Page 99 of Hard Limits

But Ari shook her head. “I don’t think we’re going to learn anything more in the bar, not tonight anyway. Maybe on Wednesday when the salsa crowd is here again.”

“But that’s four days away.”

“We won’t be sitting around in the meantime.”

“But—”

“No point in flogging a dead horse,” Jerry said. “We can pick up a pizza on the way back.”

Brax laughed. “This isn’t Vegas or LA, my darling. You’re not going to get a pizza at midnight in Fundão.”

In Blackstone House, Alexa and Jerry had been the foodies. Alexa focused on quality, while Jerry valued quantity. He’d half expected her to be the size of a horse by now, but she seemed to offset her calorie intake with exercise.

“Somewhere will be open. I’ll ask that guy.”

“What guy?”

She nodded toward a dark doorway opposite. “Him. He’s a local.”

Brax hadn’t even noticed the man. He appeared to be homeless, wrapped in darkness and a dirty sleeping bag. When they got closer, Brax spotted a small dog nestled among the folds.

“Hey, is there anywhere to get food around here?” Jerry asked, offering twenty euros. “A pizza?”

The guy blinked a couple of times, as if he thought he might be imagining the money. Then he snatched it before it could disappear. Tulsa spoke, presumably translating Jerry’s question.

“Sim, sim, uma loja de frango.” He pointed up the street. “A loja é ali, virando a esquina.”

“A chicken place around the corner?” Tulsa asked Jerry.

“Sounds good to me.”

Ari crouched down, and the dog crept out to sniff her. “Can you ask if this is his usual spot?”

Tulsa obliged.

“Yes, he’s here every night.”

“Did he see Meera?”

Brax expected the answer to be a shrug or a shake of the head, but after some back and forth and gesturing at Indi, what they got was enthusiastic nodding.

“Sim, ela sempre para para acariciar Fofa.”

“He says a woman who looks like Indi but with longer hair always stops to pet the dog. He doesn’t know her name, but it sounds like Meera.”

“E ela me dá dinheiro para comida de cachorro.”

“And she gives him money for dog food.”

The excitement in Ari’s voice was palpable. “Has he seen her recently?”

“Eu não tenho nada a fazer além de assistir.”

“He says he has nothing to do but watch.” More discussion followed. “The last time he saw her was after the salsa night. Not this week, but the week before. She gave him the change in her pocket, promised to bring him another blanket because it was cold, and then she walked off in the direction of the hostel.”

“Alone?”

“Totally alone.”

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