Sangre De Toro (Old Draft - Now Published!)

Chapter 6 - Sleepless

Rita returned home around midnight. She entered cautiously, opening the door slowly, before taking off her shoes and trying not to make a sound. Despite his sweet nature, Pepelito was a big and severely traumatised animal.

Coming up to just past shoulder height, he could seriously injure her, especially if he was scared – and earlier, she’d frightened him. 

She edged open the door and walked in. The lights were on very low. Pepelito filled the doorway leading to the bathroom, fast asleep after the evening’s excitement. Weirdly, having him nearby made her feel safer and less alone. He almost reminded her of her poor old cat Gloria who had died six months ago.

He was half lying on an old duvet Rita had found as she was getting ready to leave, and thrown on the floor. So instead of getting her makeup off in the bathroom she went straight to her room and took the tarpaulins off the now clean, but mildly damaged bed. She thought about Caroline McKenzie lying undiscovered in the hotel room and felt indescribably sad. To make the situation even more frustrating, the hotel’s smart CCTV cameras were downloading an update at the time of the murder, so there was no footage the police could use.

Rita peeled off her socks. Thank God for waterproof mattress protectors, she thought. Lying on the bed checking her phone, she saw she had several messages, mostly from work. Tomorrow morning, she was going to Villafrechos with Dominguez to interview Raquel Carlos, then visiting the business contact. It may not be that useful, Rita thought, but helped build up a picture of the victim’s life. Who her friends were, what she was passionate about.

Scrolling down, she saw she also had a message from her mother. Her heart sank.

‘I know you don’t like what Javier does for a living, but can you not put that aside for the sake of your sister and take the opportunity for a reconciliation! Soon me and your dad will be gone, and she’s the only family you’ve got – I can’t believe how selfish you are!’ the message said. Rita clenched her teeth in rage. Her mum didn’t have any idea. When was the last time the woman had cared about what was happening in her job, except to moan how ‘you could never find a policeman when you needed one these days’?

Like she ever needed one. 

‘Sorry, I cannot put my differences aside with someone who married such a cruel man. She only got back in touch with me because she wants my police skills to help him find that poor bull. Over my dead body!’ Rita wrote. Her finger hovered on the send button for several minutes. Tears came to her eyes. In the end, she decided not to send it. She deleted both messages, lay back on the bed and tried to stop herself crying.

After several minutes she sat up. Pepelito was still sleeping; he opened one eye then shut it again. Rita crept forward and took a picture of him, knowing it was a bad idea, having it on her phone. She’d have to delete it.

But he looked so sweet.

She had to show someone.

It was past 1am. Why was she doing this? Alfonso would be asleep. He didn’t have fucked up sleep and late nights like she did. Besides, it was a crazy thing to do and she was being silly. She’d annoy him. But Rita couldn’t stop herself. She texted him the photo as a disappearing message on WhatsApp.

Within a minute he replied. ‘Aw. He looks so peaceful after causing such chaos :)’

‘He’s a sweetheart,’ Rita texted back. ‘I wasn’t expecting you to reply so quickly. Can’t you sleep?’

‘Not really, if I’m honest.’

‘Sorry to hear that. Tonight was absolutely grim. A tourist found murdered in a hotel.’ Pepelito had got up. He walked into the room, started sniffing the bed and a large table with Rita’s makeup on it, knocking an eyeliner pencil to the floor. She’d pick it up tomorrow. He had to pause every so often and had trouble lifting his head. Seeing him struggling filled her with pity and rage.

When Rita joined the police, Dominguez and the others had mocked her mercilessly for being a vegan, but now they kind of got it. The world was brutal enough, and she saw the worst side of human nature in her job. Castella had inflicted such pain. How could she possibly help him?

‘How are you, torito?’ she said, stretching her hand out to him as he wandered around. He let her pet his nose briefly before retreating, his steps heavy but delicate. As he did so, Rita saw Alfonso had sent her another text. Her eyes were closing. Before the murder, tomorrow had supposedly been her day off. She’d have to leave going anywhere near the bathroom until she was properly awake.

‘Can I ask you a question?’ Alfonso had written. Rita tensed – whether or not she said yes to a man’s request like that, he would ask it anyway. She told herself not to be so ridiculous. She barely knew him. And they had met in the weirdest of circumstances.

‘?’ she sent.

‘The tourist, are you allowed to say what their name was?’

‘Not all of the family know, so, no.’ There was a pause for what felt like several minutes after Rita wrote back, ready to drift off.

‘OK. I had plans to meet an online friend from Scotland who was in town last night. We had originally planned to meet at 20.30, but after your call, that didn’t happen :) I texted her to ask if we could rearrange, and she didn’t reply. Usually, she’s very prompt in replying but now she isn’t at all.’ Rita sat up in bed, propped herself up with her pillows. She watched Pepelito standing by the dressing table, swatting something away with his tail. Stupidly, a tiny part of her felt slightly jealous of this unknown friend.

‘It’s really odd. We talk a lot and she’s not been online at all. It might seem strange but she’s happily married and we’re just good friends. A couple of her Facebook friends messaged me saying they were worried too.’ The air froze in an instant. Rita read Alfonso’s latest text and put the phone face down on the bed, not knowing how to respond.

Pepelito seemed to sense her distress; he walked over to the side of the bed, and started licking her arm with his huge tongue. Rita rubbed her hand into his rough fur and he didn’t back away. As she gulped back tears, the bull stood beside the bed next to her, and she was grateful for the presence of the animal. She thought of how Gloria would jump on her lap when she was sad, and laughed. Hopefully Pepelito wouldn’t attempt anything similar.

‘Did someone report her missing?’ Rita wrote to Alfonso, already knowing the answer.

‘Yeah they did. Her name’s Caroline McKenzie. Have you heard anything?’