Page 98 of The Woman with the Wallet

“Well, there’s a new tech hotel. Now, I like tech, obviously,” Zeno said. “But sometimes it goes too far.”

“Too far how?” Max asked.

“There’s no staff. Well, there is a cleaning staff, but only sometimes. The whole place is run on cards and scanners and apps and shit like that. Once those autonomous robots hit the market, I bet they will be doing the cleaning. You never have toactually speak to anyone. An introvert’s dream, I guess, but also a huge security risk.”

“Anyway,” I prompted.

“Anyway, our suspect is clearly some kind of intolerable tech bro. He couldn’t resist getting himself an overpriced, sterilized room there. That’s where the cab dropped him off. Convenient, I guess. No one to see his bloody leg, to call the cops. He just scanned his card and made his way up.”

“Please tell me you have a name and room number.”

“Well, let me just say… these tech bros know what they’re doing. They’re good. But I’m better. Getting in was a lot of work, but not impossible.”

“What’s his name?” Max asked, voice tight.

“Devon Hoffman. Twenty-nine.”

“Wait… Hoffman?” I asked.

“Yeah. He was Henry Hoffman’s cousin. Fucked up family they got going on,” Zeno said with a head shake as he reached for another taco. “From what I can tell, he’s been a deadbeat a long time. Never holding a job down longer than a few months. Constantly getting into drunk and disorderlies. Seems like our boy Henry took him in as a favor to his aunt.”

“And Henry trusted the wrong guy with his secrets,” Max said, eyes sad.

“Alright. We know his name. And we know where he is,” I said. “Can you get me in there?”

“That, unfortunately, I haven’t figured out yet. But I do know from watching too much surveillance footage that this fuck is a smoker. And since the hotel is non-smoking, he has to go outside. Which he has since he got there. Several times a day. Now, I haven’t seen him emerge since he went in after getting shot. But I imagine it’s only a matter of time.”

That was something.

Snatching someone off the street was a lot easier than it should be in a city full of witnesses. From there, I could take him to one of Brio’s killing rooms. It could be as clean or dirty as I wanted.

But it only solved one problem.

“Can I use his card to get into his room?” I asked. “Or would I be caught on all kinds of cameras?”

“Both. But… it’s winter.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means that no carefully placed code that overrides the current security footage will work quite as well as a guy in an oversized coat wearing a balaclava mask.” He paused to chew. Then, “So long as you keep it on and wear gloves, you’re golden. Get in, get the diamonds, get out. Disappear into the crowd.”

“Keep the mask on in the room?” I clarified.

“Yeah. I mean, first, it protects from trace evidence. You wouldn’t believe how much hair and skin cells we shed all around without realizing it. But also… I’m not entirely sure how they know that the rooms are empty and ready to be reoccupied again.”

“You think there’s a chance of cameras in the rooms?” Max asked, horrified.

“Normally, no. I mean, that’s against too many laws. The only reason I’m suspicious is because there’s a strange line in the terms and conditions. You know, the ten-page shit that everyone scrolls through and signs off on without actually reading it. Something about not holding the company liable if they are filmed without their consent.

“So, yeah, you keep the mask on the entire time. Even as you walk down the street after, just in case. If I can get into the cameras and follow people, the cops are capable. In theory. Likely not in practice, but you never know. Not worth the risk.Just wear it, slip into a store, go into the bathroom, get rid of it, and walk back out. All done.”

“Alright,” I agreed, anxious to get to it. After I found and purchased a balaclava. I wasn’t even positive what that was, but I figured it was something akin to a ski mask.

“I’m coming with you,” Max said.

“Absolutely fucking not.”

“He kicked my ass. Twice. He nearly killed my friend. I’m going.”

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