This scene starts on 14th February, 9.30pm (just after Erica finished her talk, so roughly the same time as the previous chapter)
'Well, what did you think?' Alfonso asked his 18 year old nephew Matteo as they sat in the bar of the hotel with Rita. Matteo lived in London with his dad. He had plans to become a lawyer, and Alfonso's brother had got him tickets to the convention as a birthday present to learn more about crime and the legal profession. He was certainly a clever kid, Rita thought, although speaking in a mixture of Spanish and English for his benefit was getting tiring.
'I think the talks are really interesting,' Matteo said, enjoying his first official drink as an adult, although he had enjoyed plenty of unofficial ones. 'I'm even more determined to go into law now.'
'I'm sure you'll make a great lawyer,' Rita said.
'This Castella guy,' Matteo said. 'He was your brother in law. You knew him, right? What was he like?'
'He was a drug dealer and a murderer who killed people I cared about. He was a total bastard and I'm glad he's dead,' Rita said tersely, but without hesitation. Rather than listen to Donna and Erica's talk about her infamous drug-dealer brother in law, Javier Castella, and his gruesome death, she and Alfonso had gone to a talk about crime and punishment in the 16th century, while Matteo went to the more popular talk. The thought of Castella's smirking grin still enraged her.
Matteo laughed, taken aback. 'Oh. OK. So, you think Eloise should have gotten away with it, then?'
'Definitely not,' Rita said. 'She's dangerous and unbalanced and she's rightly in jail.'
'OK,' Matteo said. 'I was only asking.' Rita and Alfonso exchanged a glance.
Alfonso felt very uncomfortable at the whole scene, and Rita couldn't blame him. Earlier, there had been someone just outside the hotel bar selling t-shirts with quotes by Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy, despite the claims of the convention to centre victims and put them first. When the two left tomorrow, Matteo was going to be at this convention for three more days, and she couldn't pretend the thought of being there on her own didn't unnerve her - especially after her own experience.
Sometimes she still had nightmares about Henry Dixon, the wealthy, bullfighting-obsessed serial killer who had kidnapped her with the intention of killing her in front of an audience who'd bought tickets on the dark web, an audience as sick as he was. Once or twice, she'd woken up screaming.
Rita's phone vibrated, and as she unlocked the screen, she felt tense. It would just be her luck that she'd have to go back home for some urgent police work. She only relaxed when she saw who it was.
'Aw,' she said, holding Alfonso's hand and gazing at the message. An adorable little calf lay on a bed of straw. She looked at the camera with big eyes. She had brown and black splodges and a white splash on her face. 'Listen to this. Hey, it's Emelina from the sanctuary. Hope you're having a nice time in the UK. I thought I'd let you know. Tulipan and Pepelito's calf has just been born. It's a girl. Can you suggest a name?'
'How about Canela,' Alfonso said. Rita grinned and texted Emelina back.
'Canela it is,' was the reply. 'Sweet name.'
'Pepelito's that bull, right? The one that escaped from Castella and killed Henry Dixon?' Matteo seemed more interested in this topic than he had the entire time. He wanted to go off on his own but his dad had insisted that his uncle and his girlfriend accompany for the first two days of the convention. If the convention had been about any other topic than true crime, Rita would have agreed his dad's reaction was over protective. The kid already had a job and had just finished his first term at university.
'That's him,' Alfonso said.
'Sounds like a badass. I'd like to see this bull when I go to Spain next,' Matteo said.
'Excuse me.' Someone tapped Rita on the shoulder. She turned to see a well dressed dark skinned woman standing there, with frizzy hair in a bun, and a burgundy maxi dress. 'I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. My name's Donna Markham. You're Rita Silvera, right? The cop who was kidnapped by Henry? Me and Erica wondered if you'd like to discuss it on the show?'
Rita felt a chill. There were few things she wanted less than become a celebrity in the world of true crime. It would impede her ability to do her job. And why was Donna calling the killer 'Henry' as if she knew him? 'Yes. That's me. And...look. That's very kind. But not at the moment.'
'Henry had so many victims,' Donna said. 'Everyone wants to hear about him because what he did was so shocking. Why do you think he did what he did? Was it to do with his childhood?'
'He was a sadist, but it seems to me, he also wanted to get back at the world,' Rita sighed. She had said it in a presentation at work. She might as well say it again.
