Chapter 79: Hotel Roosevelt

The hallways were silent. Our feet left imprints on the matted floor. Each door looked the same, the only difference being the numbers. 1780, 1781, 1782... We were still far from the door we sought, but neither of us sped up. We took our time, knowing each step would bring us closer to the thing we didn't want to confront. I still had little to no faith in Caspian's plan, but he seemed confident. And a little of his confidence was leaking into me. With each step, my spine straightened and my creased forehead relaxed.

When we walked into the hotel, it looked like a very cheerful and serene place. But this floor was ominous, and colder than the lobby.

"This is it." Caspian stopped outside a door, marked with a four-digit number. 1834. Was it just me or did this door seem a little darker than the others? Almost as if it was warning us that by opening this door, something menacing would be released.

Caspian slid the card into the scanner. We heard a click before one side of the door separated itself from the door frame, granting us entrance.

We waited outside, until it was clear no one was inside. With a quick glance my way, Caspian entered the room. I followed suit.

Entering the room seemed to stop the oxygen flow to my lungs. I couldn't explain why, since it was a normal hotel room with a four-poster bed in one corner and a large vanity next to it. The vanity was covered in all sort of cosmetics: lipstick, eyeshadow, toner, lotion... No wonder Janet always looked so beautiful. The floor, like the hallway, was covered in carpet. Caspian had turned the lights on, and each feature in the room became dimly lit. Maybe I couldn't breathe because I knew I was threading on the same ground that serial killers had walked on not too long ago.

"We should hurry," Caspian suggested.

I went straight to the trash can, because I've read enough crime novels to know that if you want to find dirt on someone, look in their thrash. I had just opened the thrash can, when I saw something bloody. My breath caught in my chest. A closer look revealed it was a tampon. I shivered and shut the bin, too grossed out to continue looking in there.

"Maddie," Caspian called from the other side of the room. "You might want to come over here."

He handed me a notebook and I felt slightly awkward holding something that belonged to a murderer. I flipped through the pages of the notebook, wondering why they would leave something like this lying around. This was probably why there was a 'Do Not Disturb' sign hanging on the door, instead of the usual 'Please Clean Up'. Each page was filled with the details of a different place; once they had completed what they had planned to do in that place, a thick red line was drawn across the page. Like a book you'd keep as a tourist, crossing out each attraction as you experienced them. I continued to look through the notebook, trying to deduce where they were targeting next. And then I realised it didn't matter; they wouldn't get the chance to do anything more since we were going to call the police.

The notebook wasn't only filled with names of places, there was also pictures of people. I found a picture of Levi. He was a lot younger in the photo, and he had cute chubby cheeks. His black hair was gelled down, and his T-zone was dotted with a few zits. He was dressed in a blue school uniform, and his smile was forced. I knew that feeling: school photos were the worst kind. I was yet to meet someone who had a good school photograph of himself.

I skipped right to the front of the book, hoping to find proof that they had killed Asher.

But the first page of the notebook was filled with Newton Wes's face. He smiled brightly at the camera. His Stinger tattoo displayed fully. I was struck again by the resemblance he bore to Asher. A red line was drawn from one corner of the photograph to the other.

"What?" I questioned, handing the book over to Caspian. "If Newton's dead, who's...?"

Caspian didn't get a chance to reply, because we heard footsteps approach the door.

I was frozen in shock. Caspian dropped the notebook and grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the bathroom.

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