The Women Who Ran Away - Sheila O'Flanagan Page 0,85

in relief.

‘What d’you think about the clue?’ she asked. ‘I’m completely gobsmacked that it wasn’t the statue at the Iruña.’

‘Let’s recap,’ said Deira. ‘The Old Man’s room—’

‘The number of my room at the hotel – 201,’ Grace interrupted her. ‘So that’s not a problem. It’s as easy as Ken said. But I was convinced the upload of Hemingway was the bronze statue of him at the café. I keep getting a “photo doesn’t match” message when I try. I can’t understand it.’

‘The statue is the most obvious answer, that’s for sure,’ agreed Deira, ‘but you know how precise the professor was. If it’s not right, I think we need to focus on the fact that he mentioned a sign.’

Grace nodded. ‘I thought there might be a plaque somewhere with Hemingway’s picture. That’s more of a real sign, isn’t it?’

‘Near a place he loved,’ Deira reminded her. ‘Which is why I thought of here.’

‘And is there a sign?’ asked Grace.

‘Not on the bullring itself,’ said Deira. ‘But just as you arrived, I saw this.’

She took Grace by the shoulder and rotated her so that she was looking at a large granite street sign. It said ‘Paseo de Hemingway’.

‘Oh for heaven’s sake!’ Grace shook her head. ‘D’you think this is it?’

‘It’s his name on a sign near a place he loved,’ said Deira. ‘I hope it’s right, because otherwise I’m out of ideas.’

‘Did you take a photo?’ asked Grace.

Deira shook her head. ‘You go ahead.’

Grace took a few pictures of the sign, then put her phone back in her bag and looked towards the bullring.

‘I can nearly smell it, you know,’ she said. ‘The sand and the sawdust and the blood and the sweat.’

‘Me too,’ agreed Deira. ‘It’s very atmospheric, but I wouldn’t like to go to a bullfight.’

‘Oh God, no.’ Grace shuddered.

‘You said the professor came for the bull run. Did he go to a fight?’

‘I don’t know,’ confessed Grace.

‘You didn’t ask?’

‘No.’ Grace shook her head. ‘We rarely talked about his trips; any conversations we did have were about the lectures and the people he met more than the things he did. Ken was all about the knowledge and the people. I’m sure experiences were part of that, but he didn’t share them.’

‘Maybe he knew you’d disapprove of bullfighting,’ said Deira as they made their way back to the hotel.

‘My disapproval wouldn’t have mattered,’ said Grace. ‘He did what he liked.’

Deira stayed silent.

‘Not in a bad way,’ Grace added. ‘Ken was Ken, that’s all.’

When they arrived back at the hotel, Grace invited Deira to see the Hemingway suite.

‘Wow, it’s fabulous,’ said Deira when she stepped inside.

‘I also thought the photo might have been the bust on the shelf there,’ Grace remarked as she opened the laptop. ‘But given that the room number was a clue, I didn’t think the bust could be as well.’

‘If the street sign doesn’t work, then we should try that,’ suggested Deira. ‘And at least we don’t get locked out of uploading photos, so we can try as many as we like.’

‘You’re right that the clue is in the word “sign”,’ Grace said. ‘I’m pretty confident.’

She began the upload, and both of them waited anxiously for the progress bar to complete.

The screen faded, and then, much to their relief, the message appeared: Congratulations, your photo is a match. Your final number is 3.

‘Yay!’ Deira waved her hands over her head in celebration. ‘Well done us.’

Grace smiled and entered the numbers in the Alcalá de Henares document.

They both looked at the next clue.

And then at each other.

‘Oh for God’s sake,’ said Grace. ‘Now he’s showing off!’

Chapter 23

Pamplona to Alcalá de Henares: 357 km

‘Todos nuestras locuras proceden del estomago vacio y una cabeza llena de aire’ – he was right and he was born here. Enhorabuena (congratulations) on getting this far. Your reward letter is A. Now I want you to upload a photo of his most famous character – you’ll find him near his house. Also, how old was Sister Iñez when she died? It’s easier than you think. And what month was it when Sister Julia joined her? Seven guesses. Good luck, Hippo.

‘What on earth does all that mean?’ asked Deira.

‘I said he was showing off, and he is,’ said Grace. ‘It’s from Cervantes and he used to quote it all the time. It means that all of our craziness comes from having an empty stomach and a head full of air.’

‘He might be right.’ Deira laughed. ‘I always make my silliest decisions when I’m hungry. I’m