” He grunted, and followed us to the elevator while the other cop stayed in the lobby
We rode up the elevator in silence. With my eyes glued to the floor, I felt heat rising in my face. I was sure it was due to guilt and not the handsome paramedic standing next to me but if anyone noticed, I would confess being in such close proximity to a handsome man in uniform as being the cause of my red cheeks. I’m sure that had happened to him before.
The elevator bell dinged. The red glowing number twelve illuminated above the steel doors. Nervousness skittered up and down my spine like a fast snake just slithered its way through my body. The feeling made me want to jump out of my skin, but I had to remain calm and try not to think about what I had done right now. I just wanted to get this over with and get the dead man, and the police, out of here. It may be a cheap hotel, but it was also my place of employment, and the thought of working in a place where someone died made me feel uncomfortable, almost as if there were something dark and sinister filling the air in the hotel like second-hand smoke. The same air I had to breathe every night while I worked the front desk.
I used my master key to open the door to Room 1215. The EMTs set to work immediately, talking among themselves and going through the routine they were trained to do. One of the paramedics took out his stethoscope and checked to see if he could find a heartbeat or a pulse. After I held the door open for all of them as they filed into the room, I hung back near the plastic potted palm near the door. The police officer made a quick visual inspection of the man on the bed then positioned himself opposite me to ask questions. He didn’t appear all that interested in the man on the bed, seemingly happy with my assessment that the guy was dead. The paramedics set down their red medical bags and put on latex gloves to examine the body.
“So who are you?” the police officer asked me as he pulled out a notepad.
“I’m the front desk clerk.”
“Your name, miss?”
“Dani…I mean, Daniella Carrington. I work the night shift.”
“Was he like that when you found him?” He waved his notebook in the direction of the dead man. “Did you cover him with the sheet?”
“Well…yes. I threw the sheet over him, he was naked…it seemed an undignified way to die…I just….”
“Look, Miss Carrington, next time don’t touch anything, leave that for the police, okay?”
I lowered my gaze to the floor and bobbed my head.
“You work here all alone?” He scribbled hectically on his little pad.
“Yes, there is not that much to do in the middle of the night. Not many people checking in and out.”
The officer nodded. “But he did?”
“Yes, he came earlier tonight.”
“I need to see a copy of the identification you took when he checked in.”
I suddenly fell sick to my stomach. “I didn’t get any identification. I asked him but he refused. He paid in cash.”
The cop stared at me with annoyance. “You know it’s the law to acquire identification of any guests in a hotel?”
“No, I didn’t know that,” I replied as my gaze fell to the
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