Page 72 of The Stolen Child

‘English?’ the nun replied.

‘Irish,’ Lily responded.

‘Slàinte!’ Sister Monique said, saying the Irish term for ‘cheers’, then cackled laughter at her joke, with Lily and Zach joining in. She then continued her conversation with Zach again, back in her native Spanish. Lily heard the Alvarez name mentioned, but struggled to understand any more.

The smile left Sister Monique’s face as Zach spoke, and she watched him guardedly. She responded curtly and waved for them to go, closing the door firmly behind them.

‘What was that about?’ Lily asked, dumbfounded by how the exchange had gone from friendly to frosty in seconds.

‘I need a drink,’ Zach grumbled. ‘I’ll fill you in once we get to the bar.’

He led Lily to a small tapas bar that he had enjoyed during his time in Spain. The bar was once an old storehouse with old-style piping lacing the walls. Lily and Zach ordered nine different tapas dishes and a bottle of Rioja to share.

‘Come on, what did Sister Monique say to you?’ Lily asked again.

Zach seemed lost in his thoughts as he stared at the brick wall to their left. A waitress appeared with their wine and filled their glasses.

‘I have never needed a drink more. I’m sorry for being so quiet. My head is about to explode with everything I’ve found out today. Did you see Sister Monique’s face when I mentioned my mom and I staying at the convent?’

Lily nodded. Even if she couldn’t understand the conversation, body language was impossible to misinterpret.

‘She clammed up!’ Zach said. ‘Then swore that she didn’t remember us ever visiting the convent. That she had no recollection of bringing us to the Alvarez villa. That they were mistaken. But I could tell she was lying. She practically threw us out, didn’t she?’

‘It all seemed a little odd,’ Lily agreed. ‘Add that to the confusion around the dates you arrived here . . .’

Zach sighed. ‘Everything points to me being Robert, doesn’t it?’

Lily nodded slowly. The evidence kept piling up.

‘The timing of your arrival at the Alvarez villa in July 1983, a few weeks after Robert was taken from our cabin, feels too coincidental.’

‘What does that make my mother?’ Zach whispered. He shook his head as if trying to dislodge the answer that had formed in his mind. ‘Can we not talk about it for a bit?’ Zach asked, taking a sip of his red wine.

‘I’ll be too busy eating to talk,’ Lily joked as their waitress walked over with several pisto and tapas dishes. Lily went straight for the goat-cheese croquetas, which melted in her mouth. ‘We’ll need another of these,’ she joked to Zach, who took her at her word and immediately ordered another.

‘I’m not sure I’m ready to share this one,’ Zach teased, spearing a piece of juicy meat from the pork-cheek stew.

Lily tried some and groaned in pleasure. It was the perfect contrast to the sweet and pungent cheese dish. But the vermicelli pasta with light garlic butter and sweet wine sauce made her taste buds explode delightfully. ‘Worth coming for the food alone!’

‘Surprisingly healthy too,’ Zach said.

Lily wasn’t sure she believed him as she dipped a slice of thick, crusty bread into creamy aioli.

‘I need distraction. Earlier today, when we were driving here, you said you had to come home from Australia. I sensed a story. Wanna spill?’ Zach asked.

Lily sighed, because, while Zach wanted a distraction from Robert, this question brought her firmly back to him. ‘You might not want to hear this. It’s about Robert. Dad thought he’d found you.’

‘Oh,’ Zach replied, his fork hovering in the air as he took that in.

‘The thing is, we’d been through that scenario many times. Over the years, when a new age-progression photo came in, we’d lose Dad. He’d dive in again, determined that this time that photograph would lead us all to you.’

‘That must have been difficult to contend with,’ Zach said, watching Lily closely.

‘Yep. I didn’t only lose my brother in 1983, I lost part of my parents too,’ Lily replied. Her throat tightened, and she felt her eyes sting. She picked up her wine and took a long gulp.

Zach refilled both their glasses. ‘We’re not driving, so drink up . . .’

Lily played with a piece of chorizo on her plate, then asked, ‘Have you heard of the StolenChild network?’