Chapter 4

The place was feeling too much brighter for a darkened hotel room. Mr. Steele opened his eyes, suspecting that Laura would be up, enjoying the sunrise on the balcony. Such an earlier woman she was. He started to move trying to get up, but couldn't. Had they really indulged them with such amount of champagne? He wasn't sure about having a second bottle opened. Trying again, he felt the impossibility of moving his arm. Finally, once he was able to open his eyes and focus on their surrounding, he realized Laura wasn't outside. She was with her leg draped around his, fast asleep. He tried to change position, to get his limbs alive, but couldn't. His right arm was under the pillow, and tied to the headboard, but not to their hotel bed's headboard. They were in a different room. Checking on them he discovered they were dressed in their nightgowns, and Laura's left wrist was handcuffed to the headboard in the same way as his right one was.

"Laura, love. Wake up!"

"Mm? Just a little more…" she answered him in an almost intelligible voice. "It's our wedding morning after all…"

"Laura!" he shook her. "Come on love!" We are not in our bed! Wake up, Laura!"

His voice sounded worried enough to make Laura come back to reality in a rush. She struggled against her tired eyelashes but finally opened her eyes after blinking a couple of times. "What? What do you mean we are not in our bed?" She tried to get up, but the same as him, found it impossible because of her tied wrist. "What's happening?"

"I don't know. We are not in our room anymore. Somebody moved us while we were asleep."

"What? Somebody got into our room on our wedding night? I can't believe it!" She raised her head from the pillow, the same movement he did a moment before, relieved to find them dressed.

"When did we got here?"

"I don't know. My watch seems to be still in our bedroom. But I guess it's pretty early. The sunlight is just coming inside through the drapes."

"How could we have been moved from our room?" she asked.

"There must have been something in the champagne. It was there when we returned. I supposed it was a wedding gift from the hotel. I never supposed it was a trap." He said. "Maybe this has something to do with our case."

"I don't believe this could be related to our case. We didn't have the investigation started yet." She told him.

He remained looking blankly at the ceiling, trying to figure out what detail relevant enough to put them in this situation had escaped their trained eyes. But nothing came to his mind.

"We are supposed to be in San Francisco, so it couldn't be related to our case. And even Mildred doesn't know we are here. We did think about telling her last night Mr. Steele, but the need about keeping us away from her interruptions won again this time and we didn't call her." She reminded him.

"But with Mildred certainly in the blank about our current destination, not having the chance to find us because she doesn't know she should be looking for us, nobody will be noticing about our disappearance until Monday, once we are not back at the office, nor in San Francisco.

"It is Saturday if I remember correctly." She said. "Maybe it's our lucky day after all, Laura. No Mildred is hanging over us, and we have the whole weekend in front of us, Mrs. Steele. The 'Do not disturb' should be in place, to avoid room service interruptions. We are in the perfect honeymoon settling…"

"Behave yourself, Mr. Steele. It's not the time to play romantic!" Warned him Laura.

"If it's not the time to play romantic…, what do you suggest, Laura? Starting a running routine? I know that's what turns you on in the mornings, but as practical as you are… don't you think it would be a little awkward to get out of the room with the headboard tied to our wrists?" He raised his head, and after a brief look examining the furniture, he followed. "And I don't think we will be lucky enough to be carrying only the headboard, but the whole king size bed with us. I don't carry any useful tools to put the bed into pieces with myself…But thinking about it, maybe we are lucky enough with the only one I have with me permanently…" he wiggled his eyebrows and flashed Laura a lustful smile…

"Mr. Steele! Try to focus!"

"You have your right hand free, I have my left one ready to get into action…I'm completely focused, Mrs. Steele…"

"This can't be happening!" she said raising her free hand over her eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"We were supposed to send a copy of our Marriage License to Estelle Becker early in the morning!"

He was paralyzed. The world turned upside down in a flash for the second time in less than 24 hours.