'Get back at the world? But Henry Dixon was the ultimate privileged upper class white guy. For God's sake, he was a Lord,' Donna laughed as Matteo and Alfonso sat there awkwardly.
'He killed for pleasure. He always chose those he thought were beneath him, never other rich, privileged men,' Rita said. Something crawled up the back of her neck. She didn't have an issue discussing the killer who had intended to take her life. But she wanted to do it on her terms, not accosted by randoms. And her copper's instinct was leading her to ask questions of everyone.
'Anyway. How's Pepelito?' Donna said. It was strange how this woman was asking questions like she knew her, whereas some of Rita's own neighbours didn't even recognise her.
'He's doing great,' Rita said. 'Really well.'
'And wasn't your sister married to Castella? That must have been difficult for you. Did you see that interview she did with Vice News about her marriage?' Donna didn't give up easily. Alfonso rolled his eyes.
'I can't say I have,' Rita shrugged, signifying that the conversation was over.
'Well, here's my card, if you want to get in touch. I'd love to have you on the show,' Donna said. She handed Rita a card with her name, email, telephone and address on it. Rita slid it into the pocket of her phone case.
'That was weird,' she said as Donna left.
'How the fuck did she know who you were?' Alfonso said. 'Kind of...intrusive.'
'Watches loads of true crime documentaries, I guess,' Rita said. 'I did not know about my sister's interview with Vice News. That's new to me.'
She finished her beer. As she did so, she saw a young blonde woman with shoulder length hair and a tall guy with tanned skin and a close cropped haircut. The young woman stared directly at her table with a disgusted look on her face.
Matteo looked away. When the woman disappeared into the crowd, he muttered, 'That's Erica Scott. She did the talk with Donna.'
He stared after her uneasily. Something in the way Erica had just looked back at him gave Rita a weird feeling. Perhaps it was the setting, she thought, and the unnatural interest people were paying towards notorious criminals, turning the atmosphere cold.
There was an awkward silence.
'Well, I'm going to bed,' he said after a few moments. 'See you both in the morning?'
Rita stayed sat at the table with Alfonso. He pressed her hand into his.
'This isn't quite how I would have chosen to spend Valentine's Day,' he said, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes.
'Uff, I don't care about Valentine's Day. It's a busy time. I would usually just spend it working. If I was lucky, hanging out with Pepelito or walking in the countryside,' Rita said.
'Are you having a good time?' Alfonso asked gently.
'Yeah. It's nice to have a change, and I hope we can help your nephew out a bit.'
'I hope so,' Alfonso said. 'My brother is a little worried about him.'
'Why?' Rita said.
'I personally don't see an issue. But my brother thinks he's too much of a loner and doesn't have enough friends. I was like that at his age. But my brother's also worried he's too...fascinated with serial killers. That's why he wanted us to come to this convention and for you, especially, to hang out with him. To get to know someone who had investigated them and could make him realise these weren't great guys.' Alfonso shook his head.
'OK...' Rita said. She hadn't got that vibe from Matteo. He'd seemed normal, if a bit awkward. The bar was emptying out. Down the corridor, disco music was blaring.
'I don't get that vibe from him - about him liking serial killers,' she said.
'Maybe not. I don't know.'
'This is weird.'
'I know,' Alfonso said. 'Shall we check out the disco?'
'Sure,' Rita said, getting up.
*
When Rita and Alfonso got to bed, it was past 2am. Their room was on the fourth floor, next to Matteo's. As they walked past, Rita noticed that Matteo's door was open, and he didn't appear to be in.
Once inside the room, they kissed and held each other for the longest time.
'I didn't know how it would feel being back in the UK. The last time I was here, it was against my will. I was scared of how I'd feel,' Rita said. A faint thump echoed down the corridor. Someone shuffled around above them. A baby cried and a mother was soothing him or her; the sound was barely audible.
'And how do you feel?' Alfonso said.
'Good,' Rita said. 'Because I'm with you.'
Alfonso squeezed her tight. 'I love you, Rita. Thank you for being here.'
'I love you too,' she said. 'I'm looking forward to walking in Scotland with you, that will be cool. It'll give a different association to me than the one I had. I'll be there with you.'
She relaxed into his embrace and shut her eyes, reached under his jumper and took it off. He pulled her onto the soft double bed, so much more comfortable than the one in his house or her flat. She lay in his arms, listening to his heartbeat.
And down the corridor, someone screamed.