Page 85 of We Chase Shadows

Carlos Moss was supposed to head out here to ask a few questions about the man. Act like a private eye. But now he can’t.

No one is in the mood to let a Customs and Border Protection officer see his body, no matter how cool Carlos’s shades are. Carlos doesn’t want a wasted trip.

Rosie will be expecting results, and he doesn’t like to let Rosie down.

When she rang, he’d hopped on the first flight from South Carolina to Palm Springs. It was his day off, and he was supposed to be painting his porch, but when Rosie D’Antonio calls asking for a favour, you put the paintbrush down. They’ve got a detective agency now, Rosie, Steve and Amy, and Carlos wonders if they’d ever look to hire someone new.

Someone, how to put this, American?

It’s not that Carlos wants to leave his job, he loves his job and is good at it. But this opportunity has come at a fairly unique time for him.

Around a month ago he started watching Bridgerton and is now hooked. Carlos has never been to England, but now thinks maybe he’d fit right in. He’s aware that Bridgerton is from a whole other century, but places like England don’t change so much, do they? You look at Bridgerton and then you look at Hugh Grant and it’s the same thing.

So, yes, Carlos thinks he could handle working for a private investigator in England. He’s keen to do a good job in Palm Springs, regardless, but the idea of sitting on the lawn of a stately home while somebody brings him a cup of tea is giving him extra impetus.

His original plan was to walk the streets for a while, but the place was a blast furnace. And then he couldn’t get into any of Tommy’s many country clubs to ask questions. So, again, no luck.

He has a final ace up his sleeve, however: the airport. Now this is a club that Carlos belongs to.

He’s emailed ahead already and keeps his eye out for a woman named Ruth Kirkland. She’s the head of security at Palm Springs International.

Carlos is in full uniform, and not just because he’s doing a job of work today. Even when he goes on holiday he wears his Customs and Border Protection uniform. It gets you on the plane first and through customs first.

A small blonde woman approaches him and offers a hand.

‘You gotta be Carlos Moss,’ says Ruth Kirkland. ‘I’m Ruth.’

Carlos shakes her hand. ‘Really appreciate you helping me out here.’

‘We like to catch bad guys,’ says Ruth, signalling for Carlos to follow her. ‘You like to catch bad guys?’

‘I love to catch bad guys,’ says Carlos. ‘And this guy is very bad indeed.’

‘Even better, then,’ says Ruth and swipes a security lanyard against a white panel. She pushes open a door and leads Carlos into the innards of the airport. Carlos looks around. Nice set-up they’ve got here. Bigger than he’s used to in South Carolina.

‘You said from the 15th?’ says Ruth.

‘He was killed today,’ says Carlos. ‘So I figured our guy might fly in a couple of days before.’

‘Gotta buy a gun from somewhere,’ says Ruth. ‘And acclimatize to the heat.’

‘Do you ever acclimatize to the heat?’ Carlos asks.

Ruth shrugs. ‘I mean, buying a gun is definitely the easier bit. I’ve pulled all the footage from the 15th through to this morning. You okay looking through all that? You know what you’re looking for?’

‘I know exactly what I’m looking for,’ says Carlos. ‘I’m much obliged to you.’

Carlos has an image of Jakob Eriksson on his laptop. He’s pretty distinctive, which should help speed things up.

‘You know where he flew in from?’ Ruth asks, leading Carlos down a long corridor, offices on each side.

‘Nope,’ says Carlos. ‘We don’t even know if he did fly in, it’s just a hunch.’

‘I figure it’s a pretty good hunch,’ says Ruth. ‘We had someone else asking for the same footage.’

‘Who’s that?’ says Carlos. All of the offices have tinted windows so you can’t see in. Carlos knows the drill though. Interview suites, search suites, break room, all airports are the same.

‘Interpol,’ says Ruth. ‘They’re, like, the European police.’