Chapter 5
Luke
Almost two hours after having found an ominous note inside an empty and chilly dressing room, Sol and Luke finally made their way out of the Casanova theater.
“Taxi?” Luke asked Sol. Her eyes looked tired. The whole interrogation hadn’t been exactly pleasant for her. The police had been particularly curious about the fact that Sol seemed to be the last person to have seen international actor Leonardo Pascual before he disappeared.
And even if it had been merely a few hours since Pascual had been sitting with Sol for their interview, the police had agreed to start the search already: the circumstances surrounding his disappearance were too convoluted.
No one knew where Leonardo was. His parents had tried calling him without success.
The actor was due in the British capital the following Monday to start working on his new television show, but he hadn’t been in contact with anyone in the production of the show.
Not only had he missed the closing night of El bano de Edipo, he wasn’t in his hotel room, even if his stuff was still there.
And then, of course, there was the matter of the bloody note.
Would someone soon be receiving a call detailing the conditions of what needed to be offered in exchange for Leonardo?
“Let’s walk for a bit and see if we find somewhere to eat. I’m famished,” Sol said, as they strolled alongside one of the pedestrianized streets in Eixample, gleaming with open bars and people having drinks on outdoor tables.
He wrapped his arm around her waist and brought her closer to him, kissing the top of her head. “Pizza?” That was one of Sol’s preferred comfort foods.
“I was thinking more scrambled eggs with mushrooms or meatballs with squid.” She sighed.
He smiled at her and started looking around for a restaurant where they could get the traditional Catalan dishes. When it came to cravings, Sol could be awfully specific sometimes. His phone started ringing then.
“It’s Divya,” he told Sol after checking the screen. His professional associate and friend had been trying to reach him for the last two hours. Luke had texted her earlier noting they were all right but he couldn’t talk.
He picked up the phone but wasn’t even able to say a word since Divya began talking immediately. “I’m flying to Barcelona tomorrow morning.”
“What?” He had to have misunderstood.
“I’m coming to see you, mate.”
“But we’re leaving tomorrow.” Right?
He stopped walking in the middle of the street, pressing the phone against his ear to make sure he was understanding everything properly. Sol looked at him with interrogating eyes.
“You’re going to have to postpone that flight back,” Divya uttered the combination of words he dreaded the most. “Moon just called. Meshflixx hired the agency. They want us to find Leonardo. They’re worried.
I don’t like it when Moon worries,” Divya continued, using her partner’s preferred pronoun, which was they.
Moon not only was one of the producers in the show Pascual was starring in, they were a Meshflixx employee.
In the past, they’d served as liaison between the streamer and the detectives in other cases.
“But there’s no reason for us to investigate. I’ve been talking for two hours to the Catalan authorities.” He was aware he probably sounded a bit restless. And sullen. “They seem perfectly competent and are already investigating Leonardo’s case.”
“Mate, are you hearing yourself? If people really left things to the police, we’d be out of a job. Know what I mean?”
“Every time I leave London something happens, and I can’t bloody return when I am supposed!” He complained.
Exactly that same thing had just happened to him not a month ago when he’d joined Sol in Los Angeles for what was supposed to be an awards ceremony and some glamour. It had all ended up as a proper whodunnit with two weeks of the Californian lifestyle. He hadn’t exactly relished it.
“A man’s gone missing. We’ve no idea if he’s even all right.
And he was meant to be starting work on Monday.
He’s the star of the new Meshflixx series.
Without him, there’s no show. Two hundred people could lose their jobs just because we don’t know where Leonardo is—my partner included.
But so sorry for bothering you with a change of plans, eh?
” Divya didn’t hide the irritation aimed at Luke, but her words sobered him a bit.
He sighed. Closed his eyes. Pinched the bridge of his nose. Only then did he say: “Yeah, all right. I’ll see you here tomorrow.”
“That’s what I thought. Say good night to Sol for me.”
He hung up, and Sol’s warm hazel eyes met his, full of questions.
“We’ve been hired by Meshflixx. Again,” he muttered under his breath. “Moon wants us to investigate Leonardo’s disappearance.”
“That makes sense.”
He arched an eyebrow. How long had she known that was probably what would happen? “Does it?”
“It does.” She got closer, took her hand to his unshaven jaw. “You know I can write and work from here for a few days, no problem. No need to return to London yet. Want me to stay with you?”
That sounded brilliant. If he couldn’t get back home, at least they’d be together. “You really sure? You don’t mind?”
“The one with London separation anxiety is you, Luca,” she teased. “I can most definitely stay in my hometown for a few more days—with you.”
He smiled at her. Perhaps having to remain in Barcelona a little longer would not be such a terrible thing after all. “Let’s get you those scrambled eggs and meatballs, cara.”