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She looked down at the sta up her forearms and shuddered Once she’d queued outside the prison, with all the other visitors, she’d had her personal space invaded by a leeringfor weapons Julia suspected she’d have nightmares about that for years to come After that, her paperwork had been scrutinised and she’d been questioned in rapid-fire Spanish that she didn’t understand A lifetime later, her arms had been stamped—to prove she wasn’t an in, so she’d never had a club stained it was a very similar experience to the one she’d just endured

“Oh, darling” Patricia Matthews sighed heavily “This is too much for you I should have bitten the bullet and called your mother instead”

“No I’ and culture shock rolled into one Don’t worry aboutWho knohat Mum would have done if she was here?” Libby Collins wasn’t exactly known for her restrained reaction in a crisis Julia well re up, especially seeing as, in her fa constituted a crisis

Her gran folded her arms over her pale blue peasant blouse There were no prison uniforms for these in at all for the inlis for beds, e

Julia suddenly thought of so horrific “You do have a toilet in your cell, don’t you?” She put a hand over her heart as it raced at her next thought “You have to share it, don’t you? Please tell me you at least have privacy when you use it?”

Her gran pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes When she looked back at Julia, she seened than hopeful to see her there

“I don’t want to talk about the toilet I want to talk about your plan to geta decent lawyer? The ones that have approached es dropped and get me out of here in seconds—if I fork over all my cash” She rolled her eyes “Like I’d fall for that That’s why I sent Alice off to find someone honest, or at least someone with a solid reputation” She bit her lip and suddenly looked closer to her age than usual “Then Alice didn’t come back”

Gran’s best friend had beenfor four days, a fact that didn’t seeran out of jail, Julia planned to hire an interpreter and grill the police on exactly what they were doing to find Alice She felt nauseated at the thought Okay, rill Maybe ask politely and quietly…or send a firmly worded email…or maybe a text…

“Julia, are you listening toabout a lawyer?”

“Sorry, I was thinking You don’t have to worry about a lawyer I have a plan all written out I’le search, and then I’et someone at the hotel to call around for me—”

“Or,” came the deep American voice behind her, “you could have trusted that I knew a guy, like I told you before you dumped me at the airport”

Julia froze

Joe Barone