Luna Tango

by Alli Sinclair

  Heaviness fell across her chest and she pushed out a long sigh. She missed Eduardo already—more than she ever thought possible. Guilt plagued Louisa as she remembered her selfishness; Eduardo had needed her and now he was dead.

  Louisa wiped her nose on her sleeve and headed out the back door, down the steps and into the yard. She stood on the grass inhaling the scent of jasmine, and allowed the cool night to wrap around her. A powder spray of stars twinkled above, surrounding the half moon hanging in the inky sky.

  The only reason Eduardo knew about her half-moon birthmark was because he’d accidentally walked in on her getting dressed one day. His vicious slander about them sleeping together had come from a place of hurt and it would be easy to blame his anger from tonight on illness, but she sensed much of his rage was driven by jealousy and pent-up frustration. That was harder to forgive.

  She placed her head in her hands and squeezed her eyes shut. If Roberto had known about Eduardo’s illness, he would have understood and negotiated the situation with the sensitivity it deserved. In her efforts to keep her word to Eduardo, she’d caused a chain reaction that should never have happened.

  She headed towards the gazebo, stones crunching beneath her shoes, the noise slicing the eerie silence. She took a seat on the cushion where she’d last sat with Roberto and replayed the scene with Wyler. He hadn’t shown any surprise at finding them in a compromising position and she hadn’t been too worried at the time. Hindsight showed her she should have played things differently, but how?

  Tears rolled down her cheeks. Who would want to kill Eduardo? He’d spent years cultivating his gentlemanly persona. The only people he’d upset were Héctor and R—

  ‘No!’ she yelled into the darkness.

  ‘Do you always scream at yourself?’

  Startled, she looked up to find Héctor standing at the base of the gazebo’s stairs, his dark suit merging with the shadows. It looked different to the one he’d had on earlier.

  ‘It doesn’t look good for you to be at Eduardo’s house. Have you heard what happened?’

  ‘Yes. Tragic news.’ His words almost sounded genuine.

  ‘Why are you here?’

  ‘You’re going to need my help.’

  ‘Shh ...’ She strained to hear a low mumble out on the street. The noise grew louder and a chorus joined in perfect harmony, singing Eduardo’s most popular tune, ‘Angel Sin Alas’, Angel Without Wings. Louisa rushed along the garden path, raced into the house, down the hall and into the music room. Hector followed close behind her.

  Sneaking a peek through the curtains, Louisa spied a procession snaking up the street. The people slowly made their way to the front of the mansion where they formed a cluster, spilling from the sidewalk and onto the road. Well-dressed men and women, young children, old couples, people in rags—each one stood with glistening eyes, clutching white candles. The occasional woman’s wail pierced the song, which ran on an endless spool. The atmosphere was thick with grief, and the love pouring from each individual humbled her.

  ‘They really love—loved him,’ she said, not taking her eyes off the scene.

  ‘You should back away from the window, you don’t want anyone to see you.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Because they’ll want you to come out, say some words, tell them how sad you are about Canziani’s death.’

  ‘I am sad.’

  ‘Yes, but you fought with him earlier. There are witnesses.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘Word travels fast. One of my band members heard about you, Roberto and Canziani fighting in the street.’

  ‘Oh.’ This did not bode well. ‘The police don’t know about this, do they?’

  ‘Louisa.’ Héctor placed his hand on her shoulder and she turned to face him. ‘The public are going to want answers and they won’t care how they get them. You and Roberto are key suspects.’

  ‘But—’

  ‘You need to leave the country. People saw you. They heard you. You are guilty before you can prove innocence. And with you being a foreigner, and an English one at that, well ...’ He gave small shrug.

  ‘No one had a problem with me being English before. I am— was his muse. As long as he created music, they couldn’t have cared if I had two heads and came from Mars.’

  ‘But you don’t have protection any more. Canziani’s dead and they’re going to blame you and Roberto, even if neither of you pulled the trigger.’

  ‘What do you mean even if? I left Roberto at his apartment, fast asleep on his sofa.’

  ‘At what time?’

  ‘It wasn’t long before the police arrived to tell me about Eduardo.’ The tears welled again, constricting her throat.

