Page 21 of Fighting Fate

SEAN

Seated at my drafting table, eyes tired and sore, I check every detail, down to the smallest watermark. The passport is finally perfect.

My cell buzzes. Reaching into my pocket, I answer, “Oi.”

“She’s gone,” Dee says.

Leaning back, I grip the phone tight. “What are you on about?”

“I think Rosa’s been disappeared. She wasn’t in her room, and Carlos was hiding in the closet.”

A knot forms in my throat. I drop Rosa’s passport, slide off the seat, and begin to pace. “Is he okay?”

“He’s safe. The sisters found a good family in town to care for him until his mother is located. Unfortunately, he wasn’t unable to give us any information.”

“Do the policia have leads?”

A sound as much fury as frustration rolls through the line. “I spoke with a Comandante Javier, and he believes she abandoned Carlos, butIbelieve he makes broad assumptions.”

A floorboard cracks under my pacing feet. “I know of him. A few years ago, the fiancée of the bloke whose mum owns this building went missing and the comandante was all too quick to look for a scapegoat.”

“Do you mean Geraldo?”

Of course she’s already met Geraldo. In the week she’s been teaching me to be a proper spy, I’ve learned she doesn’t miss a trick. “Aye. Geraldo. He was the first person to tell me of El Rico Ládron. Also said that, when his fiancée went missing, the comandante blamed him, tried to pin him for her disappearance. Frustrated and trying to clear his name, Geraldo did his own investigation. No one knows exactly what happened, but they found him with his skull smashed in. Lad was weeks in hospital. Never been the same.”

“Pobrecito. I spoke with him and…” She pauses as if searching for the right words. “How much does he understand?”

“He’s as sharp as a knife.” Especially when it comes to mechanical stuff.

“Do you think he could have information for us? Maybe whoever took his fiancée took Rosa?”

Rubbing the scruff on my jaw, I catch sight of one of my recent paintings. Dee and Rosa walking across the town square and into a beautiful sunset with Carlos following. I clear my throat. “I’ll ask. But he forgets much of that night. Hate to trigger bad memories for nothing.”

“I understand, but he’s our only lead right now. He and El Rico, and I’ve already begun asking around after him. I’m in the square now, speaking with refugees.”

“Alone at night? When a woman has gone missing?”

“I can take care of myself. Kung Fu Nun, remember?”

Ach, she’s right. She’s taught me a few good tricks this week. Subtle ways to end a fight. Not the fists and fury I’ve used my whole life. Still… “Right, I’ll go talk to Geraldo now. Let’s meet after. Someplace safe and isolated. You give me the questions, so I can interview people. They might respond better to Juan the Forger than Dee the Nun.”

Another pause. Longer. “I should’ve thought of that. I should change.”

“Change?”

“Call me after you speak with Geraldo. We can decide where to meet.”

She hangs up before I can respond.

Bugger.

* * *

Of course,my bum legs decides tonight is the night it’s going to remind me how shite it is.

Sounding like Captain Hook working his way across the bow of theSea Devil, I clomp down my building’s stairs.

Hitting the last step, I see a figure move in the shadows––a corner that should be lit.

---