Buying Thyme

by TJ Hamilton

  “News get around fast in this town.” I try and joke, but Miss Stephanie is not finding any of it amusing.

  “Miranda. Mr Stephenson has offered to pay a million dollars to be with you for one last night.”

  “You’re joking right?” I almost choke.

  “Do I look like I’m joking Miranda?” That question is easy to answer… she never looks like anything other than angry.

  “But we’ve just signed contracts to say that…” My voice cracks as I speak.

  “Darling, my advice to you is that you take this last job. You owe me this much. I will be losing a great deal of money with you gone from the Agency now. This will be my compensation.” She peers over the top of her glasses at me, her stare hits the very pit of my stomach.

  “But what about Joe Tench? What if he finds out?” There’s no way I could do this. I keep saying over and over.

  “I will see that he doesn’t find out Miranda. You do what you do best and I will manage the rest of it.” Her eyes narrow.

  “A million dollars! Seriously?”

  “Yes darling. Imagine what it will do for this Agency when word gets out that someone paid a million dollars for one of my girls for the night. It has never been paid before anywhere in the world.”

  I knew there was an ulterior motive for her pushing me to do this. A million dollars. Who does this guys think he is? Robert Redford in Indecent Proposal? Who pays a million dollars for one night with a whore? Talk about pussy whipped!

  “If there’s no risk for me, then I guess it’s an offer just too good to refuse.”

  I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this. I must be crazy. If Tench finds out, I’m sure he would murder me… literally. Miss Stephanie smiles. I can see the dollar signs flashing in her eyes.

  “Very good Miranda. Kelly is waiting for you upstairs. You will be leaving in an hour.”

  So she knew I was going to say yes all along? Today? Now? She wants me to go straight away? I guess it’s better to do this now before I have time to realise this is a big mistake.

  Miss Stephanie has everything organised so that I’m completely kitted out with all the necessary items needed for the booking overnight. She had this whole thing set up in an instant. Her desire for money exceeds any thoughts I originally had about her and her greed. She too is taking a massive gamble with Tench. She’s just finished signing exit contracts with him and now she is willing to risk all of that, by sending me off on a booking… all for a million dollars. I remind myself that this money will allow me to pay off my apartment… it’s like my retirement money. Not that I’ll need it with Tench. But I’m not going to be with Tench forever right? I haven’t even thought that far down the track. How am I going to get out of my relationship with Tench once I’ve found out the truth about Sally? I guess I’ll just have to work on that when the time comes. After all, this could take me years. My friend is worth this kind of commitment. She was just too beautiful to let this go unsolved. I know there was a reason why she came to me in my dreams. I can feel it in my bones. Before my thoughts run wild, I see the unfamiliar figure of my dolled-up self in the mirror again. I remind myself that I need to get back into my character for the very last time. Being with Tench is different. He is no longer my work… he’s now my mission.

  Michael Stephenson opens the door of the Junior Suite at the QT Hotel in the city. I don’t wait for him to invite me in. I walk straight in as soon as he opens the door. I can’t waste another moment standing in the hallway. I’m way too exposed as it is. I was surprised no one recognised me when I walked through the foyer of the new and very hip boutique hotel in Sydney’s CBD. So I don’t want to push my luck any further.

  “I never thought I’d see you again Miranda.” He says to me.

  “Well you almost didn’t. Are you crazy? A million dollars? For what?”

  “For you.” His voice has an innocent undertone to it.

  I wheel my luggage over to the edge of the bed and open it up to find what I need to start the night off. There are layers of lace, leather and feathers in amongst some rope and sex toys. Who the hell packed this? I think my two-month hiatus from the industry has made me a little more conservative than before, because the sight of all these raunchy objects just makes me giggle. I feel Michael come up behind me and he reaches around to the front of me and cups his hands over my sex. He pulls me back into him so that his erection is pushing up against the back of my skirt. I turn around and face him.

  “So tell me Miranda. I thought you weren’t into the whole boyfriend thing?” He kisses down my neck, “What’s with this Joe Tench guy? What’s he got that I don’t?”

