Eve In Utopia

Chapter Sixteen

Bryce Turner was still in Jefferson Washburn's room, getting the story of what had happened from a shaky Angie when he got a call from Eric Winslow, the twit who ran the resort security. In Bryce's opinion, Winslow would have been right at home at one of the Nazi death camps, but this time the man sounded badly shaken and wanted Bryce to come to the room in Gamma Tower where the prisoner had escaped from. Winslow disconnected before Bryce could get any more details from him and so he was in a foul mood when he got there. Bryce opened his mouth to lambaste Winslow, but then saw how pale the man was and when Winslow just pointed to the room, Bryce looked inside and saw the reason for Winslow's distress. It took all of his training and years of experience not to lose his lunch as he looked down at the butchered body of Morgan Thomas. Bryce hadn't liked the man very much, but still he was one of his people and that really grated on him.

"Did anyone see who did this?" he demanded, turning to look at Winslow.

"It happened right next door to Ms. Rumour's room," replied Winslow. "She's the one who called it into the front desk and they relayed it to me. She was pretty hysterical. I have the resort's doctor in with her right now," and he jerked a thumb at the closed door.

Bryce grunted, he could understand the hysteria since he didn't think it would take much for him to join the actress in that state. This was one of the most brutal killings he had ever seen with Morgan's blood and entrails strewn all over the floor. Bryce didn't like the idea of disturbing someone who had witnessed this atrocity, but he needed some answers with the banquet due to start in an hour. His instincts were screaming at him to yank the President out and sit his ass in a helicopter to get him off the island, but that just wasn't practical. They couldn't evacuate all the leaders and they had a tight security cordon around them that would protect them from anything but an all out assault by a company of soldiers. Bryce closed the room door on the carnage and went and knocked on the actress's door. It was opened by a tall gray haired man who peered disdainfully down his nose at Bryce and asked him what he wanted.

"I need to talk to Ms. Rumour," said Bryce holding up his ID for the other man to read.

"I don't think that's a good idea," said the man and he started to close the door in Bryce's face, but found it stopped by the agent's foot.

"I take it you are the resort doctor?" said Bryce, keeping his temper under control with an effort.

"Yes, Robert Abercrombie," affirmed the man, not bothering to offer a hand.

"Well Dr. Abercrombie, I have no desire to put Ms. Rumour through any more stress than I have to, but I need to ask her a few questions if she is up to it."

"No, I forbid it," replied Abercrombie and he looked pointedly down at Bryce's foot that kept him from closing the door.

"Please let him in Doctor," came a female voice from inside the room. The voice was shaky, but it didn't sound hysterical anymore to Bryce's untrained medical ear.

"Are you sure Ms. Rumour?" asked Abercrombie dubiously, as he looked back over his shoulder at her. "You have had a severe shock and I don't recommend this course of action."

"I'm quite sure," answered Mimi and with obvious reluctance the doctor stepped back to let Bryce enter the room.

"Would you be so good as to wait outside please Dr. Abercrombie," said Bryce making it a statement instead of the question it might have sounded like. Abercrombie gave a snort of disgust, but stepped into the corridor and Bryce closed the door after him.

When Bryce turned around from the door, he got his first sight of Mimi and she didn't look much like the glamorous movie star at the moment. She had obviously been crying, her eyes were red and her hair was a mess. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, hugging her arms around her chest. She gestured Bryce to towards a chair next to the bed that the doctor had obviously just vacated. They hadn't got along very well the few times they had interacted previously, but Bryce couldn't help but feel sorry for the woman at this moment.