*****
I call a cab for Kirstie. “They’ll be thirty minutes getting here, so go clean yourself up.” I point her across the lobby. “There’s a bathroom over there and to the left.” Snatching a box of tissues from under the reception desk, I push it into her hand and as an afterthought, pull a twenty from my pocket and give her that too.
She protests, “No, Micha….”
“You can’t go around with no cash at all. Pay me back when Ben returns your purse.”
She sniffles agreement and heads for the washroom.
Trying to rub the throbbing from my forehead, I take a deep breath. Then another.
What’s next?
The receptionist is giving me some odd looks, so I head out of the rear of the hotel to the gardens for some privacy. Then, leaning back against the chill stone wall, I try Ben's phone again.
And ag
