Everything and Nothing

After Karen picked up her key card and room assignment she walked down the hallway looking for the correct number on the door. Ray caught up with her, touching her elbow. Leaning in close they continued to walk as he spoke quietly. "I was working on the room assignments with Mr. Rogers just before the train pulled in. We had to be prepared in case we ended up spending the night. That's why I wasn't in my seat when we stopped. There's been some confusion because we have an extra person along who isn't on our list of employees. We worked out the details and got her stashed into a room. She’s in with you, Karen. I want you to keep your eyes and ears open to see what you can find out about her. Can you do that?" Karen turned toward him. "You mean, you want me to spy on her?" "Yeah, sort of; but it's probably nothing. Just see what kind of feeling you get about her. Be alert to anything that might seem… a little off. My room is opposite yours, so if you need anything, you'll know where to find me." He stopped before a door on his right. “Ray, what did you mean when you said this building is totally sealed off? Does that mean we can’t get out of here? What if there’s a fire or something?” “We’ve thought of everything just in case, but yes, at the moment we can’t get out of here.” His face softened. “Don’t worry, though. The fire-safe exit doors have an auto-release mechanism that is activated when the fire alarm is tripped. You’re perfectly safe, no matter what happens. I promise.” Ray inserted his plastic card into its slot. Pushing the door handle down he said, "See you later." "Yeah, later," said Karen. She turned to the left and did the same thing, opened the door and stepped inside. The room was average, like any other motel room, having a bathroom enclosure and two double beds on the left, a storage closet and dresser drawers on the right. Where there should have been a little table and a couple of chairs at the far end by the window there were instead two small mattresses on the floor lying end-to-end. The television was glaringly absent. "Looks like six to a room," said a voice over her shoulder. Karen turned as a woman breezed by her and plopped down near the foot of the first bed, tossing her purse and jacket toward the pillows. "My name's Donna," she said. "Donna Masters. What's yours?" "I'm Karen Langley." Trying not to be obvious Karen studied the woman. She was shorter than herself and slightly heavier, with shoulder length brown hair that had some gray mixed in. Her smiling face, highlighted by twinkling brown eyes, was full of character and pleasant to look at. We must be close to the same age, she thought. Aloud she said, "Nice to meet you. What department do you work in?" "Men's Apparel," Donna answered. "How about you?" "Oh, I've been in Hardware for five months now. I don't remember seeing you around." Karen considered the woman's face. Should she recognize her? "I'm pretty new," Donna said with a smile. She leaned back on her elbows and continued, "I've got two whole days under my belt. Came just in time for all the action!" Karen turned as the door to the hall opened again. She watched four more women enter the little room. The first went immediately into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. The next two found places to sit on the unoccupied bed leaving the last to resign herself to a mattress on the floor. Karen recognized the girl on the mattress as Alexandra Bailey from the jewelry counter. She was a real knockout with a beautiful face, a terrific figure and dark, almost black, wavy hair down below her waist. About twenty years old, she'd been working at the store since her high school graduation. They bumped into each other in the break room nearly every day. Quite often they would sit at the same table eating and talking. They knew each other rather well, but didn't socialize outside of work. The two women on the bed were older, probably in their mid-thirties, each with sleek short haircuts, and red polished nails. Their pretty faces were familiar to Karen. She had seen them at work in the hair salon, but didn't cross paths with them at all. She didn't know their names. Donna looked up at Karen. Patting the bed beside her she said, "Unless you want to end up on the floor over there, you'd better sit down here before that other girl comes out of the bathroom." Unsure of herself, Karen said, "Oh, I really don't mind the floor. Let her have the bed." She walked over to the second mattress. She didn’t want to hurt Donna's feelings by saying that she preferred to have a bed to herself even if it was just a mattress on the floor. She'd been sleeping alone for some time now and had gotten used to it. A single-sized mattress on the floor offered more room than a double bed with a person in it… The bathroom door was timidly opened and the last roommate emerged. Dressed in jeans, a plain white blouse and tennis shoes, she looked very young. The skin around her bright blue eyes was red and puffy. Everyone could tell that she'd been crying. She started a little, seeing five pairs of eyes cast solely upon her. Her voice broke as she began to speak. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, barely loud enough to be heard. She took a few halting steps forward, her gaze darting from face to face and then fluttering to the floor. "Where do you want me to sleep?”