Hot Revenge Box Set 4

The meal goes smoothly enough, albeit with a lot of negotiating the rapids and under-currents of good manners and courtesy.

Beth’s pregnancy proves a safe topic of discussion, with none of the pitfalls and booby traps lying in wait if we talk about anything closer to home. Mitch is a star, repeatedly shifting the conversation back onto the imminent birth of Beth’s and Richard’s new son.

Later, in a quiet moment with Michael, “My apologies,” I say. “Tact isn’t one of Georgie’s virtues. It never was.”

His answering smile is wry. “Like father, like daughter.”

*****

Klempner

Two weeks and… nothing…

Not a whisper. Nothing I can find.

Sitting in the corner of Antonio’s, I’ve spent a pleasant afternoon, but frustration gnaws at me. Hickman reports that all is well, but…

Has Juliana given up?

?

Not fucking likely…

Antonio’s cafe has become somewhat of a routine. Misgivings nudge me, reminding me that I shouldn’t develop such habits…

… Making myself vulnerable…

But, with nothing to go on, what the hell else can I do?

On the other hand, there has to be some reason for the address to have been used in Finchby’s invoices.

Perhaps I just need to wait.

But what am I waiting for?

How long can I keep doing this?

Still, in the meantime, while I wait for my mystery to unravel, the old man is genuinely good company. And also, a mine of local information.

Finishing a cup of the excellent coffee, I consult a local guide, comparing my list of addresses to a local map, looking for some pattern, seeking inspiration…

Access to road…

Access to the ports…

Whereabouts of police stations…

the poorer end of

Nothing hangs together.

materialises at my elbow, nodding down to my empty coffee cup.

“Sim. Thank you.”

a finger at my page. “You not

that I ‘can’t speak the language’…

place very bad. Many bad men there.

Que tipo

to sit close by me. His voice lowers and he leans in close. “One time, since many years, this city….” He sweeps his arms out in circles all around… “…all bad place. Much…” He falters then holds out two fingers making a Bang Bang gesture… “And much…” Invisible knife gripped in his hand,

violence,” I say.

nods vigorously. “Sim, muita

cigarette and again he nods. Then I mime injecting

para prostitutas.” He takes the book from me, closes it, then slaps it down

said bad woman too? A

down, then up again, nodding. “Prostitutes, sim. But há sim

bad woman.

hand… “… Not so many. Bad men gone. Not like other cities. Since two years, bad men here again. And this woman is baddest. She is…” He splutters for a moment… “She

sounding

Juliana…

her name? What

stares at

try again. “The bad woman… A mulher má…

shrugs. “Ninguém sabe. Ela é

What does

Again, that blank stare…

hand to my head… “Tall?” … Then

place. Bad people. You not

the guide, riffling through. “You like o museu de arte, Senhor Hughes? We have many artista famoso there.

let him ramble on, nodding as he jabs fingers at places

minutes later I’ve signed up for subscriptions on a variety of Brazilian newspapers, or at least, their English editions. I can read Portuguese, but it doesn’t come so naturally as reading in English. I spend more of my time interpreting the language than I do understanding

archives, I

experimental search term… Sao Paulo organised crime… Then

139,000, 000 results, starting

Hmmm…

Narrow it down…

Names of criminal

time, but some more

is enticing recruits with

of the Most Lethal