Very gently, she ran her fingers down his tie before pulling him closer. ‘It’s a pity you’re not looking for a party girl,’ she whispered into his left ear.

Carl’s smile evaporated into a confused look.

‘I could’ve given you my pimp’s number, he’s right over there.’ She pointed to the VIP area with a sarcastic smile on her lips.

Carl half opened his mouth as if about to say something but no words came out.

Jenny drank the rest of her champagne and gave him a sexy wink before moving away from the bar and into the ladies’ room.

The eyes still followed her.

It won’t be long now. The drug will soon show its effect.

Jenny was re-applying her lipstick when she started to feel faint. She knew something was wrong. All of a sudden she felt hot and feverish. The walls seemed to be closing in on her. She found it hard to breathe and moved towards the door as quickly as she could. She needed to get out of there.

As she stumbled out of the ladies’ room the entire place spun around her. She wanted to go back to D-King’s table but her legs weren’t responding. Jenny was about to collapse on the floor when a pair of hands grabbed her.

‘Are you OK, babe? You don’t look so good.’

‘I don’t feel too well. I think I need…’

‘You need some air. It’s too stuffy in here. Come with me, I’ll help you. Let’s step outside for a while.’

‘But I…’ Jenny had started to slur her words. ‘I need to tell D… I have to go back to…’

‘Later, babe, now you just need to come with me.’

No one noticed Jenny and the stranger walking towards the club exit.

‘Yes, Detective Hunter speaking.’ Hunter finally answered his cell phone after the sixth ring. His voice was deep and the words came out slowly, giving away how few hours sleep he’d had.

‘Robert, where the hell have you been? The captain’s been after you for two hours.’

‘Rookie, is that you? What time is it?’ Hunter’s new sidekick, Carlos Garcia, had been assigned to him only a week ago after the death of his long-term partner.

‘Three in the morning.’

‘What day?’

‘Shit man… Monday. Look, you’d better come and have a look at this, we’ve got a really screwed up homicide on our hands.’

‘We’re Homicide Special Section 1, Carlos. Screwed up homicides is all we do.’

‘Well, this one’s a real mess and you’d better get here quick. The captain wants us to run this show.’

‘Uh-huh,’ Hunter replied indifferently. ‘Gimme the address?’

He put his cell phone down and looked around the small, dark, unfamiliar room. ‘Where the hell am I?’ he whispered.

The thumping headache and the terrible taste in his mouth reminded him of how much he’d had to drink the night before and he sunk his head deep into the pillow hoping that would soothe the pain. Suddenly there was movement next to him on the bed.

‘Hi, does that phone call mean you have to go?’ The woman’s voice was soft and sexy with a hint of an Italian accent. Hunter’s surprised eyes fell over the half-covered body lying next to him. Through the little light coming into the room from the lamp posts outside the window he could just about make out her outline. Quick memories of last night flashed through his mind. The bar, the drinks, the flirting, the cab ride to a stranger’s apartment and the long dark-haired woman whose name he couldn’t remember. This was the third woman he’d woken up next to in the past five weeks.

‘Yeah, I do have to go. I’m sorry,’ he sounded casual.

Hunter got up and started looking for his trousers; his headache was more prominent now. His eyes quickly got used to the dimly lit room allowing him to see the woman’s face better. She looked to be thirty or thirty-one years old. Her silky, dark hair hung about four inches past her shoulders framing a heart-shaped face with delicate sculpted nose and lips. She was attractive, but not in a Hollywood-movie-star way. Her uneven fringe suited her perfectly and her dark-green eyes carried an unusual and captivating sparkle.

By the bedroom door Hunter found his trousers and underwear – the pair with blue teddy-bear prints.

Too late to feel embarrassed now, he thought. ‘Can I use your bathroom?’ he asked zipping up his trousers.

‘Sure, it’s the first door on the right as you come out of the room,’ she said sitting up and resting her back against the headboard.

Hunter entered the bathroom and closed the door behind him. After splashing a handful of cold water onto his face, he stared at his reflection in the mirror. His blue eyes looked bloodshot. His skin paler than normal. His face unshaven.

‘That’s great, Robert,’ he said to himself, splashing some more water onto his tired-looking face. ‘Another woman who you barely remember meeting, never mind coming back to her apartment. Casual sex is great. It’s even better when you can recall having some. I have to cut down on this drinking business.’

After squirting a little toothpaste on his finger he tried to finger-brush his teeth. Suddenly, a new thought entered his mind. What if she’s a hooker? What if I owe her money for something I don’t even remember doing? He quickly checked his wallet. The little money he had was still there.

He hand-combed his short blond hair and returned to the bedroom where she was still sitting against the headboard.

‘Were you talking to yourself in there?’ she asked with a shy smile.

‘What? Oh yeah, I do that sometimes, it keeps me sane. Look…’ He finally managed to find his shirt on the floor next to the bed. ‘Do I owe you any money?’ he asked sounding breezy.

‘What? You think I’m a prostitute?’ she replied clearly offended.

Oh shit! He knew he’d blown it. ‘No, look… It’s not like that, it’s just… It’s happened to me before. Sometimes I drink too much and… I didn’t mean it as an offence.’

‘Do I look like a hooker to you?’ she asked in an annoyed voice.

‘Definitely not,’ he replied firmly. ‘It was stupid of me thinking such a thing. I’m sorry. I’m probably still half drunk,’ he back-paddled as fast as he could.

She regarded him for a moment. ‘Look, I’m not the kind of woman you clearly think I am. My job carries a lot of pressure and it’s been tough the last few months. I just wanted to let out some steam and have a few drinks. We got talking. You were funny, nice, quite charming even. You could actually hold a decent conversation. Unlike most of the other jerks I meet when I go out. One drink led to another and we ended up in bed. Obviously a mistake on my part.’

‘No… Look…’ Hunter tried to find the right words, ‘… sometimes I say stuff without thinking. And the truth is… I don’t remember much of last night. I’m really sorry. And I feel like an asshole now.’

‘So you should.’

‘Believe me, I do.’

Her eyes were fixed on Hunter. He sounded sincere.

‘Anyway, if I were a hooker, judging by your underwear and clothes I don’t think you’d be able to afford me.’

‘Ooh. That was low punch. I was already embarrassed enough without you mentioning it.’

She smiled.

Hunter was glad his back-paddling had worked. ‘Do you mind if I make myself a quick cup of coffee before I go?’

‘I don’t have any coffee, only tea, but you are more than welcome to it if you like. The kitchen is just down the hall.’

‘Tea? I think I’ll pass. I need something stronger to wake me up.’ He finished buttoning up his shirt.

‘You sure you can’t stay?’ She pulled the covers back revealing her naked form. Great curves, nicely formed breasts and there was no hair anywhere on her body. ‘Maybe you could show me how really sorry you are for calling me a hooker.’

Hunter stood there for a moment as if debating what to do. He bit his bottom lip and shook the thought from his head. His headache reminded him not to do that again.

‘I promise you, if I could stay, I would.’ He was now fully dressed and ready to go.