Page 94 of Spooked

“In Fundão? It’s a very safe city.”

Clearly not that freaking safe if Meera had vanished.

“The last man she was seen with was a tourist. Maybe he took her somewhere other than the beach?”

“I suppose that’s possible.”

Why wasn’t Pedro being more helpful? Was he worried the town’s reputation would suffer? Did he just want to avoid getting tangled up in the mystery? Or could he have been involved? Meera had liked him, but I wasn’t sure I did. If she had one fault, it was that she’d always been too trusting. Should I press for more information? I didn’t want to alienate Pedro, but at the same time, he hadn’t told us much.

Thankfully, Ari took over. “Wasn’t Meera meant to move into your brother’s place?”

“Yes, and she even paid a deposit for the room. Then she didn’t show up.”

She’d paid a deposit when she didn’t have much money. If she’d been planning to leave permanently, she’d have kept the cash, wouldn’t she?

“Did you speak to the police about her disappearance?”

“Are you another friend of hers?”

“I’m a friend of Indi’s.”

Pedro sighed. “Then maybe you don’t know how Meera was. I don’t want to speak badly about her, but the past few weeks were…difficult. She kept showing up late, and some days, she was drunk.”

“Drunk? How did she get to work?”

“Either she rode with Polina, or she came by bicycle. Dieter nearly hit her one morning. She was weaving all over the road. And two days before she left, she got into a fight with Benji. Everyone heard the shouting.”

A fight? This was new. Brax slipped an arm around my waist for support—he must have realised how fragile I was feeling right now.

“What was the fight about?” Ari asked.

“I don’t know all the details, but Benji was a friend of Alfie’s. I think he was defending Alfie’s decision to leave.”

“Does Benji work here?”

“Yes, he was digging swales with Alfie and Meera.”

“Can we speak with him?”

“He drove into the city to pick up supplies, but he should be back soon.”

“While we wait, can we meet the rest of the staff? Meera might have mentioned her new friend to somebody.”

A pause. “You really think something bad could have happened to her?”

“Yes, we do.”

Pedro swallowed, looking slightly more nervous than when we’d arrived.

“Let me introduce you to everyone. But first, I’ll call Benji to see how long he’ll be.”

* * *

“I just said if that’s how she behaved, I wasn’t surprised that Alfie had left, that was all.”

Benji was British, a slim guy with a short ponytail sticking out from beneath a “Drop Seeds, Not Bombs” ball cap. Strands of brown hair kept escaping, and he had a habit of tucking them behind his ear as we talked under a grey sky beside an old barn. Dirt streaked his jacket, and his boots were caked in mud.

“That was all?” I asked. “You didn’t think your words might upset her?”

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