The next day, Ricardo was awakened by the burner phone's generic ring at an unsuitable hour, especially given his late night drive back to the city: a fact the caller was well aware of. So the reason for forcing him to leave the warm embrace of his sheets needed to be, in a word: worthwhile.

"Hello," Rico muttered while holding the phone upside down. He repeated the greeting, only to quickly correct the issue upon realising why he didn't hear a reply.

"Good morning to you too, Mr. Torres," Sonia said with a professional air. "Did I wake you?"

"Not at all." He suppressed a yawn. "I've been up since getting up."

"Excellent. Then it shouldn't take you too much time to get ready and head to the airport."

"Could you repeat that? I must have misheard you. Because it sounded like you wanted me to go to the airport."

"Yes, that is what I said."

Rico exhaled. "What obscure location am I heading off to now?"

"I wouldn't exactly call Medellín obscure."

"Medellín?"

"I'm starting to suspect that I did wake you."

"No, no. It's fine. I'm fine. Why Medellín?"

"Well, strictly speaking, Guatapé is our primary destination, but getting a hotel there is virtually impossible this time of year. I've been trying to book one in Medellín, however that's proving fruitless as well. There's some kind of international conference in the city—"

"You can stay at my apartment," Rico cut her off.

"Excuse me?"

"It'll be fine, I promise. Write this address down."

"Okay, I suppose..."

Once Sonia repeated the address back to him, Rico told her he'd meet her there.

"I'll leave as soon as I've had a shower and some coffee," he added. "I have clothes and the like at my place, so I'll just take what can fit in my backpack. Once the case is solved, I'll return for my art."

"Thank you and I guess I'll meet you there," Sonia said with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

"It's no trouble at all, and yes. Take care, Detective."

After hanging up, Ricardo suddenly felt awake. The call had knocked the sleep right out of him. As a result, following his shower, Rico simply packed his one bag and then hopped on a bus to El Dorado International Airport. Fortunately, the impromptu nature of the trip was mitigated by the fact that there were numerous flights to choose from that morning.

Rico quickly found himself a plane that landed in Rionegro roughly an hour and change after he had boarded it in Bogotá. From there, he retrieved his car from the parking lot and went straight to the apartment to make sure everything was in order.

Sonia called him prior to boarding her flight. Given the hour, Rico figured Sonia would've probably appreciated a late lunch. Even beautifully, badass detectives appreciate food. And there was no better time to find out how she felt about sushi. Worst-case scenario, she hated it; in which case, the pizza place down the street could easily cover that sin.

Rico placed the sushi on the island just off the kitchen. Each minute that passed made Ricardo's fidgeting with couch cushions, the air conditioner and the position of the coffee more excessive. Eventually, took a deep breath, flopped down into the chair next to the bookcase and grabbed one of the Quijotero mangas to occupy his mind. He'd just gotten comfortable when the doorbell rang.

Ricardo basically leapt from his seat to go answer the door.

"Bienvenido." He beamed as Sonia stepped inside.

"I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't this." She looked around.

"Not to your liking?"

"No, it's nice. Just unexpected." She looked him in the eyes.

"I took the liberty of getting you something to eat." He gestured to the sushi. "I can take your bags to the bedroom."

"Thank you, but if you can show me my room, I can take my things in there later."

"Of course. It's the first room on the right, down that hallway."

"Also, if you don't like sushi, there's a—"

"Sushi's fine," she said dismissively, still taking in her surroundings.

Her eyes landed on the book sitting on the chair in the living room. She walked over and picked it up.

"My brother likes this manga." Sonia turned the book over.

"I'm fond of it; the drawing style is interesting—very different from most manga." Rico smiled.

"Inclined to agree. The odd full-coloured panels are a nice touch..." She paused, examining the inside cover of the book. "Is this a signed copy? When was Shizuka Saito in Medellín?"

"She wasn't. I got it signed when I was in Japan last year. Although, she is making plans to visit. The story is set in Colombia after all."

"I'll have to let Nicolás know. He'll be thrilled. Well, shall we eat?"

"Of course, damas primero (ladies first)."

"Gracias."

The conversation over sushi quickly turned to the famous resort town of Guatapé. Their next suspect and former friend of the victim, Pedro Ospina, had bought a lovely home in the area. And according to Sonia's intel, the "P" in Pedro stood for 'party.'

"He's throwing another one tomorrow night." She reached for another tempura roll with her chopsticks.

"What's the occasion?"

"Suddenly coming into money can turn even the most reasonable people into asses. It's worse for those who were asses from the start."

Rico chuckled. "That seems fair."

"Our issue has to do with getting into the party."

"I can get us in."

"Let me guess, you have a compadre."

"What can I say?" He shrugged. "I have a lot of compas. But following our incognito approach, it might be best to use fake names. So I suggest you think up a surname by this evening. In the meantime, I have to run. But I'll call you tonight once my boy gets us on the list."

"Call?" Sonia wrinkled her forehead. "You could just tell me later."

"Right." Rico pushed back his hair. "I should've explained. You'll be staying here alone."

"And where will you be?"

"In Bélen. At my apartment, which is north of here and across town."

"Isn't this your apartment? Or did I miss something?"

"Yes, this is my apartment. But I spend most of my time at the one in Bélen."

"But isn't El Poblado one of if not the nicest part of Medellín?"

"Let's just say I prefer my other place and this one's for special occasions."

Sonia watched him intently, stood up and walked towards the bedroom. She poked her head in the door before proceeding to open the other three rooms. The detective returned, sat down, and resumed eating.

"Everything alright?" Ricardo inquired.

"This apartment is barely used," she replied without looking at him. "In fact, it seems brand new. How long have you owned it?"

"Just under a year."

"Well, that explains it then." She smiled. "You haven't had the time to make it into a home yet."

He nodded.

There was something different about her tone of voice. It was a very slight shift, but it had changed. Rico noted it as well, but didn't know what to make of it. He was about to see if he could press the matter further when the detective broke the silence.

"Did Joana happen to mention how she came to afford a villa on an aspiring artist's salary?" she asked.

"She did."

"And?"

"Well." He sighed. "It was partly due to inheriting the wealth of a dead uncle she didn't know she had. The other part involved Leo Kopp."

She wrinkled her brow. "As in Don Leo? The founder of the Bavaria brewery? Are you trying to say that he's her wealthy uncle—" Sonia grimaced. "Wait, this about that statue in the cemetery, isn't it?"

"It's not the first time I've heard of Don Leo helping someone out." Rico sipped his water.

"And naturally you believe her—even after the pictures of the cellar. I'm surprised, but I shouldn't be."

"You requested evidence; I obtained it. All the cellar proves is that Joana sculpts. Nothing more."

Sonia sighed. "You would come to that conclusion."

"She loved Alvaro. Though I'm not sure he deserved her love. And yet, she still misses him."

"A flimsy lie about how she got the money, a locked cellar with clear evidence of hiding a sculpture and remorse likely stemming from a guilty conscience. I have half a mind to call off the rest of this investigation and just arrest her now."

"So why don't you?"

"No matter how I feel about a suspect, they're innocent until I can prove otherwise. Feelings just get in the..." her voice trailed off. "I have to follow due process. No exceptions. Now, then, don't you have a party to get us into?"

"Uh, yes."

"Then pass me the wasabi and get going."

Rico obliged and left. But as the elevator descended, he couldn't help feeling there was more to Sonia's unfinished sentence.

Feelings just get in the way.

That's what she was going to say. The question is: was that in reference to me, or is there another man who occupies her thoughts?