* * *
"Babe!"
I honestly don't know why I shout. I could whisper and I'm pretty sure he'd hear me in the other room. Must be habit - some left over human instinct or something. I ponder this and damn near almost forget what I was gonna say.
"Ricky?"
I walk out of our hotel bathroom and into the bedroom.
"Do we wanna put our passports and stuff in the safe?"
Stupid question. He's probably done it already. Though then again. I'm not sure if Ric's used to staying in places like this. Maybe he doesn't know there's a safe in our room. I'm not saying that Ric's like a skint flint or anything but knowing what I do about him, I'm pretty confident that him having money is kind of a new thing for him. Me. I'm kinda used to it. I grew up vacationing in five star hotels. My mum wouldn't stay anywhere else. You wouldn't know it to look at us. Ric and I that is. That we have money.
"We should put the jewellery I made for your mum in there as well. Maybe some of our cash too. I don't want anything going missing."
We've got more than enough cash on us for what we need to do. Thankfully since we're on holiday and stuff, and have places to go and people to see, it's not anything that would be in any way suspicious.
I find myself fingering the collar around my neck - yes, I brought it with me. I figure while Ric does his shadow thing. I'll go pre-buy tickets to exhibits and ****. Make sure we have 'evidence' of time spent here, you know, just in case we need it. If everything goes to plan we shouldn't. I mean really, who's gonna suspect us? I mean me, I haven't ever met the guy before and Ric, well thankfully Ric ain't seen the prick in years.
We’re due to go out soon. Enact phase one. Have me make contact with Dwayne. Don’t bother me. Yeah. It could be one of those things that comes out in an investigation but we aren’t planning to kill the ****** tonight so I doubt anyone will care that some blonde knocked on his door a few days before his death asking for assistance. I mean that’s totally random. Right? I won’t need the guy’s help. Not really. I could change a tyre myself, but the sake of the narrative we’ve created, I’ve made sure I’ll have the number of a local garage just in case Dwayne’s as useless as he is sick in the head.
I don’t think we’ll need his name personally. I think we’ll both know him on sight. I may never have met the guy but I know what he looks like. So does Ric. Still, this is Ric’s operation and if he wants some sort of verbal confirmation then I’ll play my part. Ric says I’m not the guys type, and maybe he’s right, but the guy definitely nails women too. I mean he dated his mum and that. I’m gonna have a hard time not clocking the guy in the face if he lays his hands on me. I can usually take a bit of flirty behaviour - I sure as hell give it – but that don’t mean I want that guy anywhere near me.