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month. Having a pocketful of cash to spend was a weird sensation, but one she could definitely get used to.
     
    Carrier bags in hand, Suzy tried to flag down a cab, but didn't seem to have the knack. They either drove straight past her or someone else beat her to them. She kept on walking, in what she thought was the general direction of the hotel, until she came across three cabs parked at the side of the road.
    “Esquire hotel, Knightsbridge,” she said, as she climbed in.
     
    No sooner had she settled onto the back seat, than the cab pulled up outside the hotel. If she'd have realised she was so close, she'd have walked. The ten quid fare seemed a lot for such a short journey. Was she meant to tip? She gave the guy a ten pound note and a one pound coin. From his expression, he'd probably expected a bigger tip from someone who could afford to stay at the Esquire.
    This time, she got no hassle when she entered the hotel. Todd had obviously telephoned ahead as he'd promised. The doorman opened the door for her, and the receptionist smiled as she handed Suzy a key card. The hotel room was amazing. She'd had very few holidays as a child—although she did recall a caravan site somewhere on the coast. The only time she'd stayed in a 'real' hotel had been when she'd had a week long hen party in Ibiza. Three of them had shared a room barely big enough for one person.
    The Persimmon Suite was huge. There were three bedrooms—all of them en-suite. The main reception room had a huge TV, two matching red leather sofas and a mini bar. How much did somewhere like this cost per night? It was easy to tell which was Todd's bedroom because his clothes were littered all across the floor. It was good to know she wasn't the only untidy slob.
    Suzy took the bedroom next door to Todd's. After a quick shower, she began to try on the clothes she'd bought. As she was pulling on a pair of jeans, her phone rang. It was Todd.
     
    “Suzy?” Where are you?”
    “At the hotel. How long will you be?”
    “Listen to me. You have to get out of there right now.”
    “What are you on about? Where are you?”
    “No time for that. Just get your things and leave now.”
    “Is this some kind of joke?”
    “No. Just do as I say. Don't leave through the main reception. Take the back staircase.”
    “You're scaring me now. Where shall I go?”
    “It's nothing to worry about. Just get as far away from the hotel as you can. I'll call you later.”
    “Todd?”
    The line was dead.
    If this was his idea of a joke, it wasn't funny. Her instincts told her he wasn't fooling around. There had been something in his voice she hadn't heard before: fear.
    Suzy fastened her jeans, put on one of the new tee-shirts, and threw the other clothes into a bag. She walked past the lifts and the main staircase, and carried on to the end of the corridor. The exit door had a small window in it. After it had closed behind her, she looked back along the corridor. Moments later, the lift doors opened, and two men stepped out: one, tall and slim, the other, shorter with a bald head. She watched them walk over to the Persimmon Suite, and begin to hammer on the door.
    Suzy took the stairs two and even three at a time. By the time she was outside, she was gasping for air. Which way should she go? She chose to go left which brought her back to the front of the hotel.  As she hurried past the hotel's main entrance, the door of a blue Volvo opened directly in front of her. She was walking so fast she ran straight into the man who had stepped out of the car.
    “Sorry,” she said.
    The tall man mountain, dressed in a stylish designer suit, glanced down at her. “My fault.” He said, and smiled displaying two gold front teeth. “Are you all right?”
    “Yeah.” Suzy stepped around him. “Thanks.”
    As soon as she was a few streets away from the hotel, she called Todd. No answer.
    “Answer. Damn it!”
    She tried several more times, but with no more success. What was she