One Wild Night

Chapter 6: A Dead-end

Raquel woke up with a start. She immediately sat up from the bed but felt the room sway a bit so she lay down again slowly this time and closed her eyes for a couple of minutes before recalling where on earth she was.

She felt the soft blanket that covered her from the waist down. There was no need to know that she was naked, except for the stockings, underneath the blanket. Eyes still closed, she recalled what happened the night before.

Alicia and her friends at work treated her to a bachelorette party when she told them that she got engaged over the weekend. A party that instead of the usual dinner at her house with gifts of naughty lingerie and sex toys plus the hired male dancer, they went to this hotel, ate dinner, had their fair share of drinks, and danced at the club.

Then she met Santi. Santi! Joder! 

She called out. "Santi!?"

No response. She realized that she was alone. She sat up slowly and looked around her. She wondered if what happened last night was just a dream. A very vivid dream.

No. Her slightly sore body parts attested to the truth. That she had the wildest night of her life. With a stranger. Santi. She could hazily remember his handsome face but she was afraid she wouldn't be able to tell him from some random guy in the street. That's how drunk she was. She groaned. Ugh. Never again!

She got up from the other side of the bed and saw her purse at the side drawer. She checked if everything was there and sighed with relief. She then saw her clothes folded neatly on the table near the loveseat.

The leather skirt and top, and her denim jacket were symmetrically folded and placed on a small pile as if arranged by a chambermaid. She smiled. She was right. Her lover for one night belonged in the 1950s.

Raquel gathered her clothes and headed for the shower. She took off her stockings, had a quick shower and used one of the travel toothbrush and toothpaste provided for guests. She hastily dressed up and put on her jacket.

She got her purse and checked her phone. It was just 6:25 AM. Plenty of time to get home and change into her uniform to begin her shift. Her new shift as detective.

She took the keycard from her purse and went to the lift. When she got out, she went straight to the concierge and asked for the bill after handing over the keycard.

"Buenos dias, señorita. Thank you for visiting Club Rojo. We hope you come again soon." The attendant smiled at her.

"Uh, no additional fees?" Funny she remembered drinking bottled water, handed to her by Santi. That's surely have to be paid for, as per usual when you remove something from the minibar.

"Everything's settled, Miss." The attendant smiled again.

She frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. Your friend paid for all the minibar fees."

Hmm. She thought fast. She got her phone and pressed Alicia's number. Her friend answered on the fifth ring.

"Si?" Alicia answered groggily.

"Where the fuck are you?!"

"Buenos dias tambien," Alicia answered sarcastically. "I'm still here at Rojo. 724. What time is it? You still at 808?"

"Almost seven. I'm here at the lobby. Settling the bill."

"And gathering from your voice, you can't wait to get out. The handsome guy was a major disappointment, huh?" Alicia said in between yawns. Raquel didn't say anything about that.

"We have work, remember?!"

"Yes, yes, Mama. I'm up. Wait for me. I'll be down in 15." They both hung up.

Raquel waited for her friend at the posh couches at the lobby. After a while she saw Alicia come down. Alicia headed straight to the concierge and gave the keycard and her credit card to the attendant. Raquel joined her there.

"Wait! I thought you covered both rooms?" Raquel asked her taller friend.

"Si. Both rooms. But I got tempted with all those chocolates at the minibar, and a woman had to console herself, chica, especially when her body lacked the satisfaction it needed."

"I thought..."

"Miss," Alicia turned to the attendant, "cover both expenses for 724 and 808 por favor." She turned to Raquel.

"Mine was paid for, I checked."

"Did you get anything?"

"Just one bottled water."

"It's all settled." The attendant handed Alicia her credit card and the receipt. "Thank you for visiting Club Rojo. Please come again." The woman said with a smile.

Alicia looked at her receipt. "Well, well, your lover settled the bill for your bottled water. Muy extravagante," she said jokingly.

"Miss, did, uh, Santi use a credit card?" Raquel couldn't help asking the attendant.

"Uh, no, Miss. He paid in cash."

"Damned." Raquel whispered.

"Amiga, don't tell me you plan to stalk him." Alicia laughed. "Maybe he is not such a disappointment after all."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Raquel dismissed the subject and started walking to the exit. "Vamos! We might be late for work!"

"Yeah, yeah," Alicia followed her friend and they headed to the exit where a valet handed Alicia the car keys. They went in the car and buckled themselves up. Before speeding off, Alicia smiled at her friend on the passenger seat. "So...his name is Santi. Short for Santino?"

Raquel didn't say anything.

"Fine. Keep the secret all to yourself. After all, you're getting  married soon."

Raquel remained silent until she got home. She changed into her uniform, got her badge and went to work.

When she got to her new office, the Inspector's office, her superior introduced her to all the people she would now work with and explained all the office equipment, some of which she was familiar with while others are new ones. When she was all set up, she went out and got herself a much-needed coffee from the machine and went back to her office.

She logged on to her state-of-the-art computer and went to the police internal weblink. She was about to search for all registered citizens named Santino but immediately dismissed it. She had no trails to work with. No middle name or surname. And she was so sure Santino is not his given name either, much like she is no Regina.

Fuck. It's all a dead-end.