Tallah smirked at the man's obvious discomfort at what she said. The past few days at this hotel had been pretty boring, so she was letting out some of her pent up energy on the poor guy. She was just about to add a followup comment, but her good humor vanished when she noticed his expression darken slightly. He seemed to be focused on something behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, too brief to notice anything, and turned back to him. Whatever it was, it probably didn't concern her.

[i]Maybe he's just losing it,[/i] Tallah thought, her mind wandering to Waldo. [i]Like me.[/i] She doubted it. What were the odds that Waldo had a brother who also liked to stalk people, and that she would meet the other victim here?

[b]"Uh, Malcolm. Just call me Colm. And yeah, the food here's real good. Heads and tails over other hotels. You know, it's weird, there was a guy just now. Real weird-looking guy. And he kept talking about the food in this town. I thought he was a little touched in the head, but now that I've had some of these eggs I see where he's coming from."[/b]

So he had a name. He was also a bit of a rambler. Tallah nodded but wasn't really sure who Colm was talking about, even though she prided herself on knowing many of the other Hawkeye guests. Colm made a weak attempt at a smile, but whatever was distracting him must have really set him on edge. Tallah frowned.

"Hm, you know it's rude to check out other girls when talking to a lady," she joked, trying to rein him back into their conversation. Colm didn't seem to hear her though. She looked back, but didn't see whatever it was that he was staring at. Maybe Waldo did have a brother after all. Or maybe his girlfriend was cheating on him and he was stalking Tallah to get revenge. The idea amused her.

[b]"So, where you headed, Tallah?"[/b]

"Here, there, everywhere," she replied vaguely, lifting her shoulders in a shrug. "I was headed to Wisconsin, but, you know, stuff happened," Still vague. "and now I'm staying here for a while." She didn't feel comfortable sharing the truth: that she was actually stuck here because she couldn't find her way out of town. Colm would either think she was hopelessly directionally challenged or deranged.

"This place gets all sorts of weird people," Tallah abruptly changed the subject. She was looking around at the people who now sat in the diner. There was a skinny, hunched-over guy; a girl with a severe case of OCD who was cutting her food into small, equal bites; a guy headbanging to music that only he could hear; another girl (at least she looked semi-normal); and a man who seemed to be talking to himself. She looked down at her own bedraggled clothes and ran a hand through her messy, unbrushed hair. "Well, I suppose I'm not one to talk." She laughed.

"Anyway, what brings you to this jolly little town?" Tallah asked.