A Fatality in Spain by Blake Pierce

Author:Blake Pierce [Pierce, Blake]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blake Pierce
Published: 2021-09-07T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

By the time they left Juan Perez’s office, it was already mid-afternoon. The crowds outside had increased, and despite the absence of bullfights, people were streaming into the arena. Diana checked her watch and realized it was almost time for the De Leon memorial to begin. “Do you think we should go in?” she asked. “Just for a few minutes?”

Sean shrugged.

They were just near the entrance when Diana spotted the humorless Detective Carrera, standing at the front entrance, monitoring everyone as they walked inside. No doubt, he’d want to talk to her.

She turned away. “You know what? On second thought, let’s see if we can find the activists.”

The activists were now standing away from the entrance gates to the arena, behind barriers set out by police. There were more standing outside than when they’d entered Perez’s office, and they were chanting slogans in Spanish. Diana tried to speak with them, but they didn’t speak English, and seemed annoyed by her presence. Though Sean could speak Spanish, she wasn’t sure he was asking the right questions. Besides, she wasn’t sure the activists were taking him seriously, in that hat.

Finally, she said, “I think our best bet is to find that Rachel Hawkins. But I don’t see her here.”

Sean nodded and said to one of the activists, “Dónde está Rachel Hawkins?”

The man spoke quickly and pointed wildly in different directions.

Sean listened, frowning. “He said she went off to her hotel and she’s not expected back here.”

“Okay. Where’s her hotel?”

“That’s the problem. He doesn’t know. He says he thinks it’s somewhere along the festival route, but he’s not sure. Somewhere close by.”

Diana looked around and let out a long sigh. “That’s not really helpful! The festival is huge. There are blocks and blocks of hotels she could’ve gone back to.”

Sean nodded. “A bit like looking for a needle in a stack of needles, I’d say. What if we—”

“How about if we split up?” she asked suddenly. She knew what he was going to suggest—relaxing with another beer. And if she did that, she’d probably never get up again. She was already getting tired from her early afternoon beer, and she needed to get answers. Plus, it wasn’t like Sean was getting on her nerves—well, not that much—but she had a feeling he was just putzing around, wanting to relax. And she was far too Type A for that. She could make a lot more headway, striking out on her own.

He raised an eyebrow. “You think we should?”

She nodded and pointed down a street. “I’ll go that way. You go that way. Just text me if you get a hit for Rachel Hawkins. Okay?”

He pressed his lips together. “Love . . . are you unhappy with me?”

“Oh. No,” she said, shaking her head.

“Are you sure. Because—"

“No. No. Of course not,” she said emphatically.

He gazed at her doubtfully, took her hand, and then kissed her knuckles. “I will see you soon, then.”

“Thanks,” she said, and even before he’d turned around, she felt guilty.

No, he didn’t seem at all invested in the investigation the way she was.

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