Emilio by Sophie Masson

Author:Sophie Masson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: JUV039000, book
ISBN: 9781743431313
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2014-05-22T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

Emilio was almost at the flat when the phone beeped twice. New text message.

Today 19.00 h.

That was it. That meant seven in the evening. Five hours from now. In five hours he would at last hear his mother’s voice, even if he couldn’t speak to her.

He clicked back to the details of the message, hoping against hope they might have been careless enough to leave a trail. But of course they hadn’t. Aside from time and date, ‘Private number’ was all it said on the screen.

The taxi drew up outside the block of flats. The driver said, ‘Will you be all right or do you want me to come inside with you?’

‘I’m fine,’ said Emilio, jumping out of the cab. Looking up at the window, he could see Luz framed there, watching the street. She saw him and waved. He was about to put in the security number when an elderly lady came out. He knew her. She was Señora Valdez, who lived a floor down from the Torres family.

‘Oh Emilio! Oh my dear,’ she said, laying a hand on his arm. ‘I read about your poor mother. So awful. I’m so sorry.’

‘Thank you, Señora,’ he said, a little impatiently. He wanted to get upstairs, and show the others the text message.

‘Please tell your aunt that if there’s anything I can do to help, she’s only got to ask.’

‘Thank you. I will.’

‘It’s the curse of greed,’ she said sadly, ‘the curse of greed that’s destroying our poor country. All people think about is money. No one knows right from wrong any more.’

He wished she’d stop talking, but he couldn’t tell an old person to be quiet.

‘I hope you’re getting proper help,’ she went on.

He nodded. By now she’d know about Alda, but only as the Nicaraguan cousin. And it had to stay that way.

‘In the old days there were bad men too,’ she said, ‘but at least they had some kind of honour. A code of some sort. These days, they have none. The drugs have scrambled their morals as well as their brains. As to the police, well, if they’re not corrupt they know nothing and they’re incompetent. We live in bad days.’

‘I’m sorry,’ he said desperately, ‘but I must go.’

She eyed his bag. ‘You’ll be staying here a while longer, then.’

He nodded.

‘But surely you shouldn’t be out by yourself,’ she cried. ‘Why are you—’

‘I just had to run an errand,’ he said hastily. ‘I’m sorry, but I really have to go.’ Finally he made his escape, taking the stairs two at a time back to his aunt and uncle’s flat.

‘We were starting to get worried about you,’ said Tía Isabel when she opened the door. She saw the bag in his hand. ‘What’s that?’

‘Just some clothes I picked up from our place—’

‘Madre di Dios, Emilio, why do that? Raúl told us you were coming straight back,’ she scolded, but he gabbled, ‘It’s okay, I’ll tell you about it later, but Tía, Tía, the message – it’s come!’

Her face froze.

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