Body on a Sofa - Chapter 4

Body on a Sofa – Chapter 4

Chapter 4

         Alex Jennings awoke with a start. The shrill noise of a siren was loud, and very disturbing. He got out of bed and ran to the door of his room. He was staying in a two-bedroom suite, in a hotel just off Wenceslas Square. His friend Leslie (Les) Chalmers was using the other room. Looking across at Les’s room he could see tendrils of smoke coming from under the door. Rushing to the door, he grabbed the handle, immediately letting go because of the heat.

          He ran to the bathroom, grabbed a small towel, and returned to the door. He pushed the handle down and cautiously pushed the door open. Trying to stare through the crack. There was a lot of smoke in the room, and the fire was centered on the window, the curtains ablaze.

          Silhouetted against the flames was a form slumped in a chair. It was Les, but he looked dead. Alex was not sure he could get to him, but felt he had to try. Shouting his name Alex moved into the room and across towards the windopw. Although the blaze was confined to the curtains, the temperature in the room was rising. Most of the smoke was on the ceiling, but was making Alex cough.

          When he got closer it was obvious that Les was dead. The side of his face towards the curtains was blistered and red. He was not moving, at the best unconscious. There was nothing he could do, so Alex left the room quickly and shut the door.

          He suddenly thought of this tragedy as a gift. You see, Alex was a psychopath, and had murdered. Obviously, he had not been caught, but he realised that some new evidence could come to light. If he assumed Les’s identity, then his past crimes would catch up with his death..

          He ran back to his room and opened the safe. He took out both passports, his and Les’s loose money, his wallet and both sets of keys. Leaving some money and his credit cards in his wallet, he took the rest, including his travelcard.

          Going back to the other room, he pushed the door open and moved into the bathroom. Les’s jeans were hanging on the radiator, where Alex had put them when he helped Les to bed. Alex removed the wallet and put it in his pocket. His own wallet he placed in Les’s jeans along with the passport, and then re-entering the bed area, placed these over the chair by the vanity unit. He quickly left, grabbing Les’s jacket and his own cabin bag on the way out.

          The smoke had begun to get to him, so when he got to the corridor, he slumped down against the wall to take some deep breaths, and to think. He soon noticed though that smoke was beginning to come under the room door, so he decided he needed to get out. Following the signs he headed to the fire escape stairs, and made his way to the ground floor.

          Emergency services were just beginning to arrive, and the scene was looking quite chaotic. Displaced guests and some hotel staff were hanging about be the rendezvous sign, and Alex headed over there too.

          Firemen began to enter the building, following consultation with the staff and the fire alarm panel. Paramedics were checking the guests and staff for any injuries, giving oxygen to anyone who needed it. Alex took advantage of this, and sat down on a low wall to think, his shoulders covered with a space blanket.

Les and he had been good friends since they were young, kids in fact. Their parents were colleagues and friends, and though living in different towns, saw each other often. The boys grew up with an uncanny resemblance; same height, hair colour, similar faces and body shape. Similar interests pulled them closer together, fishing and football. Although supporting the same football team, and playing for different local teams, Les had recently had to stop playing due to damage to his cruciate ligament.

Alex and Les had decided to come to Prague, as Alex had been asked by the best man of a friend to organise a trip to a European city. He had heard that Prague was a great destination, and wanted to try it. Although, the stag do was not until the following May, Alex thought that seeing the city during the Christmas markets would be fun and had asked Les to come with him.

Alex felt he could easily become Les, they were so similar, and sometimes they got mistaken for each other, even as adults. He took Les’s passport out and looked at the photo. He could see that Les and he looked alike, and wondered if he could use the passport. Knowing that the police would want to interview him, he realised that he had to make a decision.  It was a no brainer. If he could get back to the UK he could get away with it. By the time the police got to him, he had made his mind up, and gave his name as Leslie Chalmers, showing his passport.

The police asked about the fire and Alex, sorry Les, told them how he had tried to get to the body, but could not. How he had got to the safe and took his passport out, adding the detail that Alex had always kept his passport in his pocket. And how he had grabbed the jacket and left.

