I couldn't call 911 anymore. I'd get a huge fine and the police wouldn't make another trip anyway. But she was here again and that thing in her hand looked like a knife.
***
It was the most run down hotel we'd ever held a three-day financial seminar in. Bad coffee, dripping faucets, and old, discolored carpet. Cutbacks forced our traveling team to save our pennies where we could. Attendance was high, though. Higher than I expected for the part of Cincinnati we're in. No obnoxious attendees or problems with the multimedia equipment. Thank God for that! Nothing really out of the ordinary. Nothing except for what happened in my room every morning at 4:10.
I was drifting between dreams when I sensed something was off. There was enough light coming through the sheer drapes to make out something near the door to the bathroom. A slender form pacing slowly back and forth at the foot of the bed. My heart leaped into my throat. How in the world did it get into my room?
I reached for the phone. The loud dial tone further startling me. The 911 dispatcher kept asking me to repeat myself.
It happened all over again the next morning. I didn't reach for the phone this third time. I just watched, wishing I was wearing more than hotel blankets.
The form became more clear, more feminine. She had shoulder length brown hair and wore a light colored long shirt or night gown. There was a dark design on her stomach when she turned my way.
My breath hung in the pale light out of the corner of my eye. She kept pacing, shaking her head like she was talking to herself. Then she stopped and looked right at me. I barely heard her words over my pounding heart.
“This wouldn't have happened if you were here.”
She dropped onto the floor. I didn't want to move but I was already in motion. I looked over the edge of the bed, seeing her lay there for only a moment, just a few seconds. She stared at me through sorrowful eyes. The pattern on her stomach was more red now. I heard voices calling for help. Echos from somewhere. Then she was gone.
***
By 6:00 AM I was completely packed, never so glad to be checking out of a place. Another seminar in another city. I wasn't going to say anything to anyone. “Move along! Nothing to see here,” I whispered to myself.
I double checked my equipment bags in the hall making sure I had everything. The last thing I saw before the door closed was the stain in carpet at the foot of the bed.
I have no idea who she was or what I could have done to help.