Page 55 of The Little Porto Book Club

‘Isn’t it hot?’ I say, cringing at the fact that I, absolute despiser of small talk, am now forced to bow to societal norms to stop them bickering. ‘Humid. Could be the reason nerves are shredding so—’

‘Blame climate change,’ Zephyr says, huffily, folding her arms as she glowers at old Albert.

I’ve opened up another can of worms! I brace for old Albert’s retort.

‘Climate change is a hoax so we invest in renewable energy and the like! Back in my day the weather was just as hot, and you know what we called it? Summer, that’s what.’

The chair squeaks as Zephyr gets up on her feet and points a finger into old Albert’s face. ‘Coming from the generation who invented plastic and got us into this mess, thanks, I guess.’

My gaze lands on Tiago’s and I find comfort there. He gives me an almost imperceptible nod as if to say leave this with me. I’m grateful for the reprieve because referee I am not and I don’t know quite what to say when our Gen Z–Boomer pals are rivalling.

‘Why wouldn’t the Porto News release a photo of the man?’ Tiago asks, getting our crack team back on target. ‘How can anyone help locate him if it’s all kept quiet?’

‘It’s absolutely ludicrous.’ Old Albert’s voice takes on a belligerent tone. ‘We’ve got the privacy act, this act, that act. Society would rather a man die than share his details without permission! Don’t get me started on data protection laws. The world has gone mad, mad, I tell you.’

Zephyr’s phone lights up the same instant mine buzzes inside my handbag. It’s enough of a circuit breaker for old Albert as he roots around his satchel for his book, his mutterings about privacy laws falling away. ‘What is it?’ Tiago asks, as Zephyr hastily reads.

‘Google Alert,’ she says. I take my phone from my bag. I have the same alert. ‘Porto News have released the name of the missing man, João Silva. They say family are still unable to locate him, there’s concern for his welfare. He’s recently started a new job that his family say he was very excited about.’

I skim the article on my phone. There’s not much else, no other details. ‘Well, that doesn’t help,’ Tiago groans. ‘Silva is the most common surname you’ll find in Portugal.’

‘Is it?’ Zephyr queries. ‘It sounds unique.’

‘Nope, it’s the equivalent of John Smith.’

‘Damn!’

‘Tiago, work your tech magic,’ I demand. ‘Find out who this guy is and what the new job might be.’

Tiago presses his lips together, amusement sparkles in his eyes. Maybe he’s going to relish the challenge? ‘I’ll check if he’s got social media, I guess. But with a common name like that, it’s going to be difficult to track him down.’

I frown. ‘What? Do your back door, dark web, highly questionable deep dives, Tiago.’ Really, he should know this by now.

‘My – my what? I don’t work for the FBI.’

‘Well, I hate to say it but that is blatantly obvious. Just hack into … the part of the web that holds the answers we need and report back.’ I’m so much more of an analogue person, not wanting to shrink my brain with excessive tech exposure. I’m exposed to so much blue light on a daily basis, I keep my tech usage to a minimum to protect my precious grey matter.

‘He’s old, right? They said sixty-two, so I’ll check Facebook for his profile,’ says Zephyr.

‘Positively ancient, is he?’ old Albert harrumphs. ‘Why Facebook?’

‘Because it’s for old people. Duh.’

I smother a grin.

Old Albert rolls his eyes. ‘Is that because there’s not enough pictures for your generation? Too many words, perhaps?’

She ignores the jibe as she swipes away on her phone. ‘There are hundreds of profiles with that same name. Mostly locked down too.’

‘Folks, why don’t we read, eh?’ old Albert booms before lowering his voice. ‘We seem to be drawing unwanted attention …’ He covertly motions towards the counter where the waitress is sizing us up. Is it because she overshared with my book club friends about Lucinda owning the pastelaria? Or something more sinister?

‘Good spot,’ I whisper. ‘We’ll confer later but everyone knows their role, right?’

‘Right.’

Thomas arrives and shakes his book with both hands. ‘Can’t wait to dive into this today!’ His eyes are brighter than usual.

Tiago gives me a wide smile and my hand a gentle pat. Unsure why, so I throw him a questioning glance which he promptly ducks away from.