  “So you’ve just paid me a million dollars to give me an interrogation about my relationship choices?”

  I run my hands all over his chest and run them down his six pack. I lift the white singlet he’s wearing and pull it up over his head. I want to feel his hard body against mine, so I undo my jacket and shrug it off my shoulders and throw it to the side. Michael pulls my bra down to expose my breast and leans down and sucks at my nipple, holding it gently between his teeth. The doorbell rings and he stops suddenly.

  “Did you order room service?” I frown.

  I have forgotten to order the usual so I’m pleased he’s taken the initiative.

  “Yes I did. I remembered this time.” He smirks, looking rather smug with himself. He leaves the room to answer the door.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing pal?” I hear Michael yelling at the door. I walk towards the foyer of the suite to see what’s happening.

  Tench is standing in the doorway. I feel the wind knocked out of me and I cannot move. I am stuck motionless in the middle of the room, with only my bra and skirt on. Tench pushes Michael back into the room and slams the door behind him. He looks like he is about to explode with anger and almost unrecognisable in his rage. He looks me up and down and then stares back at Michael again. His enraged eyes narrow.

  “You made a very big mistake buddy.” He growls.

  I don’t understand how he got here. Is this some kind of set up? It can’t be? Miss Stephanie said I was safe!

  “How did you find me?” I squeak.

  “I own this fucking hotel Miranda! It wasn’t hard! You made it fairly fucking easy for me didn’t you!” He reaches around the back of his jacket and pulls out a very long, thin, black shiny barrel shaped object out.

  Holy shit it’s a gun! Tench has a gun! I start to tremble and my heart races. I take shallow quick breaths. My lungs feel like they are being squeezed from the inside.

  “Wait, wait. Joe, this is not… ”

  “Shut up Miranda!” He yells at me but does not take his eyes off Michael.

  I don’t finish my sentence. I’m petrified. I am going to die. Michael takes a step closer with his palms out towards Tench.

  “Come on, this can be sorted out.” Michael tries to negotiate with him.

  “You think you can just buy my girl do you asshole?” Tench spits out and points the thin pistol up at Michael.

  I can’t bear to look. I feel like I’m going to faint, everything around me feels hazy. Before I draw another breathe, I hear two pinging sounds. I look at Michael and he slumps to the ground like a sack of potatoes. There are two small wounds on his chest and blood is streaming out of them with a heavy flow. I look at Tench and start hyperventilating. My chest is tight and I can’t breathe in or out. What have I done? I am next. I am going to die. Just like Sally. Another dead prostitute in the city.

  “Joe.” I whisper, “What have you done?”

  “Just get the fuck out of here Miranda. Toni is waiting for you downstairs.” He roars at me.

  I nod and grab my jacket and throw it back on, shaking with pure terror, I make my way out of the room. I don’t have time to grab anything else. I don’t look back at Tench with the gun… or Michael’s lifeless body lying on the ground.

  CHAPTER 22

  I walk as quick as my heels carry me down the hallway tow
ards the elevator. If I go back to Tench’s mansion now I am going to die too. I’m sure of it. I’ve now seen what he is capable of. I need to get away from here. I push down on a couple of the room’s door handles along the way. They’re locked. I try the last room just before the foyer to the elevators. The door is ajar. I push it open and look inside quickly. There’s no one in the room. I tie my hair up and search the room for a change of clothes. I find a man’s red sweater and some navy gym pants. There’s a suitcase full of men’s clothes. They are nowhere near my size. I hear the maid’s trolley outside the room. I pause to hear whether it’s stopping outside of this room. I hold my breath.

  “Room service.” I hear a nasally voice call out.

  “Not now thanks.” I quickly yell back at her.

