SYLVIE DANIELLE MATIAS

  The Girl in 1311

  Copyright

  Copyright © 2022 by Silvia Daniela Matei that writes under the pseudonym of Sylvie Danielle Matias

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places, events, and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  www.sylviedaniellematias.ro

  Table of Contents

  SYLVIE DANIELLE MATIAS

  1

  2

  3

  4

  5

  6

  7

  8

  9

  10

  11

  12

  13

  14

  15

  16

  17

  18

  19

  20

  21

  22

  23

  24

  25

  26

  27

  28

  29

  30

  31

  32

  33

  34

  35

  36

  37

  38

  39

  40

  41

  42

  43

  44

  45

  46

  47

  48

  49

  50

  PART 2

  51

  52

  53

  54

  54

  55

  56

  57

  58

  “I HOLD

  If I could have had him,

  I could have let him go.

  But without the having

  there was nothing—

  so to the nothing

  I hold.”

  ― Coco J. Ginger

  “To the people that said: I’m not afraid of the dark,

  And got lost in the dark.”

  1

  Nobody saw this girl checking in, and nobody cared either, until the day she disappeared.

  The police searched the room and the surrounding gardens for days. The final report mentioned that nobody ever lived in that room, and the only signs they picked were from the services requested to the room.

  “This is ridiculous!” The Commander threw the forensic report on the table. “Did you or did you not find all her dresses in the dress closet?”

  “Yes, I did!” The officer in charge of the case pressed his lips together.

  “Then, how can you write such idiocies? What is this about?”

  “We are uncertain, sir. It could be a disappearance case or nothing at all,” said the officer.

  2

  The Officer walked down the long hall of the best resort hotel in Zanzibar. They dispatched him from his South Africa Police office to help the local police with a disappearance case.

  “Liam Blessing, Officer in The South African Police Service (SAPS).”

  “I’ll call the manager,” said the receptionist.

  “Mr. Blessing, thank you for coming.” A young Caucasian man extended his right hand to shake.

  “You are?”

  “My name is Xavier Rodales, reception manager. I’m at your disposal.”

  Officer Liam Blessing measured the young man.

  “First, can I get my room? I’ll like a shower before looking into the case.”

  “Yes, of course. Your room is ready. It is small but most comfortable,” Xavier Rodales smiled and looked to the reception computer.

  “When can I see the girl’s room?” the Officer asked after a pause.

  “The local police sealed the room, so everything is as... she left it,” said Xavier, the reception manager.

  “Have you met the girl, Mr. Rodales?”

  “Xavier, please! In Spain, we use the first name.”

  “Did you, Xavier?”

  “No, I never met her. I was not on duty the day she checked in.”

  “Who was on duty then? Can I talk to her or him?”

  “That is the thing... I was telling the local police. We have an app for the members of our Resorts, and you can check in without waiting.”

  “Certainly, somebody must have helped her with the luggage.”

  Xavier scratched the back of his neck, brushing his hair flat.

  “There is no request for a bellboy in the booking. She presented the app reservation at the gate and she went straight to her room. Once we allocate a room, the members can open it from the app.”

  Is that even secure enough? thought the Officer. Coming from South Africa did not make him the most trusting person.

  “So, you are telling me, nobody saw this girl getting into her room?”

  “Our Resort Gate guard let her in.”

  3

  The Gate guard was not a tall guy, but his lean body looked fit enough. He had a wide, kind smile on his face, like most local Zanzibar men.

  Guards were placed at each of the three entrances and around the grounds for the guests to see them and to inspire safety.

  “I understand you were on duty that day when the girl in 1311 arrived,” introduced the topic, officer Liam Blessing.

  “I have an entry and exit report I can show you,” said the young guard rushing to his daily notebook.

  Was he intimidated by the look on Liam’s face?

  The officer looked over the entrances. On the 25th of January, at 10:15, Thabisa Sipoyo entered the resort grounds by an airport taxi. The guard did not remember her as she pushed her phone with the reservation to his face and rolled the window up immediately afterwards.

  “I remember very well that I thought it was rude. We have many guests. Some are nice and talk to you. Others don’t even look at you and prefer the driver to do the talking.”

  “The duty manager tells me it is the resort rule to always check the number of people in a car and their identity before letting them past the gate.”

  The guard swallowed hard but recovered rapidly.

  “I did. She was alone. Just her and the driver in front.”

  “But you did not see her face or provide any description of her.”

  4

  I’ll call you later. I’m in Zanzibar working on a case. Is Illy, ok? The Officer texted his ex-wife after she had been calling all morning.

  He walked through the room. They stopped cleaning it when they realized nobody had been living there for a while.

  Too late already. By this time, they must have scrubbed clean any important evidence and not know it.

