the riviera

she was on the riviera, he had followed her that far. the hour was late, but she could feel that he hadn't slowed his pace and was only a few heartbeats behind. he was so huge, she knew he could kill her with very little effort- probably no sound- but in her heart, she knew he was too cruel to let her go silently. she begged the driver to leave her off and not say a word. the hotel was right by the sea and under any other circumstance it would have been beautiful. the nearly full moon reflected on the water and outlined the hand carved stone of the hotel like a postcard from the past. the wooden shutters had been shut tight and it looked as though everyone had turned in for the night. even so, she paid the taxi, wrestled her bag from the seat and headed for the unlit doorway. she took the heavy iron ring in both hands and banged with all her might. almost immediately the door was opened by a neatly dressed, round bellied man. he had a kind smile and wore a small waxed mustache that made her think of inspector poirot. she trusted him immediately. the lobby was warm and inviting. the desk clerk gestured to have her bag carried and somehow she remembered enough french to tell them her story. before she could finish, the clerk waved her off and said france was quite accustomed to lovers miseries. he would place her in madame's old room because there was a secret compartment within and madame had never been discovered by any lover there. she would be safe. for the first time in days, her brow smoothed just a little.

the clerk brought her to the room and showed her the hatch. she pressed it and a hidden door popped and opened into a beautiful little room in the center of which a bed was made with white linen sheets and a deep down comforter. 'madame said we should always keep it ready.' said 'poirot' with a wink. 'pardon, i'll get your bag now.' as the clerk made his exit, she found herself crawling into the bed. she latched the door behind her and marveled at her invisibility.

she didn't know she had fallen asleep until she woke to a thundering bang. screaming. doors being kicked open and the sound of heavy boots. someone was being dragged from room to room. 'let's find her, shall we?' it was his voice. she froze. she could hear the sweet clerk trying to mumble through gargling blood and broken teeth. she wanted to save him, but she knew that even if she revealed herself, they would simply both die. room by room her predator drew closer until he was standing in the center of her room. separated by the thinnest membrane of wall paper and wood, she saw him quite clearly through the camouflaged peepholes standing no more than 3 feet away. he scented the air like dog. 'getting close, eh?'. he laughed at the clerk as though he were in on the joke, but the clerk had lost consciousness. 'all right, onward, upward!' the monster dragged the clerk out of the room and continued kicking doors open all the way down the hall. when she heard them thumping up the stairs, she knew she had to make her break.

she slipped out of the hiding space and quietly clicked it shut. she waited a moment to see if she'd been heard, she then made her way like a cat back to the lobby. she saw her bag sitting right in front of the desk. poor poirot- he didn't have a chance. she melted out the open door into the night and ran as fast as an animal until she hit the end of the road. by pure chance, a taxi was driving by. she flagged him down and sunk into the backseat deep below the window.

she was safe again- but only for now.