Page 95 of Spooked

Ari elbowed me in the side at the same time as Brax squeezed my hand.

“What Indi means is that Meera was already devastated about the breakup,” Ari said. “What triggered the conversation?”

“She was hungover again, ranting about everything. I just wanted to work, you know? And she wouldn’t shut up.”

“You were friends with Alfie?”

“We got along.”

“Were you surprised when he left for Lisbon?”

“Yes and no. I mean, it was obvious he was sick of spending time here. Meera was the ecologist, not him. I figured he’d find work in Fundão while she carried on, but then he met Beatriz, and man, she was hot. They just hit it off.”

“You know Beatriz?”

“Sure, she was a waitress at Café Lusitano. We all go there for coffee.”

“Meera too?”

“Yeah, the two of them were friends before the Alfie thing. Well, sort of. Beatriz used to talk shit about her behind her back.”

“What kind of shit?”

“She made fun of her for working here. Said she cared more for bats than she does for people.”

I couldn’t keep my mouth closed. “That’s just not true. She cared—”

“She cared about both,” Ari said firmly. “Do you really have bats?”

“There are horseshoe bats in the barn.” Benji gestured toward the building beside us. “Bats are cool—did you know they use them in the libraries here for conservation?”

“How does that work?”

“The bats eat the bugs that would eat the manuscripts. That’s one reason we like having them here—they take care of the insect pests and allow us to reduce our pesticide use. Plus they help with pollination, and their guano makes a good fertiliser.”

“Maybe Meera had the right idea?”

“Yeah, probably.” Benji sighed. “This is a mess. Alfie was an arsehole for pissing off to Lisbon, and Meera went crazy after he left. Hanging out in the bar every night, drinking too much, bitching constantly.”

This was the same story we’d heard from five other people while we were waiting for Benji to return. That Alfie had behaved like a prick, and there was plenty of sympathy for Meera until she started acting out. The women still felt sorry for her, but the men had labelled her as “difficult” and “slutty.” More like traumatised—her life had been turned upside down, and she’d been desperately trying to reclaim her confidence.

“Do you have any idea which bar she went to?”

“Kredo, mainly. Sometimes Mercado. Definitely not Mythos, not anymore, because that’s where Alfie used to work.”

“Did she mention spending time with a French or Belgian guy? All we know at the moment is that he had blond hair.”

“Nah, the times I saw her out, she was with a Portuguese guy.”

“The same guy? How many times?”

“Twice? Maybe three times?”

“Do you know who he was?”

Benji shook his head. “Not his name, but he always said hello. Try asking Katie. Meera and her always gossiped while they were working.”

“Is she here today?”

---