The Portugal Sapphire (An Ainsley Walker Gemstone Travel Mystery) by J.A. Jernay

Author:J.A. Jernay [Jernay, J.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-12-26T05:00:00+00:00

30

THAT NIGHT, AINSLEY UNCORKED A CHEAP bottle of port wine that she’s purchased at a corner shop, sat down in her hotel room’s only chair, and propped her feet on the edge of her bed.

Running through her mind was a replay of the events of the last three days. She’d inserted herself into so many places, found herself with so many tantalizing clues to the disappearance of the sapphire azulejo from the small chapel in the Souza villa—

—and yet she didn’t feel like she was getting any closer.

A strange clanging sound drew her out of her reverie. Ainsley realized that it was her phone. Or, rather, Joaquim’s phone, which was inside her purse.

She ran across the room and retrieved it. “Hello?”

It was a man’s voice, velvety yet rough. “You haven’t lost my phone yet.”

Ainsley’s stomach plunged to her feet. “Joaquim,” she said.

“Indeed. Everything is going well?”

“Sort of.”

“You have made progress?”

“Some. I have three good leads.”

“Tell me.”

She replayed for him everything that had happened, the meeting with Rita in Sintra, the failed lunch at A Caverna, the failed visit to the Polícia Judiciára, the backfired lure of Catherine Hampstead, the stalking of Augusto at his church, her failure to learn anything at Feria do Ladra, the ride on Tram 28, the pursuit of the pickpocket, the impromptu handcuff, the grand meeting with the azulejo gangster in pink house slippers.

Joaquim laughed. “We have to get some money for you.”

“That would be nice,” she said.

“We’ll work it out. Trust me.” His voice sounded confident and comfortable. “So it’s eight o’clock your time,” he said. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Waiting for a phone call,” said Ainsley. That sounded more flirtatious than she’d meant it to be.

“What’s his name?”

“Bia.”

“Thank God it’s not a man.”

“Why do you care?” she said, twisting her hair around a finger.

“Portugal is full of many distractions for an attractive woman.”

Ah. The first wall had been breached. Joaquim had admitted the existence of a physical attraction. Now Ainsley was going to make him work for it.

“Joaquim,” she said, “has it ever occurred to you that I might actually be able to handle myself around foreign men?”

“I hope so. My San Francisco clients are still helpless. I won’t be able to leave here for another week.”

“So King Sebastião isn’t going to return,” she said sadly.

“You’re screwing up the story. But I’ll play along—he will, if you get into trouble.”

“I doubt that.”

“Oh, believe me, it’s true. Sebastião has some making up to do.”

Ainsley sighed. “It would’ve been nice to have a native speaker as a guide.”

“I’m only semi-native. Besides, Rita said that you’re doing well.”

“Not well enough. I don’t understand fifty percent of what’s being said.”

“Neither do I. Portuguese people mumble.”

“It’s been sweet of you to call,” she said. “Should I touch base more often?”

“We would appreciate it.”

“Guess what I would appreciate?”

“A retainer,” Joaquim answered. “I’m working on it. Stay tuned.”

“All right.”

Ainsley disconnected and poured herself more cheap port wine. This was her evening—alone in a foreign country, with a four-euro bottle of wine, in a hotel room.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.