  I wait to hear the jingle of the trolley as it pulls away again. Think girl think. How the hell am I going to get out of here? Tench will be looking for me within minutes, so I need to act fast. My head is still spinning about what just happened. What I just witnessed. It’s all happened so quickly. Did he really just kill my client? Why would he do this? Think girl think. I want to ring my brother, but all my movements will be tracked from here on in, so I have to just focus on getting out of here without being seen. My entire body is trembling. I can’t wear any of these clothes in this room. I will look ridiculously obvious. I wash my face to get all of the make-up off. There’s a pair of wayfarer reading glasses on the bedside table. I put them on. It makes everything fuzzy around the edges, but I can still see enough. I poke my head out of the room and see the room service trolley is still in hallway, at the doorway of the room the maid is servicing. Maybe I’ll find something there? I look up the hall in the other direction, there’s no one around. Tench must still be in the room. As I approach the trolley I hear the elevator doors ding and open. Shit! I run and hide behind the trolley. I peak around and see three men in dark suits walking quickly up the hall to Michael’s room. The place is teaming with Tench’s cronies. There is a rack of dry cleaning clothes in clear plastic bags, hanging in front of me on the cleaner’s trolley. I quickly search through the clothes to find something to change into. It’s mainly men’s suit jackets and shirts. In amongst the jackets, I find a hotel jacket that staff wear. Perfect. I grab it and look behind me. I see the emergency stairwell and make a run for it. I pray there is no one else in the hallway as I run. I push down on the bar to open the door. Once in the stairwell I take off my jacket and put on the hotel’s jacket. I run down two flights of stairs. I stop on the third floor and open the door to the hallway. There is another room service trolley sitting in the hallway. There must be another maid around. I walk quickly to the room and walk in. There is a maid folding the edges of the bed sheet under the bed. The maid looks up at me with a puzzled look.

  “Hi. I’m new here, and I just delivered a message to the room up the hall,” I point out the door, “But I didn’t bring my swipe card with me. Could you please swipe me back down to the service area?” I say with the most convincing smile that I can conjure up in this moment of desperation.

  I can only just make out her features behind the glasses. She frowns at me for a moment and tilts her head to the side, in thought. Shit! Does she recognise me?

  “Ha! Don’t worry. I’ve done that a few times when I first started. I got stuck on the top level once, and couldn’t get back down. I had to walk down ten flights of stairs!” She says as she walks out of the room to the service elevators. I laugh nervously and follow behind her. She swipes the card and pushes the button to call the staff only elevator up to the floor. I’m on the home stretch! I need to just find my way out of here now.

  “Thank you.” I call out as the doors close.

  I look at my slightly blurred reflection in the mirror behind me. The jacket is at least two sizes too big and the glasses look ridiculous on me. I wrap my hair around in a bun and look down and brush the dirt off the skirt. Luckily for me, I’m wearing a black skirt that almost matches with the hotel uniform. My towering heels are slightly excessive for hotel staff though. The doors spring open when the elevator arrives on the basement level. There are two young men standing at the doorway waiting for the elevator with food trolleys in front of them. I stand motionless for a moment then smile quickly before I race out. I don’t waste another moment. I follow the grey corridors around until I hear the clatter of crockery. It smells like the kitchen is ahead. A cleaner is loading some garbage bags into a cart. He turns around for a moment to respond to a muffled voice on his radio. I quickly grab one of the garbage bags on the ground and continue walking down towards the kitchen. A young freckled face man, no more than twenty in age, wearing a chef’s jacket and checked pants, bursts through the swinging double doors with a large pot in his hands. I race up to him as quick as I can.

  “Excuse me. Sorry. I’m a little lost. It’s my first day and they’ve sent me to take this rubbish out. Can you please point me in the direction of the garbage collection bins?” I hold the garbage bag up and pray that he doesn’t turn around and notice the cleaner standing behind him.

  The young chef looks me up and down for a moment. Under normal circumstances I would say he’s checking me out, but I can’t be too sure what is going through his mind right now.

  “Gee reception can be real assholes sometimes!” He laughs, “You know that’s not even in you job description?” I feel the blood drain from my face.

  “Yeah that supervisor out there is a real bitch!” I manage to cough out a sentence.

