“It’s Nick. I’ve got a turkey sandwich for you.”
Just as he says the words, my stomach lets out a growl. I had almost forgotten how hungry I was. I unlock the door, and Nick is standing there with a white plate in his hand.
“Thank you!” I take the plate from him and without even putting it down, I grab half of the sandwich and start stuffing it in my mouth. Mmm…
He laughs at my eagerness. “Good?”
“Yeah, so good. Sorry I’m being rude.”
“Not at all.” He grins. “I’m just glad you like it. It’s just, you know, whatever we had in the fridge.”
I stuff another bite into my mouth. “What do I owe you?”
He shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it. Meals are included.”
“Oh. Okay.” I feel a little bad about it, considering he doesn’t have many guests, and it looks like this place is falling apart, so I’m thinking he’s not rolling in it. But then again, I’m not in any position to be throwing around money. “Thank you again.”
He glances down at my feet. “I see you got your socks. Greta gave them to you?”
“Yes, she did. She’s, um, very interesting…”
Nick throws back his head and laughs. “Yeah, she is, isn’t she? Did she offer to tell your fortune?”
Despite myself, I laugh too. “Yes, she did.”
“That’s her thing. She was some sort of carnival psychic. It’s all a good show.”
I pause before taking another bite of my turkey sandwich. “Did she ever tell your fortune?”
He snorts. “Yeah. She told me the usual thing. You’re going to die young. Horrible misfortune. Like I said, it’s a good show—it’s what she does. I wish she could’ve told me about that pipe breaking. Now that would’ve been useful.”
I swallow a chunk of turkey and bread. “Did a woman really die in room 201?”
The smile vanishes from Nick’s face. Whatever else, it’s obvious this particular piece of information is absolutely true. “She told you that?”
I nod.
He rubs at the back of his neck. “What did she say?”
I study his face. His light brown eyes. The stubble on his chin. “She said it was a young woman, and she was stabbed to death in the room. And you found her.”
He coughs. “Um, yeah. All of that is true.”
A chill goes down my spine and then all the way to my toes, even though I’m wearing socks now. “That must’ve been awful.”
“Yeah.” His eyes drop. “It was. I’ve never seen anything like that before. I never want to see it again. I still sometimes have nightmares.”
“That’s horrible,” I murmur. “And they never found out who killed her?”
He lifts his eyes. But he’s not looking at me. He’s looking at the window behind me. “No. They never did.”
“Oh,” I murmur.
“Anyway.” His smile seems forced. “If there isn’t anything else you need, I’m going to head back over to my house. Rosalie… She doesn’t like to be alone when there’s a storm. I can fix the pipe in the morning.”
“Of course.” I think of the silhouette in the window of the house across the way. The woman who didn’t wave back. “Will your wife be over here in the morning?”
Nick shakes his head. “No. She doesn’t come to the motel anymore. She’s been… ill. I’ve been taking care of her.”
“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry. That must be hard.”
He lifts a shoulder. “She’s my wife. In sickness and in health, right?” He looks pointedly at the wedding band on my left hand. “You know what I’m talking about.”
I suck in a breath. I can’t tell him I just stuck a knife in the man who gave me this ring. “Yes. Of course.”
“Good night, Kelly. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I clutch the plate with my half-finished turkey sandwich while I watch Nick walk down the hall. He seemed like he was in such a good mood until I brought up the murder in 201. He’s obviously still very affected by it.
There was another reason they thought Nick killed her.
Everything Greta told me in that room was true. I wonder what she was talking about that time.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter. I won’t be in this motel for much longer. First thing in the morning, I’m back on the road. As soon as the snow stops.
I flip around the “DO NOT DISTURB” sign on my door, then I close the door and lock it. I walk over to the window, watching the flakes fall from the sky. I wish I could check the weather app on my phone to see how long this is going on for. I should’ve checked it out before I ditched my phone. I’ve got a shovel in the back of my car though. I’m getting out of here, one way or another.