  In the dress closet, there were many dresses. The officer put his face in each one of them and sniffed them. They smelled fresh, and some of them of perfume. None bore a body smell. They were never worn.

  A big suitcase was opened on the floor with clean pieces of underwear. Sandals and flip-flops were lined up by the door. In the bathroom, he found many half-used cosmetics. To an inexperienced eye, everything looked like any other guest room.

  The officer checked the shower and sniffed. It smells of chlorite and a substance they use to disinfect. He made a note to ask the hotel staff what they used to clean the shower and toilet.

  Nobody lived in this room for at least 5 days. It takes at least 5 days for the personal smells to disappear from a room unless it is specifically cleaned, and room purifiers are being used.

  “When did you first notice that the room had not been slept in?” asked the officer, the cleaning lady.

  “3 days ago when I notified the duty manager. I saw the untouched room service tray by the door.”

  Liam checked his notes. The hotel rule was, if the Do not disturb sign hung on the door, to leave the tray there. The staff was not allowed into the room until someone had removed the sign.

  “Was the sign still on the door?”

  “Yes, for 2 full days. I removed just the tray and did not clean the room that day.”

  They informed the hotel manager of the untouched food and the sign on the door. They called the room, and nobody answered. It was then when they entered the room. Liam wrote on his notepad.

  The case was tricky. No wonder the local police preferred to pass it on to him.

  5

  “Hi. I’m in Zanzibar. I’m working on a possible disappearance case. A girl checked in with a South Africa passport into a big resort in Zanzibar. She paid upfront from the membership application, so the resort loses nothing, except for some negative publicity. I haven’t heard from you. Text me when you can speak. I hope Illy is ok.”

  Liam left the voicemail to his ex-wife, who was no longer answering his texts or calls.

  It was dark outside. He changed into new clothes after a refreshing shower, ready to go to have dinner.

  He made another call.

  “Elon, my brother. I need your help. Check for me, Thabisa Sipoyo. Thanks, man.” He hung up. His colleague and friend did not pick up either, but he knew he could count on him with this.

  In the restaurant, Liam walked twice around the buffet, too preoccupied with his thoughts to notice the food.

  “May I help you with a suggestion?” A tall, handsome Ind
ian man interrupted Liam’s line of thought. “I see you find it hard to decide on something to eat.”

  “Ah, I appreciate it. I’m not that hungry. Are you the restaurant manager?”

  “I’ve been called worst.” The guy laughed. Liam did not understand the hidden joke.

  “I’m the FMB, responsible for all restaurants in the resort, 5 of them, the food, and drinks…”

  “Room service, too?” Liam interrupted him. The FMB nodded.

  “I see. Can you tell me who spoke to the girl in 1311, when she ordered room service?”

  “The missing girl? Are you…? Well, yes. We have a dispatch that takes all requests from our guests and passes them to us when they request food or drinks in the room.”

  “Do you know if the girl in 1311 ever dined outside her room?”

  “The other police officer asked the same thing. I told him we have a recording of her room on one of the restaurants, but the staff does not remember her. It was a busy day, and they went back and forth with orders. The restaurant was full that day. Ah, and it was for lunch, not dinner. Lunch, in our Resort, is always a la carte. If she ever had her dinner at the buffet, we would not know it. We don’t take down rooms at dinner, only for a la carte order.”

  Liam looked around the restaurant. It was busy with guests, moving around, checking the food, and talking animatedly.

  Nobody ever notices anything at the buffet. The food is God!

  6

  I better write all this done in the draft report, or I’ll be buried in papers when I get back to the office and the Commander will have my head for a messy report.

  The investigation report, by Liam Blessing, Officer in The South African Police Service (SAPS)

  Name: Thabisa Sipoyo

  Nationality: South Africa passport – TBD

  Inception: Zanzibar Police contacted The South African Police Service (SAPS) to report a missing person, identified as Thabisa Sipoyo, with a South Africa passport. She disappeared from her room about 5 days after she checked in on January 25th, 2021. All her belongings are still in her hotel room, #1311.

  Description: awaiting identity check for Thabisa Sipoyo. Nobody I talked to remembers seeing her or can provide any description.

  People interviewed:

  Xavier Rodales – Reception Manager. Nationality: Spanish. He never met or personally spoke to Thabisa Sipoyo. The room was booked through the loyalty member’s app and fully paid at the time of arrival. Room booked: a standard room, #1311, garden view, 1st floor.

  Mohammed Tibbat – Gate guard on duty at the time of arrival. Records show her arrival on the 25th of January, at 10:15. She arrived by airport taxi (we have his number) and entered with the app reservation. The interaction was too short for the guard to remember her, just that she was alone in the car, except for the driver. The cameras show an old Black Toyota, with dark windows. She was not caught on camera, nor her driver’s. I’ve requested Zanzibar police collaboration in finding the taxi driver and taking his statement.

