Page 55 of Sixty Meters Under
“You ungrateful whore!”
Chapter 16
The ringing echoed through the dark room, waking them both from their deep slumber. Lennart groaned, irritated, when he finally managed to locate his phone. He had the urge to decline the call but decided against it when he saw Hugo’s name on the screen. If Hugo called in the middle of the night, it was never a good sign.
His voice came out raspy. “Yes?”
“Lennart, we have an emergency. Please come to room eighteen.”
Lennart tensed. “What happened?”
“We have… we have a dead body.”
Lennart’s eyes widened, and all drowsiness he felt vanished in that second. He pushed himself into a sitting position. “What? Are you sure?”
“Yes… murder… come quick.”
“Fuck.”
Lennart ended the call and heard Leticia ask, “What’s going on?”
“Stay in bed. It’s still early. I’ll be back soon. I have to take care of something…” Lennart trailed off, deciding it would be for the best to keep the news from her for now.
“Oh, okay.” Leticia rolled to the other side. Lennart was grateful she didn’t keep questioning. He rose to his feet and gathered his scattered clothes off the floor. He put on his glasses, checked the time and left the room.
Lennart’s mind raced.Did this happen because I let them drink?He felt guilty.Maybe having a party was a bad idea. I was supposed to protect, and I failed. But… was it really a murder?
Lennart left the elevator and strode forward, his steps echoing through the empty hallway. He thought about all the residents who were peacefully sleeping, unaware of a nightmare unfolding in one of the private rooms.
Lennart tried to recall who had been placed in room eighteen. Dread crept into his stomach as he failed to remember. He approached the door and saw the light through the crack. When he came close enough, he could hear muffled voices. He swallowed hard, took a deep breath and pushed the door forward.
Four people stood in the middle of the room, and a figure lay prone on the couch. If he had happened to walk into the room without the previous call, he would think that the person was sleeping.
“Lennart.” Hugo noticed him enter, and the others also turned to him. Lennart glanced at their gloomy faces and walked past them towards the couch.
When he had a better view of the body, he saw how the skin was unusually pale.This isn’t the color of a person who’s still breathing,he thought to himself.
“What happened?” he asked as he bent down to have a closer look.
The man with the tears gathering in his eyes spoke, “She… she was feeling sick. She drank a lot last night.” His voice was breaking; it was a strange sight. A person who appeared strong and powerful like this man was a rarity to see in this condition.
Lennart’s jaw clenched and he narrowed his eyes and waited for the man to proceed. “W-we went to sleep, and in the middle of the night she woke up and started throwing up.”
“And?”
“She was loud. That woke me up.”
“And then?”
“When she finally stopped, I helped her to lie on the couch. She was disoriented.”
Lennart lowered his gaze to examine the body further. “Why does she have a bruise on her face?”
“I-I slapped her when we got back to our room after the party, b-but that has nothing to do with her death.” The man shook his head visibly embarrassed.
Lennart looked skeptically over the rim of his glasses.
“I didn’t do anything to her!” The man raised his voice, but doing so made him sound desperate. “She just stopped breathing! When I noticed it, I immediately called the doctor, but it was too late.”