  ‘I was at Roberto’s place only an hour ago and he wasn’t there.’

  Louisa stared at Héctor, processing his words.

  ‘Why wouldn’t he be at his apartment?’ she asked, her mind going into overdrive with crazy thoughts about Roberto going after Eduardo.

  ‘I don’t know, but they found Canziani’s body in La Boca, not far from where Roberto lives.’ Héctor pursed his lips and tilted his head.

  ‘He would never have done it!’ Doubt curled around her so tightly she couldn’t draw a deep breath. ‘Where were you?’

  ‘Louisa, this is not the time to get suspicious, especially with the people closest to you.’

  ‘You just accused Roberto! I’m asking you again.’ She narrowed her eyes. ‘Where were you?’

  ‘I was at Flavia’s.’

  ‘Doing what?’

  ‘Blowing off steam.’ At least he had the decency to look coy about admitting he was at his mistress’s house.

  ‘But you were angry with Eduardo. You took off down the hill and—’

  He stared at her with wide eyes. ‘So you’re saying I did it?’

  ‘I—I’m sorry.’ She shook her head with confusion. ‘Please forgive me, Héctor.’

  ‘I’ve forgotten already.’ He forced a smile. ‘Listen, you need to leave now.’

  ‘What about Roberto?’

  ‘He needs to go, too.’

  ‘But leaving Argentina makes us look guilty.’

  ‘If you stay, you run the risk of the public’s wrath. Everything will fall on you, Louisa. Think about it. You’re Eduardo’s muse, you fell in love with his protégé, and you were in the street fighting with him. Even if his death was from a robbery, you will be blamed.’

  ‘They said he was badly beaten and shot.’ Her voice was barely audible.

  ‘Yes.’

  The shaking started at her feet and raced up her legs. Her entire body trembled and her skin turned cold and clammy. ‘We need to find Roberto.’

  ‘I will find him. Right now, you need to pack a bag and go to the port. You can take the boat to Montevideo with Roberto. Where you go after there is not my business, but understand you can never return to the shores of Argentina.’

  ‘Yes, I know.’ She closed her eyes for a moment and hung her head. ‘I can’t believe I’m fleeing yet another country.’

  ‘Yes, I understand it’s hard, but you don’t have another choice.’ Héctor looked at his watch. ‘You’ve got two hours until the first boat sails for the day.’

  ‘What if you can’t find him?’

  ‘I will, don’t worry.’ He pulled out a wad of pesos from his pocket. Holding her hand, he placed the money in her palm. She tried to close her fingers around the bills but couldn’t.

  ‘It’s too much. I can’t take—’

  ‘You can and you will. Let me help. Please.’ He kissed her on the cheek, shoved his hands in his pockets, sauntered across the yard and exited through the hidden gate at the rear of the garden.

  CHAPTER

  16

  Dani and Carlos broke their embrace and swung around to see Diego Alonso striding down the aisle, unperturbed about witnessing two people kissing in the front row of a deserted theatre. Carlos moved his body away from her but surreptitiously slid his hand
up her leg. When his fingers reached the top of her thigh he removed his hand and rested it on the armrest, leaning his arm casually against hers.

  Oh my god. She should have been appalled at being caught in the midst of a hot kiss but Carlos shot her a cheeky smile and regret disappeared into the ether.

  ‘I am sorry for my lateness but it appears you managed to occupy yourself.’ Amusement tinged Diego’s voice and he bent over and kissed Dani on each cheek. ‘Here it is.’ Diego pulled out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to her, even though she hadn’t decided what to do with the letter. As she slipped it into her bag, Diego said, ‘Just ask her to read it. She will understand why when she does.’

  ‘You agree to the terms, right? Neither Carlos or I will disclose where she is if we find her,’ she said, still unsure whether she could go through with the search.

  ‘Yes, of course. I am doing this to help you.’

  ‘Why?’

  He raised his hands and shrugged. ‘I like you. I feel you will do her story justice.’

  ‘Thanks,’ she said, trying to gauge what level he’d reached on the bullshit-o-meter—Dani figured he’d gone off the chart. ‘Do you have ideas as to where she could be?’

