Ningma watched the returning couple disappear into the elevator, then was invited by the front desk manager to a waiting area nearby.
Not far away, the artificial rockery and bridge landscape had a gurgling stream flowing, the rushing water sounds masking their conversation.
“May I ask your surname?” Ningma asked, looking at the name tag on the manager’s chest that read “Solang Lunzhu.” He wasn’t sure whether to address her by her mother’s surname or her full name, as was the local custom.
“I’m called Solang Lunzhu,” the lobby manager said. “Just call me Lunzhu.”
“Alright, Manager Lunzhu,” Ningma didn’t dwell on the surname issue and carefully recounted the events of the previous night again, receiving the same surprised expression. Clearly, the other party was completely unaware of the incident involving a human life.
“Please wait a moment,” the manager quickly walked back to the front desk, retrieved a rather thick workbook, flipped to a page, and carefully browsed it, then walked back. “I’m sorry, Mr. Ningma, I’m not sure if there was a fall from the building last night. Can I check with security and get back to you later?”
Ningma glanced at the workbook resting on the front desk in the distance. He couldn’t see any signs of concealment in the other party’s eyes. It was as if everything that had happened last night was his own imagination. Although he knew it was impossible, he still asked, “Um,” pointing at the workbook, the hotel’s front desk log, “can I take a look at it?”
“I’m sorry,” the manager refused directly when she realized what the guest wanted. “Internal hotel work files cannot be lent to guests.”
Ningma didn’t insist and asked from another angle, “Then does it say what reason you changed my room for?”
“Because of your complaint,” the lobby manager repeated. “The business room you stayed in last night had a roof leak and safety hazard, and our night manager transferred you to an executive suite.”
“Roof leak? Safety hazard?” Ningma asked uncertainly. “Complaint?”
“Uh,” the lobby manager probably also wasn’t used to this situation and thought the other party’s questioning tone was accusatory. “I’m very sorry, the Molton Holiday Inn didn’t bring you the worst possible stay.”
“Ah, no, no,” Ningma was a little confused by the sudden apology and explained, “That’s not what I meant… forget it. Where is your night manager from yesterday now? I have something I want to ask him.”
“Manager Huang?” Manager Lunzhu replied, consistent with the back office. “He worked the night shift and should be resting in his room now.”
Although he knew it was impolite, Ningma hesitated for a moment and said, “If possible, could you give him a call? I need to confirm with him what I just told you.”
As a five-star hotel that has always adhered to the service concept of “the customer is God”, the lobby manager on the opposite side immediately took out her phone, only turning slightly to dial the phone number.
After dialing, no one answered. After a few rings, Ningma signaled to hang up first and asked, “Will he continue the night shift tonight?”
The female manager nodded. “Or you can call him again at noon and let him contact you?”
“Thank you,” Although he had a lot of questions, it seemed this was the only way for now. He pointed to the second floor. “Is that the restaurant on the second floor?”
“Yes,” Manager Lunzhu clearly breathed a sigh of relief. “This way, please!”
The restaurant was much larger than he imagined and equally luxuriously decorated. The huge space was filled with white tablecloths and chairs, but a large part of it was empty. This was probably because the off-season for tourism, coupled with the continuous rainy days, had reduced the number of guests. Visually, it looked like a large blank space.
The breakfast was simple. Also because there were only a few guests, the restaurant offered a limited number of varieties, mainly Chinese breakfast.
Ningma was already tired of toast sandwiches, so he was very interested in taking a bowl of rice porridge, a dish of side dishes, a steamed bun, and a boiled egg. He chose a seat by the window, so he could see the situation in the hotel courtyard just by turning his head.
Of course, there wouldn’t be anyone at the outdoor coffee bar because of the light rain. From the angle downstairs, it was also difficult to distinguish the traces of the fall from the building last night, but if he calculated correctly, the drainage ditch about half a meter to the left of the third coffee table over was it.
Tearing off a bite of the steamed bun and putting it in his mouth, the glass window was mottled with rain marks. The few people in the restaurant were all not talking, and only the low violin classics flowed almost imperceptibly in the air.
Ningma, along with the porridge in the bowl, still vividly remembered the scene of the break-in last night—the white-clothed man’s goal was very clear: to go for the priceless Heart Bead, so he went straight for the wooden box containing the Heart Bead.
Secondly, he fell downstairs and died on the spot? It was likely that he was dead. If he hadn’t died, he also didn’t hear the sound of an ambulance siren. Even if the mountain road was blocked at that time, at least the hotel staff knew.
But obviously the employees on duty at this moment—whether it was the back office or the lobby manager called Lunzhu—knew nothing about what happened last night.
The side dish that went well with the rice was ordinary pickled mustard tuber, which had a slightly salty taste with a hint of sweetness—in that case, there could only be one explanation:
The hotel wanted to suppress the whole matter. After all, if a five-star hotel in a well-known scenic spot reported a burglary and a fall from a great height, it would be a devastating blow to the hotel’s reputation if it were accidentally made public.
After figuring this out, Ningma shoveled the last bite of porridge into his mouth. Changing from a 700-a-night business suite to a 3,000 executive suite also had the implication of silencing him.
So… should he call the police?
Ningma looked at the dark sky outside the window, still covered with dark clouds. The tropical humid air was retained by the surrounding mountains with an average altitude of 3,000 meters, concentrating and converging to cause this continuous heavy rain. In addition, the rainfall this year was more abundant than in previous years, and it was not an exaggeration to rain for days and nights.
The light rain would also wash away all traces on the surface, from loose sand and shale to broken branches and leaves, and of course also the moss that was crushed by light objects, which might be replaced by newly grown spores in less than half a day.
He re-grasped the Heart Bead in his pocket in his palm, feeling the smooth, creamy touch, like a layer of skin that could be broken by blowing, conveying a feeling of stillness to his heart.
If the hotel clearly wanted to settle the matter, or if this light rain cut off the road—and he left alone again, maybe nothing would have happened at this moment.
When he got up to check out, he was told that all guests were exempt from food, accommodation, and transportation during the hotel’s closure. The hotel had even specially prepared a gift to be delivered to their rooms later. What exactly it was was not yet known.
Because there was no direct elevator, he had to return to the hotel lobby before taking the elevator downstairs. When passing by the lobby, Manager Lunzhu smiled and greeted several guests, and after seeing Ningma slowly come down, handed over a palm-sized paper bag.
“This is what Manager Huang instructed me to hand over to you if I saw you.”
Ningma originally wanted to decline, but the other party insisted on giving it to him. In the end, he had to accept it, express his gratitude, and then take the elevator back to VIP room 539. Facing the “T” shaped corridor, the 509 he stayed in last night was at the other end of the corridor.
The room door was closed. Ningma took out the room card that should have been returned, swiped it, and entered the room. The door was open when he was preparing to check out two hours ago. Then he asked the tall waiter from last night to send the suitcase back. Now the suitcase was on the outer side of the living room not far from the door.
Under the soft, warm orange light of the entrance, the suitcase quietly bathed in the light, but was the arrangement of the lock buckles completely different?
Ningma saw it from afar with one glance—someone had tampered with it?