Page 53 of Wicked Ambition

“My wife arrived in Puerto Jardin to look for her sister.”

“Your wife?” Now Señor Alvarez sounded skeptical, too.

“She wasn’t aware I was down here. It was sheer dumb luck I found her before she could get into trouble.” That was putting it mildly. “Her sister disappeared, probably in Trujillo, but she visited San Isidro.”

Señor Alvarez’s expression changed. “A blonde woman? About thirty?”

“Iona Desmond,” Oz confirmed with a nod. “She works for the Paladin League. She was sent to Puerto Jardin to do a magazine article about the ruins near here. What can you tell me about her visit?”

The men exchanged glances, and then Señor Alvarez asked, “Your commander knows your wife is here?”

“He knows she’s here. The only thing saving my rear end is that he thinks her sister might have information that will help our operation.” Oz was weaving fact and fiction using all the skills he had. If these men figured out he wasn’t telling them the full truth, they’d toast his ass, no doubt about it.

Señor Alvarez studied him for a long moment and then gestured to the open seat on the bench next to Señor Otero. Oz sat as ordered.

“Señorita Desmond arrived mid-morning exactly one week ago. She checked in and then came downstairs to ask questions about the ruins. The archaeologists who worked there before the war began used to stay at the inn and we passed along what we could remember.”

From what Ayla said about her sister, Oz guessed what happened next. “And then she went to the ruins.”

It surprised him when Alvarez shook his head. “No, she asked if there was anyone else in town who would know more about the Huarona civilization.”

“That’s when she came to speak with me,” Señor Garcia offered. He was the oldest of the three men, and Oz suspected he was closer to ninety than eighty. What he had left of his hair was completely white and his skin was heavily wrinkled, but his brown eyes held a twinkle that made him seem younger than his years. “We had lunch together. She is a charming young lady. You said she’s in trouble?”

“It looks that way, Señor Garcia. No one has seen or heard from her since Wednesday. Not that I’ve been able to locate, anyway. Was she interested in anything beyond the ruins?”

Señor Garcia shook his head. So did Señor Alvarez.

“Did she visit the site?” Oz asked.

“Sí,” Señor Alvarez said. “Tuesday morning. I did point out what happened when Señorita Templeton went there alone, but she wasn’t deterred.”

Given what Ayla had told him about her sister, Oz wasn’t surprised.

“With the time it would take her to hike in and out, she spent perhaps two or two and a half hours there before returning to the inn,” Alvarez continued. He frowned and then shook his head.

“What?” Oz asked.

The old man hesitated before he said, “Her questions about the ruins didn’t make sense.”

“Why not?”

“Because Zofia works for the Paladin League.”

Zo was married to Stony, a former teammate and one of his buddies. A few weeks ago, Oz had visited the inn and used his name to get a room.

“Did Iona mention Zo?”

“No, and that’s what makes it so curious. When Zofia was a child, she came to the ruins with her parents. They were the archaeologists in charge of the site. Why didn’t Señorita Desmond simply interview her? She knows more than anyone in town about the Huarona people.” Alvarez’s frown deepened. “If she couldn’t be quoted for an article because of her ties to the foundation, surely her parents could have been. Why didn’t Señorita Desmond interview them?”

Because the ruins were a cover for her actual job—identifying Fuentes—but even though Oz trusted the old men, he wouldn’t reveal that piece of intel. It might putthemin the line of fire. “There seem to be a lot of questions about Iona’s disappearance.”

“Sí.” The three old men exchanged glances again before Alvarez nodded and added, “We’re accustomed to a level of craziness with Vargas nearby. His war with another drug lord has increased the hostility in the area. Something more is simmering now, however, and whatever it is, it has the potential to cause tensions to boil over. Perhaps without warning.”

Ayla stretched,sat up, and swung her feet over the side of the bed. Immediately, she regretted it as her stomach rolled over and churned. This morning, Oz had brought her toast in bed, and she’d avoided feeling anything except a vague sense of queasiness. No such luck waking up from her nap.

She tried lying back down, but it didn’t do any good. Her stomach continued to roil. It wasn’t as if she could just lounge in the room. She needed to pee, and there was one communal bathroom for the entire floor.

After putting her wig back on, she went down the hall. Even though Señora Alvarez told her no one else was staying at the inn, Ayla hung theoccupiedsign on the outside doorknob. When she was finished washing and drying her hands, she took a moment to check herself out in the mirror. The makeup looked fine, but the wig sat too far forward, and she adjusted it.

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