  ‘No. I have tried all her usual places. She always had an affinity with the beach but every time we went she was sad.’

  Memories flooded back of jumping through waves with Iris, building sandcastles and taking strolls along the shore. Since her mother had left, Dani hadn’t set foot near a beach, which had been a difficult task, as she’d spent her teenage years living on the Australian coast. Could Dani’s aversion to the sea be a result of memories she wanted to forget?

  ‘She cried every time we went. I do not understand why she would torture herself like this but she is an artist, like me, and masochism is in our nature, no?’

  ‘I guess.’

  ‘I have looked for her everywhere.’ Diego sighed. ‘You would think a famous dancer such as her would be easy to find. Maybe you might discover a different angle. After all, you have never met her, so you can think outside the box, as they say.’ His smile was wide and eyes hopeful. ‘I am going to La Pampa for a break from the show preparations. Maybe you will have news on my return. Thank you and I will be forever grateful for your help in ensuring Iris receives my letter.’ He stood, leant down and kissed her on the cheeks, then squinted for a moment. ‘I still think you look like her.’

  Dani’s eye widened as she shook her head. ‘I don’t think so.’

  Diego shrugged and took off up the aisle, leaving Dani and Carlos alone again in the softly lit theatre.

  ‘Who does he think I am, his personal courier? I thought he was at least going to give us a hint as to where she—Iris is.’

  ‘Yes, I thought the same but the moods of Diego are hard to understand. He is not called El Gemelo for nothing.’

  ‘The twin?’

  Carlos nodded. ‘It is like he is two people. Every day his mood is different. Sometimes it changes from minute to minute. No one could understand why La Gringa Magnifica stayed with him for so long. Always, they are doing the fighting.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘The last time was here.’ He pointed at the stage and shook his head. ‘Horrible.’

  ‘You saw it?’

  ‘Sí. They were at a rehearsal, he yelled, she said nothing, he yelled more, she yelled and left. No one saw her in public after that.’

  ‘What was it about?’

  ‘I could not hear all of it but I did catch something about missing sheet music and Eduardo Canziani.’

  ‘What?’ Her voice came out shrill. Carlos cocked an eyebrow. ‘Sorry, but you know this story intrigues me.’

  ‘And I asked you to drop it.’

  ‘And I asked you why.’ She could play this game, no worries.

  ‘Yes, you did and I think my explanation is enough.’

  ‘Well, then, I ...’ Oh, she could finish that sentence but it would not be in her best interests to do so.

  ‘You?’

  ‘Doesn’t matter.’ She shook her head, alarmed at her foolishness. One kiss from Carlos and she was about to spout crazy ideas about her grandma’s history and Dani’s relationship to Iris? Get a grip, McKenna.

  ‘I think it does matter. Look at the way your eyelid is doing this strange movement.’ He tilted his head. ‘You are lying.’

  ‘No, I’m not.’ Twitch, twitch. ‘Don’t be ridiculous.’

  ‘Aha!’ He pointed his finger at her eye. ‘Look! The lid of your eye moves funny when you tell untruths. You cannot lie, no?’

  ‘I’m not—’ Her left eyelid went into spasms and she pressed her fingers against it. ‘Fine. I suck at lying, but it doesn’t mean I have to tell you everything. You haven’t told me much about you.’

  ‘I discussed my childhood.’

  ‘But did you truly? You glossed over it. What was life really like with your family? Did they fight? Did they work all the time? Come on, tell me juicy stuff.’ After she’d locked lips with Carlos, the urge to dig deeper into his personal life had surfaced again.

  ‘Can you know someone and not worry about their history? What does it matter? It is more important to be in the present and not judge a person by their past,’ he said.

  ‘But the past makes the person who they are today.’

  ‘The past includes family relationships and I did not think you cared much for yours.’

  Shifting in her seat, she said, ‘It’s not that I don’t love them. They’re just ...’ How could she explain? She couldn’t lie because bloody Carlos had cottoned on to her affliction. Urgh.

  ‘Please, do not be afraid.’ He placed his hand on her arm and the second they touched, electricity zapped through her again. If this kept this up her brain would fry.

