02. Action Plan

Back to the important things then. He will need to remember where he was and if someone saw him with her. Who the hell was she? He decided to call her Jane until he found out who she was.
He would start with his usual hang-outs and see if anyone saw him there or maybe they saw Jane but he needs to be careful, no need to get other people interested in him or Jane.

Next concern then, how did he get home last night and at what time?
He lives in a relatively quiet neighbourhood, near Hyde Park and at night the traffic is limited, not many people walking around but there are enough not to make someone stand out. It’s actually why he moved here in the first place.
Well, the tall trees lining the streets and the closeness to Hyde Park are also good selling points but he always enjoyed his privacy and this place is perfect. Quiet with neighbours so caught up in their own life dramas no one notices him. Even when walking down the street you can hide.
It’s so close to the train station and the numerous hotels that are located on the street. To anyone seeing them last night they were just another couple returning to their hotel. It’s doubtful anyone registered them coming home last evening but he would need to make sure. It’s also doubtful anyone noticed ‘her’ coming in the house either. She has a way of going past people without being noticed anyway, unless of course she wants you to notice her.

He still needs to wait for the mattress to dry out completely and there is no point in starting the search yet, most of the places he needs to visit will be closed in the morning.
He turns the laptop on, might as well start looking for a new bed so he clicks on the IKEA web page.
As he scans their bedroom section he decides to check on the news, just in case. He turns the TV on and selects the BBC News channel and nearly chokes on his coffee.
A face is staring at him, a woman’s face, a beautiful face as it’s framed by her blonde hair. He turns the volume on.
“…the wife of TV’s presenter John Garnier has been reported missing by her husband this morning. Mrs Garnier has been missing ever since she left her office last night. It was reported that their marriage was under pressure after Mr Garnier was seen leaving a London restaurant in the company of another woman. The police have refused to comment and only said they are treating this as a normal missing person case. And now sports…”
Flashbacks start coming at him from every angle. The face from the TV laughing as she holds a shot glass in her hand, another image of her as she takes his hand and the memory of her lips as she’s kissing him, her mouth tasting of alcohol and cigarettes.

“Fuck, girl. What have you done to me?” he stares at the TV in abject horror. “Damn, you really landed me in it, deep this time... babe”.

He can imagine ‘her’ sitting at her home, or where ever the Hell she is, when she is not making my life miserable, sitting there and smiling that annoying, self satisfied smile of hers.
Maybe he should work at things differently. He had some spare time anyway so he could try and track her down and wipe that smile of her face forever. Damn that bitch, damn her to Hell and back! He sat down and tried to calm himself down. He pours another shot of whiskey in the coffee and drinks a long sip. He had to calm down, there is no point going after her, he wouldn’t find her anyway.

Back to plan A then. First he needs a new bed and he might have just found one that he liked. Better to go to the store and get it himself. No need to have people delivering things for the next few things. He needs to get some tools anyway.
He turned to look at the TV again. They had a special on the financial crisis and the things people should be worried about. “Wish life was that simple.” He finished his coffee and thought about breakfast and then thought about his room. He decided breakfast might not be a good idea.

He got up, might as well start cleaning. He went to the cupboard in the kitchen and checked the cleaning stuff he had. He seemed to have everything he wanted. Bleach, some glass cleaning thing, loads of kitchen paper. The carpet was not too bad, a few spatters and some blood that dripped from the bed. The walls were covered though. He decided to clean them but it would be a good idea to paint over them as well. He wanted to redecorate the bedroom anyway. He knew, from watching CSI mainly, that it would be hard to get rid of all the evidence but to be honest, if the cops decided to search his place he was in trouble anyway. He couldn’t easily replace the carpet but he would paint the wall.
Some dark colours maybe, colours dark enough that would persuade him the stains were gone. He recently helped a friend paint her room so he had a few ideas. He started laughing. People are so weird sometimes. He was in so much trouble. Even if the police didn’t get involved, he had no idea how far she could go. Yet. Here he was, thinking of the bedroom colour scheme. Light blue-grey for most walls and a darker grey for the wall behind the bed, to offset his new paintings.

He made a list of the things he needed to get and started on getting the place ready. The bed was almost drying so he covered in plastic and moved it to the spare room.