Chapter 40
Luke
Does it sound to you as if he wants to be found?” Divya asked, her eyes locked on her mobile phone.
“It sounds to me as if he’s warning us the clock is ticking,” Luke said.
Of course the clock had already been loudly ticking: when Meshflixx had given them an ultimatum to either find Leonardo in two days or else. But it’d all taken an even more pressing urgency after the last post from FadeToBlack.
“So what do we do now?” Sol asked them, her voice no longer quivering.
“We keep to the plan, contact the cab companies. See if someone remembers Leonardo from two nights ago, or making a ride that took a couple of chaps from downtown to somewhere on the island with a swimming pool.” Luke ran a hand through his hair, as he kept pacing back and forth.
They were back at their hotel, currently in his and Sol’s room, and he was happy to see Sol’s skin no longer was ashen and she didn’t look at him like a deer in headlights. But he didn’t think she was fine either. No one would be until they found Leonardo.
“Somewhere on the island with a swimming pool hardly narrows it down,” Divya grumbled, her eyes still glued to her mobile phone. “Do we think he knows we’re looking for Leonardo?”
“What?” Sol practically jumped out from sitting on the bed, next to Divya. “You think he’s watching us?”
“That makes no sense.” Luke put an immediate stop to that line of speculation.
Even if he wasn’t so assured. The detectives at the Bakshi & Contadino Agency had been less meticulous than normally in that particular case.
There had been too much at stake for Divya and him, with both their partners somehow involved.
He didn’t know if it was that, or the fact that they weren’t in their natural habitat, or what.
But it was taking its toll and they weren’t being their usual competent selves.
“Yeah, I don’t think anyone is watching us,” Divya agreed.
But Luke knew she was also thinking their methods had been lacking.
“But why keep posting these messages? I could understand the notes, they were left to prevent us from realizing that some stuff was missing. But the post about the bracelet, and now this. And to hint the need to bid something when no ransom has been demanded. I just don’t get it. ”
Luke didn’t get it either and he didn’t like it.
He continued pacing the room, trying to clear his mind.
When that didn’t work he realized there was some due diligence they still needed to do: “I think I should call our friends at the Mossos d’Esquadra.
Bring them up to speed on our latest discoveries.
I’m sure they’ll want to warn the Palma authorities. ”
“Shite, good idea. I should have thought about that. I don’t know where my mind’s at,” Divya said. But he knew exactly where her mind was: she was worried about Moon, stressed out about finding Leonardo. Luke himself was nowhere near the top of his game.
“Do you guys want me to help you with the taxi companies?” Sol offered, her voice almost shy.
His eyes turned to her, inquisitively. Divya seemed to also be evaluating the state of the journalist.
“Could you two please stop looking at me as if I’m about to have a nervous breakdown at every turn, and trust me!” Sol yelled.
Luke took that as a sign that she was feeling better. He threw his hands in the air, claiming innocence. “You’d actually do us a favor with the cab companies, with your knowledge of the local languages and all that.”
“Don’t try to sweet-talk me!” she barked at him.
Luke almost smiled. She may never marry him. Meshflixx could ruin the prospects of their detective agency. Leonardo Pascual appeared to be in imminent danger. But at least Sol was feeling like her feisty self.
···
“Palma, eh?” officer Mercè Roig asked Luke once he’d told her what he was doing on the island. “Okay, I’ll call my colleagues there. Put in the good word for you.”
“Ta. And I’ll keep you posted about the investigation from here.”
“This may be a coincidence, but you know who else is in Mallorca, right?” Officer Roig’s tone seemed to indicate she shared the same views Luke had on coincidences: not a strong believer.
“Who?” Luke tried for a calm, almost uninterested tone.
“Some producer or other for the TV show your missing actor was supposed to do…” Mercè seemed to be trying to recall the name.
“Jasper Fairbanks?” Luke asked her.
“That one! I only know because he was stopped at the airport in Palma. He was carrying THC gummies in his luggage. One of my colleagues there told me.” She chuckled.
“Apparently it was quite the spectacle. The guy was completely groggy when they landed. He was coming on a private jet. Couldn’t find his passport, he was so out of it.
An officer helped him go through his backpack in search of the passport and that’s when they found an open bag of gummies. ”
“What happened to him?” The marijuana-infused candy was legal in California, but they could have got Jasper in trouble if trafficking was suspected.
“It was just a few gummies. They were deemed for personal use. They were confiscated and he was fined. He still had to spend a few hours at the airport while all the paperwork was being processed. Never fly under the influence. You never know when you’ll have to be aware and responsive,” Officer Roig said.
Luke had an even better doctrine: “Never fly.” That pretty much avoided any kind of travel-related issues. If only he’d listened to his own advice.
“Do you know where Fairbanks is staying on the island by any chance? I think I’ll pay him a visit,” he said.
“I’ll check with my colleagues. I’m sure they kept an address for him,” Officer Roig said. “I have to say that, when Miquel introduced us, I didn’t see this flourishing collaboration between us coming.”
Luke chuckled. He bet she didn’t. “That’s because you were mad at him for mansplaining all sorts of things.”
Mercè chuckled as well. “I was,” she admitted. “He told me you’re dating his ex-wife.”
The ability Spaniards had to mix business affairs and personal matters was something Luke was still getting used to. Then again, perhaps now that the professional boundaries had been lifted, he could take advantage of it?
“I’m not dating her. Sol and I are living together,” he set the record straight. “What else did he tell you about me?”
“That he likes you—for Sol. He’s happy she found someone.”
“Really?” Luke only heard the squeal in his voice after he said that.
“You have to give Miquel some credit,” Mercè continued, completely unaware of the cascade of conflicting feelings she’d unleashed in Luke. “He’s annoying and his ego is the size of a football field, but he’s the perfect ex. Believe me, I know what I’m talking about.”