Hotel Noir Page #4

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Three years straight.

Her husband was murdered.

I read about that. It was a big deal.

Philadelphia, right?

Didn't realize you followed tennis.

I might not have told you this part.

Do you know what actually happened?

All I know is she came to tell me.

Hector's dead.

Who is Hector?

The cunning Calibenos, my husband.

He might have been killed.

When? How?

I don't know.

That's a tragedy.

You should probably leave town.

Alright.

If you think that's for the best.

You can wear this.

Maureen.

I'm sorry.

She paid my bill and gave me a train ticket.

I never did find out what happened to her husband.

They had to dreg the lake to find him.

Boating accident, the report said.

What do you think?

About what?

Was it an accident?

Time slows down before an accident,

you know?

My last ten years were pretty slow.

Coming back here was the accident.

What's in the briefcase?

Money.

I don't believe you.

Like I care what you believe.

A lot of money?

Enough to make your dreams come true.

Why would you tell me just like that?

I'm not worried about you.

I don't know if I should be offended or not?

Who's money is it?

Who says it's not mine?

Intuition.

It's a long story.

It's a long night.

I'll tell you what.

What do you say...

we get a refill downstairs?

I'm not too popular down there, remember?

Let's see if we can't do something about that.

What about the money?

Don't worry.

No one's gonna take it without making sure

I know all about it.

We're closed.

Official business.

What did she do?

That's the official part.

Oh, real smart guy.

I don't care who you are.

I'm not allowed to keep the place open for you.

Fix us a couple of sandwiches, will you?

What do I look like to you?

Like a barman who knows how to fix a sandwich.

Go on. I know it's been a quiet night.

I may make it worth your while.

Fix yourself one.

That'll be it.

Hope you like grilled cheese.

My favorite.

My partner Jim and I were put on

Mary detail.

Funny choice of words in retrospect.

What took you so long?

I had to stop for gas.

What's the news here?

She watched some TV, now she's taking a bath.

I had a thought.

End of day, it's nearly eleven.

Hypothetical.

Yeah.

You meet a young lady.

Yeah?

She's adventurous.

You mean like Betty?

Keep Betty out of it.

Why do I keep here talking to you, Jim?

Different sort of adventures.

Maybe you're not up to her.

You can't be a mountain climber... What?

Nothing. She's singing.

What's that?

That's Spanish.

What I'm driving at is this.

All men agree on one thing,

and that is:

that man needs variety.

Oh, I agree with that.

This is a deeply flawed argument.

Is this the way Betty taught you the story?

See, glass half-full mentality right there.

The way I see it

if you don't get action every day

that's the win.

You, I don't know why any woman in her right mind

would let you anywhere near her,

holiest of holies, but let's say you get lucky,

somebody's willing.

You protect that.

A guy comes along and says you like beer.

But you gotta like beer every day of your life?

Well, why not?

I love football.

That means I gotta watch it every day?

Sure.

Aren't I gonna get tired of watching football,

drinking beer day after day all my life?

Maybe.

But I am willing to do the work

to find out that truth.

And if it turns out that that's the case,

I trust myself to find other interests.

Jim, you know this feeling

that you're feeling right now.

Contentment in the sacred bond of marriage?

This restless fever of romantic delusion,

you know it's not got lost, don't you?

You know what you are?

Yeah, I'm a cynical bastard.

Or I'm a curmudgeonly naysay who calmed you out,

I should receive a compliment.

It must be hard work being you,

but mark my words.

You'll meet a charming young woman...

It's the hardest thing to find in American life...

You'll jump on that train gladly,

you'll go off...

Good old Jim, always trying to drag me down

to his level of misery.

What he couldn't possibly foresee

is that this charming young woman

he was conjuring for me

was presently right next door.

Hello?

Hi, Otto.

I'm taking a bath.

Of course I'm alone.

I may catch a cold if I don't put something on.

But I'll be ready for you, don't you worry.

You just come on over.

I'll see when you get here.

Bye.

Whoa, you look weird.

If you had a lick of sense,

you'd grab your stuff now and get out of here.

I don't have a lick of sense.

This experience could make a decent chapter

in an autobiography.

Chapter 12,

I was born of modest means

so I've always had a fascination with buff.

God, it's a lame excuse for liking money.

I have no self-esteem.

My father was a misunderstood poet,

my mother was a masochist.

Does everybody think all this nonsense to themselves?

Is everybody as bad inside their head as me?

It can't be. I mean, some people must have

wonderfully perceptive epiphanies

that trickle down like rain water

and make them feel all cozy inside.

Why can't I think of stuff like that?

Why is my brain so boring?

Why is it anything?

But I can change, right?

I mean, I have to at some point.

Grow up, take charge.

Make something good out of all this misery.

Subvert the codes.

Oh, God...

There's a dead giveaway written all over your face.

I do not trust words.

Language is a disease of the throat.

What am I thinking now?

Am I thinking of not thinking?

It's like concentrating on your breathing.

It can drive you crazy.

C-R-A-Z-Y

Petrie Savorin said so.

Don't play the word game.

I'm not doing this.

This is not me.

I'm not impulsive. I'm pragmatic.

The meandering, the waiting.

The not doing anything or getting anywhere.

Gives me kind of relief.

Like I'm finally dropping the charade.

There's a second life underneath the real life.

Like a subway underneath the city.

Oh, my imagination is working overtime.

I don't care what people do behind closed doors.

Or open doors.

I don't care.

Yeah, this is what I'm talking about.

This is what a youthful nonconformist was born to do.

I own this world and I feel all tingly inside.

A surge of excitement pulsing

through my entire being.

Like the man said...

I'm a street walking cheater

with a heart full of napalm.

The world's forgotten girl.

What was that?

Sounds like she fell.

Where is this scumbag?

I'm going in.

What the hell are you talking about?

Otto's due here any second.

I have had feeling about this.

Don't you dare go in that room!

Have you ever saved anyone's life before?

It's not pretty.

There's sticking your fingers down their throat

and when that fails,

pumping of the stomach,

peculiar kind of animal gurgling,

noise they make...

No matter how fetching they are in person...

there's this infantlike smell

when you're pushing their face down the sink

or running them a bath

and their knees keep going

and they're falling all over the place,

you know what I mean?

I do now.

But all of it goes away

the second you realize they're alright.

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