A look of understanding crossed the young woman’s face. “That’s no problem, Madam. Could you please fill in your details?”
It did not take long. Apart from entering her name as Sarah Armstrong, there was very little else she could fill in, apart from her mobile phone number. She had purchased a simple ‘pay as you go’ mobile, which would not connect her to any address.
As the receptionist looked at Selmira’s details, she asked, “Do you not have a driving licence or current address?”
“Sorry, I don’t. I don’t drive. I’ve been staying with friends and decided to move to Birmingham.”
“What about a proof of identity, like a passport?”
“I’ve never had a passport and I don’t have any credit or debit cards. Sorry, I know it’s not much help, but I am willing to pay cash for, at least, a week’s stay until I know where I’m going to live.”
With the mention of cash, the receptionist relented. “That’s fine, Miss Armstrong.”
Three hundred and fifteen pounds were counted out and the receptionist gave Selmira a receipt and the room key. Realising that she was not familiar with Birmingham, she also gave Selmira a street map and tourist guide, although she had already picked one up, herself, at the station.
What she had said was not strictly true. Selmira did have a Debit card for the bank into which the money from the house sale would be deposited. She would need this card to withdraw cash from the house sale, when the sale had been signed by the purchaser and all the legalities completed. It had to remain secret, as it was the only proof of her real identity.
Selmira had, also, been using a credit card over a period of many years, yet to avoid being traced, it had been paid off in full and the card had already been destroyed.
She was quite satisfied with the hotel room. It was clean, comfortable and, though not exactly spacious, was large enough for her needs.
After unpacking her clothes and placing them in the wardrobe and drawers, Selmira decided what she would need for her visit to the shops. She took the carrier bag containing the hair which she had cut off together with the empty dye container, before locking the cases, which still contained many personal possessions and paperwork.
Selmira had several things which needed to be done in the afternoon and left the hotel, carrying her handbag and the carrier bag. She had a street map provided by the hotel and used this to find her way into the main shopping area. On the way, she dropped the hair colour bottle in a waste bin and did the same with the bag of hair into a different bin.
Next, Selmira called at Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and Halifax. In each of these four banks, she opened an account, depositing one thousand pounds in cash, all in her new name of Sarah Armstrong.
After this, she headed for Miss Selfridge’s, asking the occasional passer-by for directions. In the past, Selmira had dressed rather conservatively, but, in an attempt to completely change not only her name but also her image, she bought quite a wide range of skirts, smart jeans and tops
Feeling quite hungry, Selmira decided to eat before returning to the hotel. When she spotted a KFC, Selmira entered and, holding her bags of shopping, joined the queue. It was not easy trying to keep hold of her shopping while carrying the tray of snacks to the table. Relaxing after her busy day, she enjoyed the hot, tasty chicken. As the place was quite full, a man asked if he could sit at Selmira’s table. “Of course”, she answered, hardly noticing the man as many thoughts circled through her mind.
As he took his seat, he started a conversation with her. Politely, Selmira made it quite obvious that she wished to enjoy her meal in silence, pretending to look at messages on her mobile phone.
By the time she had returned to the hotel, Selmira was feeling quite satisfied and happy just to relax and watch television for the rest of that day.
Before retiring to bed, she did, again, take a look at the tourist guide, scanning through facts about the U.K’s second largest city with a population of over one million. Selmira was fascinated and pleased to discover that there were more canals in Birmingham than even those found in Venice. There were also many links to other canals routed throughout the rest of Britain, including the Grand Union Canal. Surprisingly, Birmingham also had more parks and green areas than even in Paris.
As far as famous people were concerned, J. R. R. Tolkien was born in Birmingham and was inspired by places and people from the city when he wrote “The Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings”.
Interesting as these facts were, Selmira’s eyes were feeling quite heavy after this first day in her new city. Although sleep came easily, it was invaded by horrific nightmares in which Ivanko threatened to cut off Selmira’s head.
He was laughing at her foolish attempts to escape from his hauntings and he promised to continue until Selmira had confessed her crime to the police.
She awoke, covered in sweat and realised that what she had experienced was a terrible nightmare and not a haunting. Hopefully, none of the other residents had heard Selmira’s anguished cries for mercy.
She did, now, deeply regret killing the one person she had known and loved for over twenty years and accepted his need for vengeance. This did not stop her from wanting to stay alive and get well away from the house in Sale. She hoped, desperately, that the house would soon be sold. As soon as the money was in her bank, she would transfer it all to her new Birmingham bank accounts.
For the next few days, she anxiously waited for the estate agent to phone and was relieved when she learned that there was a prospective purchaser who was willing to pay the full, advertised price. Feeling elated, Selmira instructed the estate agent to accept the price on her behalf and start the legal process as soon as possible.
Now, all she could do was wait for the lengthy legal procedures for the sale. In the meantime, she would get to know Birmingham and, in particular, the canal system.
Chapter Sixteen – Exploring Birmingham
Not surprisingly, Selmira did, like most women, enjoy shopping and spent many hours wandering through the numerous clothing stores, hoping to spend as little as possible. In an attempt to change her appearance, she purchased some cosmetic contact lenses with the sole aim of changing her eye colour from black to blue. In addition, Selmira bought some new shoes with modest heels. These, compared to her usual flat shoes, made her appear just a little taller.
Selmira reserved one day to look around the various stores in Birmingham which specialised in women’s wigs. Thinking out all situations carefully, she had realised that, when she went to the Natwest Bank to withdraw large amounts of cash, she still would need to look the same as she had before changing her appearance. Her quest was to find a wig which looked like her original hair style. She did try many shops, but it was House of Fraser where she found the most suitable one. It was black and about the same length as her original hair. Looking at herself in the mirror, she smiled at the woman she was used to seeing. She had removed her contact lenses before trying the wigs, to complete the “Selmira” image.
Satisfied, she paid the assistant, using cash, the ever-anonymous method of payment.
Before leaving the store, she made her way to the ladies toilets, where she, once again, put her blue contact lenses back in.
“Good”, Selmira thought. “Everything is falling into place quite nicely.” She returned to her hotel, placing the wig in one of the suitcases, locking it to prevent anybody from discovering her other identity.