by R E Swirsky
CHAPTER 55
Wednesday 20:55 Paris, France
Dinner at Lasserre was more than just dinner. The atmosphere was like being immersed in the centre of some grand ballet. A live pianist played soft music to set the mood. The maître d’, waiters, and other staff were decorated in a blend of black and white costumes. Tails and bowties swirled around them on all sides. Each moved with prowess, as if every movement, bend, and gesture was purposely choreographed while they tended to the many guests, took orders, cleared tables, and brought food and wine. Their attention to every detail was impeccable.
The retractable roof was open tonight, allowing the fresh, Parisian air to swoop down inside, creating the perfect al fresco ambiance Lasserre was known for. As Diane consumed every moment with a fiery exuberance, Nathaniel’s thoughts were centred elsewhere. He wanted his focus to be here in this special place tonight with his wife and daughters, but Kaito’s final face-off with Harvey Metcalf weighed heavily on his mind. With no option but to play his part, he smiled and laughed at the right times, but a part of him was aching inside. It was if he was marooned on a desert island, sequestered from where he felt he should be. It was eating at him, but he didn’t dare abandon Diane and the kids now. He promised himself he would wait and tough it out. Jack and Lucas could handle it. He was sure of that. Randal had Johnny prepped and ready, waiting for the next instruction. But what was he going to do about the Crowders and their son, Michael?
“Hey Dad? You know Johnny left the hotel, don’t you?” Meagan asked. It was if she was reading his thoughts as he mulled over the some of the comments Johnny had made.
“What? Oh…he did?” he replied.
She frowned at him and glanced at her sister, who shrugged back.
Meagan poked at her black truffle-stuffed macaroni and appeared perturbed. “Yeah,” she said. She had seemed distracted all day. “He never answered when I knocked on his door after breakfast this morning.”
Nathaniel shrugged. He wanted desperately to change the topic. “Maybe he had something booked early, a tour or something. He’ll probably be back later. How’s your macaroni?”
“Macaroni’s delicious, but he’s not coming back here. He checked out this morning. I don’t understand, Dad, you.…”
“You want some bread?” Nathaniel asked jumping in quickly. “Meagan? Ellen? Bread?” He didn’t want to talk about Johnny anymore.
“You don’t understand what, Meg?” Diane asked. Her appetizer of chicken dumplings was finished. She dabbed her lips with her napkin and was prepared to engage in conversation until the main course arrived.
“Well, it’s just.…” She eyed her father cautiously as she spoke again. “I went down to the front desk when Johnny wouldn’t answer the door and.…”
Nathaniel jumped in again, talking over her. “We really should talk about something else. This is a special night for your mom. Look at this place…” he said. “This is such an exquisite restaurant…and listen to that music. Did you all see the pianist downstairs when we came in? That’s live music you’re listening to.”
“Nate, you’ve just interrupted Meagan again.” She glared at him. He knew he wasn’t going to win this one, and he gracefully nodded his compliance at her. He dreaded what was coming.
“Now what were you saying about Johnny?” Diane asked.
Meagan eyed her father carefully again after consuming a few more forkfuls of macaroni. “I was just going to ask Dad about Johnny, that’s all. I told the front desk what room I was in and asked if a Johnny Hui was staying here because I wanted to call up to his room. He said no one was registered here by that name. No one named Hui at all registered here.”
“Maybe he was here with someone else,” Diane replied. “Or someone else may have paid for his room, or he just used a different name. People do that sometimes when they travel. And your father’s probably right. He’s most likely just moved on somewhere else if he’s checked out.” She lifted her glass of wine and swirled it around.
Meagan shook her head and stared patiently at her father as if waiting for his explanation. Nathaniel wasn’t sure how to respond without stepping right into this one. All he could do was hope that Diane’s explanation was enough and Meagan was going to drop it. But she didn’t.
“I gave him my name and then the room number Johnny was in and asked him to check again. He looked it up and then asked who my dad was. When I told him, he told me right away that room was booked for only one night and asked how long the rest of us were staying.” Nathaniel winced. He shook his head gently at her, urging her to not say anymore. He’d added the room for Johnny onto his tab. Meagan caught his little head shake. One finger slowly came up to his lips and she watched him with a curious distrust.
“But.…”
Meagan’s eyes remained on him, and his on hers. He shifted his eyes over to Diane, and Meagan’s followed. Diane was still swirling the wine in her glass up in the air, momentarily caught up in the way the light captured the deep burgundy colours of the Beaujolais.
“But you already knew, didn’t you, Dad? It was you,” Meagan said to her father.
“What did Dad know?” Ellen asked. “What, Dad?”
Diane’s attention suddenly moved back to the conversation. “What’s this? Did I just miss something?”
“No, no,” Nathaniel replied. “Meagan’s talking about Johnny. He checked out this morning and she’s asking if I knew, and yes, I knew. I knew Johnny checked out this morning.”
Meagan’s eyes drilled into him. He worried how much more she was willing to say.
“You knew Johnny was gone?” Diane asked. “How’s that, Nate?”
He had to think quick. “Uh, before breakfast. When you three were still getting ready, I came down and saw him in the lobby with his bags. I just felt it best not to mention it. I knew how much Meagan wanted to see him, and there he was, heading out the door with his bags.”
“Did you speak to him?” Diane asked.
“No, no. I just saw him with his bags.”
Meagan was clearly not happy. “He only stayed one night here. That’s what the man at the desk said. He told me who’s name the room was rented under.” She kept staring at her father.
With everything going on, Nathaniel really wished this would end right here. Diane was upset enough with him. If Meagan revealed that Nathaniel had booked a room for Johnny a few doors down the hall for one night, the entire evening would crash into a self-consuming fireball.
“That’s interesting,” Diane said. “They usually don’t give out that kind of information. Don’t you think that’s odd, Nate?”
“Yes, very odd,” Nathaniel replied.
“Did you recognize the name, Meg?” Diane asked.
Meagan said nothing. She stabbed her fork into the macaroni, pulled it out, chewed another mouthful, and stared at her father again. He pinched his lips closed tight and shook his head ever so lightly. All he could do was hope she wouldn’t answer.
She finished chewing and then dropped her eyes away. She waved her hand in the air dismissively. “It doesn’t really matter…I don’t think I remember it now.”
Nathaniel wanted to reach over the table and kiss her. He’d have to thank her later in private and make up some explanation for her.
