11. Chapter Eleven
Chapter eleven
Noble found the hotel where Bill and Milena had stayed while they were in Belgrade. It wasn’t a five-star establishment, but it wasn’t a dive either. It was certainly an upgrade from the raucous hostel where he had slept. Or tried to sleep anyways.
Even a pair of foam earplugs he had obtained from the front counter hadn’t managed to stop all the noise. And his own internal alarm clock had been telling him it was time to wake up three AM. He’d mostly laid there thinking about Sam, counting the hours until she was awake so he could text her.
Noble parked the rental on the street and made his way into the small but well-appointed lobby, thinking the married couple were pinching pennies on their second honeymoon and trying to stretch the dollars as far as possible.
The Stari Grad Suites sits between the waterfront and old town, a nondescript building that most tourists would pass without a second glance; just the kind of hotel a former spy would choose.
A young man in burgundy livery came to attention as Noble entered.
He had short cropped hair and a five o’clock shadow with dark circles under his eyes.
He looked like he’d gotten even less sleep than Noble.
The name badge attached to his uniform read; Xanders.
He tried on a smile that read as exhaustion.
Noble had a sneaking suspicion that Xanders had been out late last night.
Maybe he was even one of the Belgraders who had been drinking and shouting all night, keeping Noble awake. Small world.
“Welcome, sir. Checking in?”
“Actually looking for some friends of mine,” Noble said with his most disarming smile.
Exhaustion turned his smile into a grimace.
Two tired men both doing their level best to operate on too little sleep and too much coffee.
He brought out his phone, and pulled up the picture of Bill and Milena.
“They were staying here a week or so ago.”
“I don’t think so.” Xanders shook his head.
His reaction was a bit too quick. He barely glanced at the image. Noble’s alarm bells instantly started ringing. “You’ve never seen them?”
“I’ve never seen them before.”
Noble frowned and chewed the inside of one cheek.
CIA teaches recruits how to spot a lie. It’s not an exact science.
Anyone who says otherwise is lying. It’s as much art as it is science.
But there are several tell-tale signs. When a bunch of them stack up, you can be sure someone is lying.
And at the moment, Xanders was telegraphing every tell in CIA’s list of warning signs.
His eyes darted around, never stopping on the photograph, never quite landing on Noble’s face. His fingertips drummed the counter top. His tongue kept touching his lips and his cheeks went pale. The kid would be a terrible poker player.
Noble held the phone up, pushing it under Xanders’s nose. “You’ve never seen them? Because they checked into your hotel two weeks ago. I’ve got pictures of them out front. Want to see?”
Noble acted like he was about to swipe to show proof.
Xanders cleared his throat. ”Oh, yes. I remember them now. They were on honeymoon. They were here, but they’re gone now.”
Noble said, “I gathered that. Any idea where they went? Did they say where they were off to?”
Xanders licked his lips. “No. sorry. I do not know where they went.”
The kid was practically sweating bullets. Noble had no doubt he was lying. The only question was why?
“Know what room they stayed in?”
“Two oh one,” Xanders said. “But they’re not there now. They left. Nearly a week ago.”
“At first you didn’t remember them,” Noble said. “Now you know exactly what room they stayed in and when they left.”
“Well, there are a lot of guests. Sometimes it takes me a minute to recall.”
Noble nodded again, as if that made perfect sense. “Well, as it turns out, I need a place to stay. Is room two oh one available?”
“Yes,” Xanders said, then, “Sorry. No. There is somebody in there at the moment. It’s booked.”
Noble thrust his chin at the computer. “You didn’t even check.”
Xanders’s fingers flashed over the keyboard. He pretended to read through the information on the screen then shook his head. “Sorry, it’s booked. In fact, all our rooms are booked at the moment, sir.”
An obvious lie.
Noble flashed a smile. “Guess I’ll have to find someplace else. Thanks for your time.”
“No problem at all.”
Noble started toward the door then turned back.
“Oh, one more thing.” He brought up the image of Bill and Milena on his phone, then zoomed in on the figure in the background. He showed it to Xanders and said, “Ever seen this guy before?”