The Night Manager exuded quiet confidence, taste.
His Gieves & Hawkes suit was impeccably tailored, yet not at all ostentatious. The subtle pattern of his Brioni necktie quietly matched the hotel wallpaper. In five languages he would give guests comfort, guidance, bits of colorful lore about the city or the hotel itself.
He solved problems efficiently, discretely, his demeanor projecting an almost overwhelming calm. There was nothing about the hotel or the city he did not know, no specialization of service in which he was not expert.
He would tell arriving guests about the amenities and luxuries they could expect, the small touches that made his hotel one of the finest in the world– sheets of Egyptian cotton with so high a thread count that their softness could not be measured, bottled mineral water from an ancient village where people routinely surpassed their hundredth birthday, the healing powers of the hotel spa.
He did not tell them of the man in room 2146 lying naked in a tub of ice, his newly harvested organs stored in the basement refrigeration units, nor of the background checks routinely performed on guests to see who might make inquiries should they suddenly go missing.
Credit for the idea must go to the lovely K. Rawson, who has a sick mind but insufficient time to express it.
Richly rendered. Love how it winds up to a smack of sinister.
The first three paragraphs were straight out of Le Carre’s ‘Night Manager’, the last paragraph – not so much. Nice work :-)
Yeah, this dude is no hero. He’s more like an opportunist. I watched the Amazon series but haven’t read LeCarre’s novel. I loved his old stuff. Great plots.
I’ve read all his novels, older stuff definitely better, but still worth a read.
It sounded like quite a nice place – until the final paragraph. I was having liver for supper tonight but now I’ve changed my mind!
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K R should feel happy:-)
Oh sneaky! It did think it was out of synch with the building itself but was unprepared for twist. Great!
Another horror tale inspired by the rather depressing looking building. Yikes. I may never go on vacation again.
I am so glad I have people who would notice if I went missing. :-) Great story.
What a macabre twist was that. Great writing, Hardy.
Wow macabre indeed. This picture definitely seems to invoke that feeling in many SPF stories this week. A great twist of an ending and who would suspect such a knowledgeable and pleasant guy of using guests to harvest organs. Nice write!
i just thought – all that glitters is not gold – but sure those kidneys were worth their weight, wonder what’s the going rate to keep him in those suits. Nice morbid tale.