  ‘I’m not afraid, I ...’ The longer she left it, the worse it would be. Dani didn’t move the arm resting under Carlos’s hand. ‘Okay, I am afraid to tell you, but I will. My family is far from loving. My mother left me when I was five—’

  ‘I thought you said she died.’

  ‘I said my mother is dead in my grandma’s eyes.’

  ‘Yes, I do remember. Tell me more, please.’ Carlos stroked her arm and all she wanted to do was climb onto his lap and continue where they’d left off before Diego had barged in.

  ‘I thought you said someone’s history is not important, it’s the person they are today that counts.’

  ‘Sí,’ he sighed, gently pushing stray curls behind her ears. ‘I say many things. Sometimes actions speak louder than the words, no?’ He leant over and placed his lips on hers again. Once more her body flooded with heat and her heart lurched. The delicious moment lingered, and the longer they kissed, the heavier the guilt about Iris weighed on Dani’s shoulders. Reluctantly, she pulled away.

  ‘You do not like this? Maybe if I—’

  ‘Carlos, I like it very much, believe me, but I need to tell you something before this goes further.’ He nodded and she took a deep breath. ‘As much as I like the recent developments between us, and even though this is probably an innocent fling—’

  ‘I do not do the flings.’

  ‘So what’s this then?’

  ‘I do not know.’ He shrugged and a wicked smile snuck across his lips. ‘But I would like to find out.’

  ‘Me too.’ Not allowing herself to hesitate, she dived in. ‘I have to tell you something but I’d like you to answer some questions first. I promise it will all make sense when we’re done.’

  Carlos stretched out his legs and crossed them at the ankles. ‘You are interesting, Daniela McKenna. Not like other women. Why is it you have not found a man yet?’

  ‘Carlos! Are you going to cooperate?’ He nodded, which helped steady her nerves. ‘Thank you. Your mentor was Iris Kennedy, right?’

  ‘Yes, she helped choreograph several of my shows. Why?’

  Dani narrowed her eyes.

  ‘You can ask me another one,’ he said. ‘But remember, I answ
er these questions in advance of you mastering the basic tango steps.’

  ‘I thought we’d gone past that.’

  ‘I am helping you find Iris, yes, but if you want more information, you dance. Agreed?’

  ‘Fine.’

  He pointed at her left eye. ‘I do not see a funny moving thing with your eyelid. I believe you are telling the truth.’

  ‘Gee, thanks.’

  Carlos showing his softer side had given her the confidence to say what she needed and it seemed appropriate to do so in the theatre where her mother had performed. The sexiness oozing from his every pore did not help matters. Dani took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. ‘Were you and Iris Kennedy good friends?’

  ‘She was my mentor and we became friends but now we don’t speak.’

  ‘Why aren’t you in contact any more?’

  ‘Things, they got complicated.’ Carlos closed his mouth and stared at the stage, darkness clouding his handsome features. ‘Iris and I do not talk any more because we do not agree about Cecilia.’

  ‘Your fiancée?’

  ‘Ex-fiancée,’ he said with certainty. ‘Iris is the reason Cecilia and I danced together. Iris was like a mother to me and Cecilia.’

  It took a colossal effort not to flinch. She imagined him having coffee with Iris at a café, talking about life, love, the universe. Apparently her mother had strong maternal instincts for her dance students but none for her own flesh and blood. If Carlos’s parents had found a way to raise a child while they worked in theatre, why couldn’t Iris, even if it meant dragging her daughter to the other side of the world?

  A lump lodged at the back of her throat and a thin film of sweat broke out on her forehead.

  ‘You do not look healthy. I will get you water. Stay here.’ Carlos rushed out of the theatre and the door closed with a bang behind him.

  Alone in the beauty of the Teatro Colón, Dani tried to compose herself, even though it felt like she’d gone six rounds in the emotional boxing ring. Staring at the stage, she pictured her mother performing the moves that had captivated audiences. Her long, dark hair would have swept across her delicate features and her graceful steps would have demonstrated the passion she held for tango. If Iris had made a different choice, Dani would have grown up watching her mother performing magic and capturing everyone’s heart, including Dani’s.