Seventeen

The shoes, though very cute, had limited arch support. Clearly Janet didn’t walk much. Hollis decided not to let that bother her and focused instead on any too-long glance from a stranger, or a car that pulled just a little too close.

But neither happened. All she saw as they walked the streets of their Palermo neighborhood were fashionable people hurrying toward what were clearly important appointments. Like in every major city, most were looking at their phones, or listening to music through earbuds. No one seemed to be paying them much attention at all.

Just as she had seen from the car, the city was lovely. Every other business seemed to be sidewalk cafés with people enjoying coffee, between them clothes shops or small groceries. They turned down a side street that had large trees on each sidewalk, with branches that reached out to the middle to create a canopy.

As people walked by them she heard Spanish mainly, but then other languages—English, French, Arabic, Chinese. An elderly woman walking a poodle smiled at her. She smiled back. A couple of teenage girls sat on a step, giggling to each other about whatever teenage girls giggle about these days, but they looked up and smiled when she and Finn walked by. What a friendly place, she thought. Hollis began to forget what she was doing in Buenos Aires, she was just happy being there.

“Maybe here,” Finn said, pointing toward a main street. “If Declan or someone is trying to find us, maybe if we stick to the main roads it will be easier.”

They turned onto the busier street and walked for twenty minutes, ready to be approached, before Finn stopped on the sidewalk, looking tired and annoyed.

“What now?”

She looked around. “Something to eat?”

“We don’t have any money,” he said. “No cash, no credit cards, no cell phones. No way to get money. We can’t jump in a cab or stop for a cup of coffee.”

Hollis looked around. “If we see a phone somewhere we could reach Peter. I’m sure he’d take a collect call.”

“Shouldn’t he be reaching out to us? Shouldn’t he be watching us right now? Wasn’t that the promise he made?”

“Maybe he lost track when we were put on the plane.”

“That does not inspire confidence.”

She leaned into his chest. Going back to the hotel didn’t strike her as a great idea. But her initial enthusiasm about wandering the area was starting to wane. Was it possible they’d been dumped in the middle of Buenos Aires with the assumption they knew what they were doing?

“Five more minutes,” she decided. “We’ll walk a little farther and if no one approaches, we’ll go back to the hotel and order room service. At least we can put that on the bill.”

“And who pays for that?”

“We’ll worry about that at check-out.” She could see Finn about to say if we check out so she put her hand up to his lips. “We will get out of this.”

“Did I say anything different?”

“You were about to.”

“I should at least get to say it.”

She looked up at him and waited.

Finn sighed. “You’ve ruined it now. But next time I want to be doom and gloom …”

“I promise not to get in the way.”

They walked, passing pizza places and empanada stands. Finn’s stomach growled, and the lightheaded feeling Hollis had earlier attributed to confusion now seemed more closely linked to hunger.

Toward the end of the block she saw a sign for the Eva Perón Museum. Under normal circumstances she would have run to see what exhibits were on display for Argentina’s most famous first lady, but they were just pretending to be tourists and an hour in the museum was hardly going to get them closer to finding Declan.

Finn saw the direction that Hollis was looking and squinted. “Eva Perón,” Finn said. “She was an actress, wasn’t she?”

“Yes, in the forties. She did a handful of movies before she met Juan Perón,” Hollis said. She felt herself turn red. “I’m so stupid.”

“What did you do?”

“The Prodigal Woman was one of her movies. It was a clue. I knew it was a clue.”

“I’ll bet the museum gets lots of visitors,” Finn said. His voice had a bit of excitement in it that quickly disappeared. “And I’ll bet there’s an entrance fee.”

There was no way Hollis was going back to the hotel now, no matter how badly her stomach insisted. “Maybe we can just explain that we’re big fans of hers.”

“I’m pretty sure that anyone going to the museum would qualify as a fan, and honestly I don’t know much about her other than what was in Evita.”

“We can try.”

She took Finn’s hand and started pulling him toward the museum. He took a few steps then stopped. No matter how hard she pulled, he wasn’t going anywhere. His superior strength didn’t generally annoy her. It actually came in handy when heavy boxes needed lifting, or she wanted to be held close. But right now, as she tugged on his hand, his strength combined with his stubbornness was infuriating.