  “Oh yeah I know the one... She is a real piece of work isn’t she? Here. I’ll take you. I need a cigarette anyway before I finish prepping for tonight’s event.”

  The young chef is a little too eager to please… I didn’t need him following me! Great! Now what am I supposed to say when I just keep walking away from the place? The young chef takes me around a series of corridors. The place is like a rabbit warren. I would’ve had no chance of getting out of here by myself!

  “Here. Can you grab the swipe card out of my top pocket for me?” The young chef asks. I look at the pot in his hands and smile.

  “Sure.” I take it out and swipe the door to access the area beyond.

  The chef leans into the door to push it open. He has taken us straight to the delivery area. There is a massive roller door open at the back entrance of the hotel. I can see the end in sight. I sigh in relief. I look around. There is no one else in the area except for the two of us.

  “Do you smoke?” He says with a packet of cigarettes held out to me.

  “You know what. I can’t stand another moment in this job!” I drop the garbage bag down on the ground and make a beeline for the roller doors.

  I see the young chef’s mouth is wide open in astonishment. There is no more time to waste. I get to the roller doors and look around. I have no idea what street this has taken me to, but it’s busy. There are people everywhere. I see McDonalds is on the corner. I’m on Park Street. He’s taken me a whole block away from the hotel. Excellent… I walk quickly up to the end of the street, towards Hide Park. I have no idea whether Tench is even looking for me or not. I just know I can’t stick around to find out. Amongst the various footsteps on the pavement I hear the thud of people running behind me. Don’t look back. Stay calm. What now? I look up the street and see a cab approaching and raise my arm to hail it to pull over. It passes straight by me. Are you serious right now? A second cab turns the corner and I step out onto the road to force it to stop. As I jump in quickly I hear someone yell out behind me, but I can’t make out whether they actually said anything or if they were just yelling. As the cab pulls away I take a quick look out of the back window behind me and I see Toni and two other men in black t-shirts are running towards the cab. Damn it they’ve seen me! I try and keep my head as low as possible without it looking obvious. On the opposite side of the street, I see all the men follow Toni and continue to run across Park Street, towards Hyde Park. The cab I’m in pulls left onto Elizabeth Street and down towar
ds the Opera House. I close my eyes and plead inside my head over and over. If there is someone up there… can you please shine on me today? I promise to be good from now on. I take another regrettable peek behind me once again as I feel the cab slow down at the next set of traffic lights. They’re not following me any more. They’ve started running in the opposite direction down Hyde Park and away from me. I flop back into the rear seat of the cab and smile to myself. I’ve done it! I’m free. The Indian cab driver looks in his rear vision mirror at me.

  “Where to miss?”

  Shit. Where am I going to go? How am I supposed to pay for this cab? All of my belongings are still up in the hotel room… or at Tench’s mansion. He still has my phone at his house. My ID is at my house. So is some money. I can get the cab to take me there I guess? What if Tench knows where I live? If he can find me during a booking in the city I’m sure he knows my home address by now. I don’t know what to think. I don’t know what to do. The cab begins to slow down as it approaches the next set of traffic lights at Market St. I see one of the four underground entrances to St James train Station on the fringe of Hyde Park. I take my heels off and prepare to make a run for it. I watch the cab drivers eyes in the rear vision mirror, making sure he’s not watching me as he comes to a stop at the lights. I slowly slide across the seat and fling the door open as I jump out and dart in between the cars in the next three lanes, all still stationary and waiting for the lights to change from red.

  “Hey! Lady!” I hear the disgruntled cabdriver call out from behind. I hit the underground entrance and take the stairs three at a time, bouncing lightly down them with bare feet. I almost trip on the last step… stupid prescription glasses.

  It feels like I’ve been running through the series of underground walkways forever, but I finally make it to the entrance of St James Train Station. I feel safer now that I’m underground. There’s no one around, so I stop and take a breather on the edge of the walk way and put my heels back on. I make my way to the row of pay phones at the station’s entrance. I reverse charge my brother Simon. Please pick up. Please pick up.