Page 68 of Girl in the Water
They talked another full hour before Daniela and Ian headed out, with a lot of new details but nothing that came remotely close to being a solid lead.
Instead of taking the bus again, they walked to get a feel for the city. To her, the place looked a lot like Santana only bigger and more crowded. Gritty. Poverty stared her in the face, while violence waited just under the surface like sharp-toothed fish in the Rio Negro’s black water.
“Do you think a complete stranger could just walk into the hostel?” she asked. “Risky, isn’t it?”
“Stealing babies is a risky business by definition, I’d think.” Ian sounded lost in thought.
“But if everyone involved in the kidnapping were outsiders, why do it at See-Love-Aid? If the gang took the baby, they would have known about her because they saw her out in the city with her parents. So why not make plans to grab her out in the city, then disappear in the crowd? The streets are their turf. They know every inch. See-Love-Aid would be uncharted territory.”
“True. Why give up home court advantage?” Ian turned to her. “Good point.”
“I learned everything I know from you.”
A genuine smile spread slowly over his rugged features. “Flattery will get you everywhere. Want some ice cream?”
He smiled very little, mostly when he knew she was looking, cheering up for her sake.You deserve better than having to live with a morose old bastard, he’d once said.
He’d improved over the years, whether he knew it or not. They both had.
He scanned the shops. “I think I saw asorveteriawhen we got off the bus. Or is that sorbet?”
Anything cold sounded like heaven in the near triple-digit heat, and Daniela almost jumped at the offer before she had a chance to think on it. She was on the tips of her toes, grinning, but then lowered her heels back onto the ground as she reconsidered.
He flashed her aNow what?look. “It’s not a trick question.”
“Ice cream is something you buy for kids. Buy me a drink.”
He seemed to be swallowing a sigh. “I don’t think you’re a kid. I swear.”
Happiness spread through her, but she still couldn’t stop herself from asking, “Have you ever bought ice cream for Nicole?”
“No. And I don’t see Nicole anymore. Haven’t in a while. But people have ice cream on a date all the time. Grown men buy ice cream for grown women. I swear.”
“Is this a date?” she asked carefully.
All the good humor slid off his face. “No.”
She wouldn’t allow herself to become discouraged. At least she was working alongside him. At least they were together.
Four years ago, in Finch’s house on the river, she’d spent two months with Ian, all day, every day. Then he’d taken her to the US and, shortly after, he went to work for CPRU. She spent her days in GED classes, then at the college. For the last couple of years, it seemed as if they barely saw each other.
But now… They were true partners. They were sharing a room. She wasn’t going to complain.
“Ice cream sounds good.”
“What are you grinning about now?” he said in a dry tone.
“I’m happy.”
“That means you must be plotting my demise one way or the other.” But he grinned back.
A dirty little boy sat on the curb in front of the ice-cream shop with a cracked plastic cup in his hand. Ian dropped a fewreaisinto the cup.
Daniela glanced around and caught an older boy watching, a few feet behind Ian, leaning on a phone pole.
“You know this is just so his buddy can see which pocket you took your wallet out of, right?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Ian stepped into the ice-cream shop.