“Even if they don’t let us in, maybe there’ll be something at the entrance that will help us,” she said. “Standing here isn’t getting us anything.”

“I disagree.” Finn held tight to Hollis’s hand, then lifted it.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m looking at the solution to our problem.” He nodded toward the bracelet on her wrist. The diamonds sparkled in the morning sun, shining a light on the sidewalk that seemed to Hollis like a bat signal.

“Do they have pawn shops in Argentina?”

He didn’t answer, but he didn’t have to. Now it was Finn dragging Hollis, walking almost too fast for her to keep up. Then he stopped, and she slammed into his back.

“Seriously, you are half a foot taller than me,” she snapped. “I feel like a terrier being walked by a Great Dane.”

“Sorry. How about in there?” He pointed to a coffee shop.

“Even without knowing ten words in Spanish, I can tell that’s not a pawn shop.”

“They might know where there’s a pawn shop,” Finn said. “Or we can give them the bracelet and they can give me a pastry.”

Once inside the coffee shop, they could have been anywhere back home. There were people sitting at tables with half-finished coffees and sandwiches pushed to the side, their focus entirely on laptops.

Finn and Hollis walked to the counter, where a dark-haired woman in her early thirties was putting round croissant-like pastries on a plate.

“Hola,” the woman said. “Que te gustaria?”

Finn hesitated. “Hola. Hables … um … usted English?”

She smiled. “Yes. I can speak English. Would you like a table?”

“No, thank you. We’re looking for a pawn shop. Do you know of one?”

The woman studied Finn, then Hollis. Hollis couldn’t tell if she was just curious or suspicious.

“We were mugged,” Hollis jumped in. “We’ve lost our money and credit cards. I have this bracelet”—she held her hand up—“we thought if we could pawn it …”

“Eso es terrible!” The woman pointed toward a table. “Where did this happen? I can call the policía for you.”

“That’s not necessary,” Finn said. “We, um …”

“We already called them.” Now it was her turn to struggle. Lying was more complicated than it seemed, especially when the recipient was a kind-looking person hoping to help.

“Someone lent us a cell phone,” Finn jumped in. “The officer said we would need to fill out paperwork. He didn’t sound hopeful.”

The woman shook her head. “Please, sit. Have a coffee. Are you hungry?”

Finn and Hollis glanced at each other, and that was enough for the woman to take Finn’s arm and point them toward a table.

“Sit please. Buenos Aires is a lovely city. I’m so angry this has happened to you. I’m Gabriella. Please you let me feed you and I’ll find a shop for you. Do you need a phone to call anyone else? A friend maybe?”

“Maybe coffee first,” Finn said.

Gabriella rushed away, clucking to herself in rapid Spanish.

“It isn’t a lie,” Hollis said to make herself feel better. “Not exactly. It’s not Buenos Aires’s fault we’re without money.”

Finn just nodded. “I’m starving. I don’t care who gets blamed, as long as I get fed.”

Within minutes they were served toasted ham and cheese sandwiches and coffee. Gabriella walked away and came back with milk and sugar, glanced at the table, then brought chocolate-covered cookies she called alfajors.

They ate the sandwiches without speaking, practically without chewing. When there were only crumbs, Hollis turned to the cookies. She took a small bite and realized she’d discovered heaven. Two chocolate cookies, with dulce de leche between them, covered in chocolate.

“When we pawn this bracelet, I’m going to buy a barrel of these,” she said.

Finn bit into one. He nodded. “Money well spent.”

When the food was gone, and the coffee finished, they each sat back in their chairs. Gabriella returned. “I called my boss and he is going to be here in five minutes. He says if it is real diamonds, he will buy the bracelet. He says he will give it to his girlfriend.” She rolled her eyes. “He will have to decide which girlfriend. I will bring you more coffee and cookies.” She put a cell phone on the table. “And you call anywhere you need. It’s okay.”

“Thank you,” Finn said. “You have no idea what we’ve been through.”

“De nada,” she said. “Your day will get better from here.”

But out of the corner of her eye, Hollis saw a man walk into the restaurant. He was watching them. She had no idea who he was, but she was sure he was trouble.