Page 147 of Positively Pricked

From somewhere in the back, a guy announced, "I got the whole thing on video."

I almost flinched. "Whatwhole thing?"

"Everything." His eyes were bright with enthusiasm. "I bet I can sell it for a million bucks."

I reached up to rub my temples. It wouldn't be worth a million, but it would net him some decent cash if he shopped it to the right people. I only prayed he didn't.

The guy standing next to him said, "You can't sell it for a million."

"Oh yeah?" the first guy said. "Why not?"

With a grin, the second guy held up his cell phone. "That only works if you're the only one who's got it."

The first guy gave a shrug. "I didn't mean a million literally. I meant a few thousand, you know?"

The other guy gave a slow nod. "Yeah, maybe we should team up, see what we can make happen. We'll get more if it's exclusive."

Watching this exchange, I had no idea what to say. But Ididknow that just down the hall was the person who started all of this. And I desperately needed to talk to him.

Alone.

I cleared my throat. "Well, there's nothing to see now, so…" I made a little shooing motion with my hands. "Please, uh, disperse."

Nobody moved.

A tall woman near the front asked, "Hey, why wasn't he wearing a shirt?"

Good question.

Another woman asked, "And who was the guy? The one with the hairy gut?"

I didn't know what to say. Technically, this was part of my job, dealing with questions and what-not. But I had no answers, and I told them so, over and over, until one by one, they wandered away, no doubt because Zane – the star of the show – was long gone.

Soon, it was just me, standing alone in the long corridor. Like someone in a trance, I walked down the long hallway and didn't stop until I reached the hotel room door.

Notmydoor.

Hisdoor.

And then, I knocked.