He also explained that they had spent the evening drinking in the bars and stalls around Wenceslas square, Alex getting more drunk than he. When they had got back to the hotel Les (Alex) had helped Alex (Les) to bed. It appeared though that Alex (Les) had got back up to have a crafty smoke at the window. He  must have caught the curtains, and the slightly open windows must have fanned the flames with the slight breeze.

          The police officer thanked him for his help but did say that he should come down to the station the following day to make a statement. Alex was more than happy to do this.

          The hotel staff were coming around giving the guests information offering their help. In effect, the fire brigade had extinguished the fire, with very little damage being done. This meant that the majority of the guests could move back into their rooms. Alex and several others who had rooms adjacent to his were given other rooms. All the guests were given complimentary vouchers for the following days evening meal for the inconvenience.

          Alex went up to his new room and opened the bar fridge. He took the chocolate nuts and the whisky out, and sat in a chair by the table. Now was the time to think clearly. Planning his next steps were so important. He had gone past the point of no return, having told the police and the hotel that the body in the old room was Alex Jennings. So he was now Les.

          The hardest problem he could see was getting through passport control at the airport and back to the UK. Checking in was going to be easy as he had the boarding pass already and no luggage to check in. All he had to do was use one of the automatic machines to check in with his passport.

          Alex took Les’s passport out, and stared at the picture again. The photo had a strong resemblance to him, but was it strong enough to pass the security in an airport. Rather than chance this, he thought about a train from Prague through to Paris. He could then get a Eurostar to London. This was starting to look like a credible plan.

          Back in the UK, neither Les nor he had close family. They both lived alone, private lives, in different towns, just drinking together occasionally. Alex realised that he could not live in his own town and successfully become Les. Likewise, he could not live in Les’s house as neighbours and local friends might give him away. So when he got back up north he would find a cheap hotel in Preston and stay there for a bit. Hopefully, he could sell Les’s house and afford to buy somewhere else. Alex did not need to worry about his own flat, as it was rented.

          Some plans made, he slept for a few hours and then got up. Before breakfast and a shower, he crossed the square to a well known clothing shop and bough t-shirts, jumpers, socks and underwear and another pair of jeans. Not the most expensive quality, but would do. He paid with one of Les’s contactless debit cards.This done he returned to the hotel, had a shower, dressed in his new clothes and went to breakfast.

          After this he went to the front desk to settle up. When he asked how much he owed, the management said that they had waved the cost, because of his dreadful  experience the night before. For this Alex was grateful, it was one less challenge to his change in identity.         

Before going to the railway station, he went to the police station to make a statement. This was fairly straight forward. The police had no reason doubt him, and accepted that the body belonged to Alex Jennings. Their DNA tests on the body were yet to come back, but Alex had never had his DNA tested. And as far as he knew, Les had not either. He realised that this could be a problem if Les had had a DNA sample taken and analysed. Also, that if any future DNA evidence came to light following his murders, it would not be connected to him, Alex Jennings. He was dead.

          When the police said he could go, he went to the railway station. There was a train leaving at 18:31 which would take just over 16hours, with two changes at Freiburg and Karlsruhe. Alex paid for the ticket with Les’s debit card and then went back to the square to spend the next 6 hours or so.

          On arrival at the station he had his passport checked, no problem, and he was soon sitting on the train waiting for it to leave. He had managed to find a bookshop that had had some novels printed in English which he now got out. As all changes were within the EU, he did not expect any more passport checks. With a smile he settled back to try and get some sleep.

          The journey to Paris was uneventful, the changes easy and efficient. When he got to Paris it was easy enough to swap stations and purchase a ticket for a Eurostar to London. At London his passport was looked at but not challenged. Once through he changed all his Czech money into Sterling, at an exorbitant rate of exchange, and bought a ticket to Manchester Airport with cash. Crossing London to Euston, he got onto a train just about to leave. He would swap at Manchester Piccadilly. As the train left the capitol he let out a big sigh. He was relatively safe now, back at home. His past, and Morgan’s killer, in a Prague morgue.