I’d just finished my training when I saw her walking towards me. I waved at her, and she waved back.
“I didn’t think you’d make it,” I smiled, wiping my face with a towel.
“Well that was impressive. Judo?” Mayte asked.
I shrugged, “Krav Maga.”
“Maybe you could teach me some moves,” she smiled.
“Yeah",” I grinned, “Maybe. Now, shall we?”
“Aren’t you going to shower first?” she asked, “I could wait here.”
“No. I prefer to shower at home. Don’t want men peeking at my Nessie,” I replied.
“Nessie?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Yeah, Nessie,” I said with a straight face.
She giggled.
“So, what is it that you wanted to talk about?” she asked, as she pulled the car into gear.
“How’d you find out about me?”
“I heard some things. I figured you could help me,” she replied.
“Well if you’ve heard things about me, then you’d know I’m the wrong person for this job.”
“I know what you do Roy. I needed someone I could trust on this one,” she said, staring at the road.
“Why? The company ran out of nerds you could trust?”
“Something like that. This is personal for me.”
“Speaking of personal, what was your relation with the subject?” I asked.
“He had a name Roy. You read his file, didn’t you?”
I ignored her. “If you’ve been in this business long enough, then you’d know never to let things get personal.”
She swallowed and nodded, “That’s why I came to you Roy.” Her voice broke. “We’re here,” she said, as we pulled up.
“You busy today?” I asked her.
“No, why?”
“Come on in then,” I unbuckled my seat belt and got out.
She followed me.
“Welcome to Casa El Roy!” I said, taking off my coat. “Make yourself at home. My home is your home.”
“Do you live alone?” she asked, looking around.
“I got a roommate. He’s away most of the time. Suits me anyway.”
“Does he know what you do?” she asked.
“He was my host when I arrived here. He works with accounting.”
“Oh!”
“I’m going to shower. Look around. Make yourself some breakfast or whatever,” I said, as I pulled out some fresh clothes from a drawer.
I took my time in the shower.
It would give her enough time to look around. Not that she’d find anything. But, it would give her time to reconsider the job offer. And, or any other motives.
“So, do you just invite anyone and let them hang around the place while you go to shower?” she asked, watching me dry my hair.
“Nah, just you.”
“Why?”
“You plant any bugs while I was in there?” I asked.
“What? No!”
I chuckled, “Good. ‘Cause that would be a terrible idea.”
“I’m not like you Roy. I don’t do this for a living,” she shook her head.
“Ah! Don’t sell yourself short.” I put on a t-shirt and pants, and went to the kitchen. I opened the fridge and pulled out a jug. “Milk?”
“Do you have any coffee?” she asked.
“Nah. I don’t drink coffee.”
“Tea then?”
“No tea either.”
“Then why’d you ask?” she sounded annoyed.
“I’ll make you a smoothie, how about that?” I offered.
“Fine.”
I made her a smoothie and pancakes.
“Do you have this for breakfast everyday?” she asked.
“No. My go-to is milk and cereal. But, you’re my guest, so-”
“Oh, come on! You didn’t have to go through all that trouble for me!”
“It’s no trouble,” I smiled.
“You’re really sweet, you know that?”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that. Sometimes I can be rough around the edges.”
“So how does a boy like you end up in this line of work?” she asked.
“When you call me that, you sound like my grandma. How old are you?”
She giggled, “You know, a gentleman never asks a woman her age.”
"Well, I’m no gentleman.”
“But you’ve been nice to me. I appreciate that.”
“I’d say mid-40’s. Does that sound right?”
“I’m 49.”
“You look young,” I commented.
“Not as young as you do,” she smiled.
“Wanna get married?”
She burst out laughing, “You’re so silly! Gosh!”
I grinned.
After breakfast, she helped me clean up.
“You’re only known me for a short while, and we’re already like a couple,” I said.
“Are we?”
“Don’t you think so?” I prodded.
She didn’t say anything.
“What was your relationship with him?” I asked.
“He was a good friend of mine,” she said softly.
“No.”
“No?”
“No,” I shook my head, “I think, you were in love with him.”
She was silent.
“Was he in love with you?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? You never told him, did you?”
She sighed in exasperation, “What do you want from me Roy?”
“I want to know everything about you. I want to know everything about him. I want to know everything about your relationship with him. This case was closed before you came to me. It’s a dead-end. So I want to know why someone like you would come to someone like me with a dead horse. You start from the beginning. You tell me everything you know. Don’t leave out anything. Are we clear?”
“Yes.”
“Good.”