Rabbits(109)

I opened the book and turned to a chapter called “Cities & Eyes 1.” I was looking for something hidden in the text of the novel or written in the margins, some clue that might help us find out what the hell was going on. I didn’t find anything like that, but there was something.

Nestled into the spine of the book, on the first page of that chaper, was a small thin metal key.

I’d been looking for some kind of clue in the text of the novel. I definitely wasn’t expecting a literal physical key.

I slipped the key into my pocket just as the paramedics burst through the door. They were followed a minute or so later by the police.

Suddenly, Fatman’s office was an extremely active crime scene.





34


    THE AMERICAN


We were questioned for about an hour and a half at the police station.

We told the police we’d gone to that porn shop basement to ask Fatman Neil a question about a game we were playing. We didn’t mention Alan Scarpio, the surveillance computer array Neil called Mother, or the fact that the game might be connected to Neil’s death.

They asked us all kinds of questions about the game. We told them it was something called Starfire Enterprises, which was an ongoing alternate reality game connected to the marketing surrounding the ninth movie in a popular action movie franchise. Their eyes glazed over when we started explaining what an ARG was and how it worked. They took dutiful notes, but they had no idea. Their takeway was clearly: weird gamers, knew the deceased a little, keep them in mind if anybody else they know gets killed.

Eventually, a tall brunette woman with a scar across the bottom of her mouth who told us her name was Detective Marianne Sanders took down our contact information and told us we were free to go.

The police gave us a ride back to Chloe’s car.

Chloe started the car, and the two of us sat together in silence for a few moments.

“What the fuck, K?”

“I know. That was messed up.”

“What are we going to do now?” Chloe asked.

I pulled the key from my jacket pocket and handed it to Chloe.

“What is this?”

“Found it in the book.”

“Invisible Cities?”

“Yeah.”

“Look at this,” Chloe said, holding the key up to the light.

It was faded, but something had been stamped into the front:

    The American

29



“What do you think?” I asked.

“The American Hotel?”

I nodded. “That makes sense. It looks like this key might fit some kind of locker, maybe?”

“I’ve been to the American,” Chloe said. “It’s a backpacker kinda place. I’m sure they have lockers.”

She typed the address into the GPS app on her phone, put her car into drive, and pulled out into the street.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“What the fuck do you think? We’re going to the American to figure out what that key opens.”



* * *



—

On our way over to the hotel, we came up with a plan. We’d ask for a tour, and then, as soon as we found the lockers, I’d ask to use the bathroom while Chloe continued with the tour. Then I’d sneak back to the lockers, open number 29, and grab whatever was inside.

“Welcome. How can I help you?” A twentysomething blond woman, with two long, thick dreadlocked pigtails that made her look like a cantina character from a Star Wars movie, smiled as we entered the lobby.

“Hey,” Chloe said. “We’re looking for a place for a few nights. We were hoping we might be able to take a look around?”

“You bet,” she said. “Just a sec.” She grabbed a set of keys and came around to our side of the counter. “Follow me,” she said.

She took us through the various rooms—the dining area, the communal spaces, and a few of the unoccupied bedrooms. There were a lot of bunk beds and some pretty cool eclectic hostel-style furnishings. There were also a whole bunch of lockers, but they were all secured with combination locks.

It looked like our bathroom ruse wasn’t going to be effective.

“Do you have any other lockers?” I asked.

She thought for a moment, then shook her head. “No, I think we’ve seen them all. If you have something that won’t fit, I’m sure we can figure it out, keep it in a secure room or whatever.”

“It’s not that.” I showed her the key. “Is there anything here that this might be able to open?”

She took a look at the key, then back at me. “You’re not really looking for a room.”

I looked over at Chloe.

“Where did you get that key?” Pigtails put her hands on her hips. I could tell she was ready to shut us down completely. We needed to come up with something fast.

“My brother,” Chloe said. “He always kept it around his neck.”

I had no idea where this story was headed. Chloe didn’t have a brother.

“No matter what,” Chloe continued, “swimming, showering, running a marathon, that key was always there. He never talked about the key with any of us, but it was obviously something really important to him.” Chloe paused and took a deep shaky breath. “My brother passed away recently.”