  Kali Mahunba – Cleaning service for the #13 building. She was the one reporting no activity in the room in the past 2 days, which led to discovering her disappearance. Kali cleaned her room for the first 3 days and removed the empty food trays, until 5 days ago, on February 3rd, when she found the food tray at the door untouched and the Do not disturb sign still on the door. She recorded cleaning the room in the first 5 days of her stay and made the bed, though it was not disturbed much. She missed a day of cleaning because of the Do not disturb sign and reported the untouched tray of food by the door on the second day. They used a master key to open the room, after calling many times on the phone and at the door, by the hotel regulations.

  John Singh – FMB, responsible for food and drinks for the whole Resort. He has no recollection of ever seeing the missing girl. The Zanzibar police had already interviewed his staff. I’m planning to interview them myself in the following days. Check the restaurants’ cameras: Room 1311 was booked for lunch in one of the restaurants.

  Next interviews: General Manager was not in Zanzibar at the time, so I’ll speak to the Resort Director, Antonio Delgado, Guest Experience Manager – Stefano Dutti, and Restaurant staff.

  Room analysis and forensic sampling

  The room looks undisturbed, with no signs of violence or ever being used, though somebody went through a lot of trouble to make it look like it had been used. None of the clothes had been worn.

  Action point: I’ve packed all of them to be sent to South Africa for analysis.

  The bed sheets do not bear any marks of sleeping in. They are changed every 2 days, which explains being so new. Towels and toiletries are untouched. They are also changed every 2 days. Kali cannot remember if they were used in the first 5 days, while she had been cleaning the room.

  The mechanics of life. How much do we miss every day while going through our routine? thought Liam.

  The cosmetics found in the room cannot be used to determine her age (her passport says she must be 35 years old), and the perfume matches the smell on the dresses. I suspect, if this is foul play, that they used the perfume on the clothes to make it smell more like her.

  Observations: the perfume “The Wish” by Chopard has a sweet young scent to it, unfit for 35 years old. I searched online and “The Wish” Perfume was discontinued for production for over 3 years. Also, the fashion of the dresses is inconsistent with age and taste. Her underwear is of different sizes, which shows that either it was packed in a hurry, or they do not belong to her. The forensic analysis will tell us if they are new or have been worn by the same person. The sandals and flip-flops are the same size and seem to be worn out. We expect to find some dead skin or footprints.

  Liam stops typing as he automatically picks up his phone at the first vibration. He expects to hear his ex-wife on the other side. Instead, he hears his colleague and friend telling him, “I found nothing. Thabisa Sipoyo doesn’t exist.”

  7

  They used a false passport to book a room for which they paid through the same fake account they created for Thabisa Sipoyo. She appears as a member of this hotel for about 3 years. Why go through so much pain? There is no body, so there is no crime. The room was paid for, so nobody can complain. Why plant some clothes in a room and leave them there for everybody to see?

  Liam could not put the puzzle pieces together. They seemed to come from different games. During his morning walk, he checked the surrounding gardens for any disturbed leaves or footmarks in the ground that could prove that the girl, or somebody else, ran away by jumping from her balcony.

  What am I expecting to find? There is no suspicion of crime here. They just want the room vacant, and all forgotten. Maybe I’m overreacting, too. Somebody wanted to play a joke on the hotel.

  “Sir, there is a man here that says he saw the girl in 1311.” This was the bellboy. He accompanied officer Liam Blessing to that man. He was an old Russian guest, getting ready to leave the Resort after a month’s holiday.

  “I’m a big fan of Resort here. Russia cold in winter. My old body wants hot.” The Russian laughed.

  “You said you met the girl in 1311?” jumped Liam straight to the point.

  “Pretty girl. Young. Blond. Big boobs. Serious, like a general,” the Russian man was smiling, remembering the moment he met her.

  “How do you know it was her? I understand you stayed in building 14.”

  “Yes, yes. But she missed the turn. She tried to open my door with her key. I stay 1411. I open door, and there she was. Tall and beautiful, like a commander. She like my ex-girlfriend, Natasha. I remember, Natasha!”

  Thank God for Natasha. We might get a description of our mystery girl.

  “Please tell me everything you remember. How old was she?”

  “Old? No, she was young, in her 30s. Tall, she wear high shoes. Green dress. Beautiful blonde hair. Red lips. Beautiful girl.”

  “What color were her eyes?” Liam was writing down all this.

  “I did not see eyes. She had black sunglasses.”

  “Did she say anything, after she realized her mistake?” asked Liam uncertainly if he saw the girl in 1311.

  “She said: Sorry, I stay in 1311. I must have missed a turn.” The Russian laughed again. Liam could not understand what was so funny.