interesting and—’
‘A sperm bank with good qualities, obviously.’
‘I’m sorry,’ said Deira. ‘I really am. I thought . . .’
‘What? That men are happy to have sex with a random stranger and not care about the consequences?’
‘There seem to be a lot who are.’
‘You have a very poor opinion of us, don’t you?’
‘Based on experience,’ said Deira.
‘Great. You hate men but you still need one to father a child for you. So you’re prepared to put up with us to get what you want. You’ll put up with me.’
‘You’re getting it all wrong,’ said Deira.
‘I’m not. What’s all wrong is your mindset,’ Charlie said. ‘You think you’re entitled to have a child, but it’s a privilege, not a right. I’m truly sorry that your previous choices have left you where you are now. However, that’s your issue to deal with.’
‘Charlie . . .’
He turned away from her so that he was looking into the distance.
‘I could lie and say it would be fine and I could sleep with you,’ he said. ‘I could have a moment’s pleasure for no pain. And you could walk away and still not be pregnant.’
‘I know. I’m prepared to take that chance.’
He said nothing.
Neither did she.
Another shooting star cut across the sky. She made her wish again.
Charlie turned to face her again.
‘You’d be taking a chance with terrible odds,’ he said. ‘Amaya and I did try for a child. It didn’t happen. Given that she’d had a baby before, it wasn’t her fault. My sperm count is low. So of all the men in the world you could have chosen, you’ve picked the wrong one. I guess that’s some kind of karma, isn’t it.’
She looked wordlessly at him.
‘Are you still interested?’ he asked.
‘Oh Charlie . . .’
‘Thought not,’ he said, and walked away.
Chapter 30
Sierra de Andujar to Granada: 165 km
Grace was worried. Although she hadn’t seen Deira since she’d walked through the Zen garden earlier, the sound of her conversation had carried across the night air. She hadn’t been able to make out the words, nor did she know who Deira was speaking to, but the tone was evident. Deira was upset, and the man was angry.
Grace knew it was possible that Deira had succeeded in meeting Charlie Mulholland, which would mean she’d achieved her objective in coming to El Pozo de la Señora. But the heated tone that had reached her made her feel that, if so, things hadn’t worked out according to plan. It was equally possible that Deira had found someone else among the guests whom she thought could be a likely father to her child and had met him in the middle of the night. But whatever the situation, it wasn’t going well.
Grace didn’t want to interfere in the other woman’s life, but she couldn’t help being concerned about her. And so when Deira still hadn’t returned thirty minutes after all sounds of conversation had ceased, she went to investigate.
Years of watching crime drama on TV had her nerves on end as she followed Deira’s path through the garden and beyond. The total silence of her surroundings meant that her breath echoed in her own head, like a diver wearing an aqualung, and she was uncomfortably aware that even in the cosiest of Sunday-evening murder mysteries, people who investigated things without calling the police usually ended up dead. She told herself that she was being silly (Ken used to call her a catastrophist, always imagining the worst), but Deira was going through a hard time, and Grace couldn’t help being anxious.
The area beyond the Zen garden was uncultivated, and in the light of the stars, Grace could see that it was composed mainly of sandy soil, scrub grass and olive trees that had obviously been there a very long time. As she looked around, she felt her anxiety levels soar. Was there a potential murderer hiding behind one of the trees, ready to pounce? Had the angry man already done away with Deira? Would she be better off going back to the hotel and raising the alarm?
When she heard the sound of footsteps approaching, she almost screamed.
‘What are you doing here?’ asked Deira as she emerged from the shadows. ‘Are you following me?’
‘No.’ Grace’s heart was still racing. ‘I wanted to check that you were OK.’
‘How did you know I was outside?’
‘I was awake. I saw you walk through the garden. When you didn’t come back, I was afraid something might have happened.’
‘What could have happened to me out here in the