‘So what do we do now?’ wondered Christina after she had done several laps of the luxury suite and been overwhelmed by the choices available to her. She had mostly been fascinated by the televisions everywhere—all of which she had turned on. ‘It’s hard to know which TV to look at, and then there are so many other things to do here too.’
She looked about her, taking in the opulent rooms. Should they make themselves at home in the library, play the grand piano, watch a movie in the private cinema or just sink into the closest enormous armchair? That big bathtub with the lovely mosaic and the sauna were also very tempting. The housekeeper had told them that they could have green lighting and jungle music in there, or blue lights if they preferred. Or perhaps she should just lie down and have a rest in the large double bed, which came complete with an amazing view of the royal palace across the water.
‘You can look at the stars if you’d like. There’s a telescope in the suite,’ said Brains. ‘Or why not point the telescope at the palace? I’m sure the King will be doing something exciting.’
‘But he doesn’t even live there!’ Martha pointed out.
‘Never mind telescopes and TVs, is there a loo in here somewhere?’ Rake wondered, looking about him.
‘One on your right, one in the bathroom and two more a bit further away,’ Christina informed him.
‘Stop, one john is sufficient, I can hardly use four at once!’
‘There are four showers too. You could use all four of those,’ joked Martha.
After they had all unpacked, everyone settled in the armchairs with a glass of champagne for a first run-through of their plans.
‘Planning is important,’ said Brains. ‘We must map the entire hotel. When we discover where the richest ones hang out, then we pounce.’
‘I’ve worked it out already. There are forty-two luxury suites and many of the guests use the spa facilities and the pool,’ said Anna-Greta. ‘They are bound to put their watches and bracelets in the lockers there.’
‘Brilliant! We shall steal their valuables. Simple. And then we shall hide the loot so that we can use the money when we get out of prison,’ said Martha.
‘Sounds like you’ve been reading too many crime novels,’ Rake muttered.
‘Oh no. All major criminals sit out their prison terms and then use the money when they get out. Like the British train robbers, for example.’
‘Then we’ll follow their example,’ Anna-Greta decided. Her eyes shone with excitement.
‘Now listen, let’s go down to the spa and have a look around. At the same time, we can do some water gymnastics in the pool,’ Martha suggested.
‘No, no, we didn’t come here for exercise—’ Rake exclaimed, but managed to stop himself just before adding, ‘you fitness fiend.’
‘But if we do steal lots of stuff, where shall we hide it all?’ Christina wanted to know.
‘We’ll think of something,’ said Martha, blushing violently because she hadn’t thought of that.
‘Now listen to me. We must commit the robbery before the authorities find us. Why not do it tomorrow or the day after?’ suggested Brains. ‘And then we can stay on here a while.’
‘Stay on at the scene of the crime, God help us!’ said Martha, who had never read of such a thing in any detective story. ‘The scene of the crime is where you return to, not where you take up residence!’
‘That is precisely why the police won’t look for us here in the first place,’ said Brains with a flourish. ‘Come on, let’s get changed and meet at the spa later.’
When the men had gone, Christina browsed the hotel’s leaflets while she filed her nails slowly and with considerable care.
‘I think we ought to get a beauty treatment down in the spa,’ she said, pointing with her nail file.
‘Spa and beauty treatment?’ Martha gave her friend a weary look. Christina was always reading about ways to keep yourself looking young. When she was fifty-five she had had a facelift, but that was something she forbade the others to refer to. She wanted everybody to think that she was naturally attractive and that her beauty shone from within. She hadn’t even mentioned the fact that she had had her teeth whitened. Perhaps it was her upbringing. Her parents had forbidden her to use make-up, and throughout her childhood she had been told it was sinful, and that you should accept your natural appearance because that which God had created was a gift. So as a teenager she had been forced to do her make-up clandestinely. Now she was equally secretive about her cosmetic operations.
‘Now listen to this,’ Christina went on. ‘There are spa treatments that can dissolve emotional and physical blocks and give your body a pleasant sense of calmness. And in addition we can have an eye mask which reduces all signs of tiredness and age.’
‘I don’t think I’d look any younger even if I wore a mask over my whole face,’ said Martha.
‘It is beneficial to massage the important marma points in your eye area. This signals to the nervous system that the musculature should retain its vigour,’ Christina went on, clearly fascinated by the hotel’s brochure.
‘Marma? What is that?’ asked Martha.
‘No, this is better,’ said Anna-Greta, who had now found the hotel’s spa and fitness brochure. ‘We can have a sixty-minute facial acupuncture treatment. The needles stimulate production of collagen and strengthen your body’s connective tissues.’
‘Just what I’ve longed for,’ said Martha, rolling her eyes.
‘The treatment leaves your skin firm and soft,’ Anna-Greta went on.
‘Firm and soft. That was how men used to describe my breasts,’ said Christina in a different tone of voice. ‘Unfortunately, the same can’t really be said about them now.’
‘Listen to me. We are on a stealing spree, nothing else,’ Martha said authoritatively and picked up all the brochures. ‘Never forget the reason we are here.’
The ladies nodded, changed into their bathing costumes and put on the hotel’s white bathrobes. On their way to the door, Martha paused.
‘When we get down there, have a good look around for safes where guests can store valuables.’
‘Are we really going to commit a proper crime?’ Christina suddenly exclaimed.
‘Shush! No, no, just a little adventure,’ said Martha, entering the elevator and giving her a calming pat on the shoulder. Then she felt a gnawing worry deep inside. Would Christina ruin the whole thing?