“Alex, come on.” Teren’s voice cut through the tension between the partners.

“Go on. I’ll take care of things here.”

“I have my cell phone. If you need me for anything …”

“Yeah, yeah, get out of here before she thinks I’m trying to keep you here or something.”

Alex squeezed David’s shoulder, then crossed the street to where Teren stood.

“You don’t have to do this, Teren.”

“I know. But you need to get some food, and I’d like the company on the ride back to DC.” Teren was surprised to find she was telling the truth. “Besides, it’ll give us a chance to talk further about the case.”

“Alright. Do you like McDonald’s, or are you a SubStore type person?”

“Fast food? Please. Tell me you don’t put that poison in your body.”

“Hey, I like McDonald’s.”

“You would.”

Chapter Twelve

Teren stopped at a small restaurant on the south side of Baltimore. Pedro’s was a favorite of hers, and she knew the owners fairly well. She was pleased to see the parking lot only half full. If there wasn’t a huge crowd, they should be able to get her favorite booth.

Alex had heard of Pedro’s, but had never been there. As they walked in, she noticed that Teren didn’t even stop and give her name to the hostess. Instead, she stepped passed the ‘Please wait to be seated’ sign, and walked to the waitress station at the end of the cocktail bar. There was a man tending bar, wearing a white shirt and black vest. His hair fell in dark waves over his forehead, matched by the black of his neatly trimmed mustache. When he looked up and saw Teren, his eyes widened.

“Phillipe, how are you?”

“Teren! It is good to see you again.” Phillipe reached out and shook Teren’s hand. Alex could hear an accent in the man’s speech, but couldn’t identify it. “I am well, how are you? You look much better than you did the last time you were in.”

“Yeah, well, that was when I was just out of the hospital. I’ve been recovering nicely.”

“Thank the heavens. Are you here for a drink, or will you be dining with us tonight?”

Teren motioned Alex forward. “Actually, my friend and I are here for dinner. I was hoping my normal table would be open tonight?”

“Si’. It is not very busy, and not a lot of people ask for that particular table.”

“That’s fine with me. We’re going to head over there, then, could you—”

“Not until you introduce me to this lovely young woman.” Phillipe came out from behind the bar, and took Alex’s hand. “Senorita, it is a pleasure to meet you.”

Teren rolled her eyes. Alex just grinned.

“Fine. Phillipe, this is Alex. We’re working together on something. Alex, this lech is Phillipe Garcia, the owner of Pedro’s.”

“Mr. Garcia, it’s very nice to meet you.”

“Ah, ignore Teren, she has no manners. And it is Phillipe, Alex, and a pleasure to meet you as well.” He kissed her hand. “Welcome to Pedro’s.”

“Thank you, Phillipe.”

Teren put a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Okay, we’re going to our table. Phillipe, could you bring us a bottle of Borega Alguerra, 1989?”

“It is not a problem, my friend. You go, sit, and I will have Miguel serve you tonight, yes?”

“That will be fine. Thank you, Phillipe.”

The table Teren led Alex to was actually very close to the kitchen, which made Alex wonder why Teren liked it so much. While all the booths were high backed and enclosed in glass, Alex thought it would still be very distracting to be so close to the noise of the kitchen.

When she slid into the booth, she was pleasantly surprised. While she could see the kitchen door open from time to time, and an occasional echo would drift into the table, there were none of the sounds she would normally associate with such a location. The only constant sound was the soft strains of a violin wafting down from a speaker over the table.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“The lack of noise.” Teren smiled at Alex’s nod. “It’s one of the reasons I like this restaurant. For some strange reason, the acoustics here are dampened. I think it has something to do with the materials in the booths, they seem to absorb sound rather than letting it echo. But this table, especially seems to be separate from the others. Between the high wall here,” she rapped her knuckles against the wall behind her, “and the one just inside the door of the kitchen, the sound is very muffled. With the music overhead, and the size of the booth, it’s possible to completely ignore what’s going on outside this table. And because it faces a different way from all the other tables, it’s impossible to be seen.” She shrugged. It’s not complete privacy, but really damn close.”

“It’s very nice,” Alex replied. “I’m glad you showed this place to me. If the food is as good as the atmosphere, I think I might become a regular.”

“Do you like Spanish food?”

“You know, I don’t know that I’ve actually tried it.”

“It’s not the Mexican you’re probably used to. While there are Spanish influences in Mexican food, there is no reverse influence. Spanish cuisine is much more reflective of Italy and France than anything else.”

“Really. I didn’t know that. It makes sense though.”

The two were interrupted by Phillipe who was carrying a bottle of wine, along with a young man carrying menus, and a bottle opener.

“Hello, Miguel, how are you?”

“Very well, Ms. Mylos. It is a pleasure to see you this evening.”

Phillipe held the bottle in front of his guest. “Is this the one you were thinking of, Teren?”

“Perfect. Miguel, would you open it, please?”

Miguel did so, and poured the requisite mouthful for Teren to taste. She did so, first rolling the red liquid in her glass, and taking a breath to savor the aroma.

“Excellent.”

Phillipe smiled, and motioned for the younger man to pour the wine for the two women. Once that was done, Teren turned to Miguel, motioning him to keep the menus.

“My friend here has never had Spanish cuisine, so I’ll order for the two of us. We’ll have two filete de ternera, and patatas a lo pobre. As an appetizer, we’ll have a plate of a la plancha pez espada. Can you remember that?”

“Si, senorita. I will return with your appetizer.” Miguel smiled at Alex, gave Teren a half-bow, and left.

“Phillipe, is he doing better in school?”

“Si, Teren, much better. He no longer misses his classes.”

“Good. I’m glad he’s getting himself together.”

“I, too. It is kind of you to be concerned.”

“Nonsense. He’s your son, and you’re my friend. Of course I’m concerned.”

Phillipe looked away, appearing embarrassed.

“Now, my friend, Alex and I have business to discuss.”

“Of course. Forgive me for intruding. Let me know if there is anything else I can bring you.”

Phillipe bowed to Teren, nodded to Alex, and left the table, heading back to his bar.

Alex sipped her wine. “This is excellent, Teren. Is this from Spain?”

“Yes. It’s from the Valdepenas region. Nineteeen eighty-nine was the last time they were rated outstanding in Valdepenas, and there are very few of those wines left. The Borega Alguerra comes from the Casa Borega winery. It’s been in existence for nearly two hundred years.”

“How do you know so much about it?”

“Well, I spent several months there. Perry’s ancestors were from the Valdepenas area, and he had distant cousins who worked for the Casa Borega. He took me there, right after we became partners. Said if he could teach me nothing else, he was going to teach me to understand and enjoy Spanish wines. I got hooked on the place.”

“So Perry was Spanish?”

“His family was, but his grandfather had come over as a very young man, just after the first world war, I think. He changed his name, moved to Kansas Ciy, and raised his family there. Perry grew up listening to his grandfather’s story of the old country, and he decided to go there right after high school. He looked up his cousins, scraped up the money for the ticket, and shipped himself to Spain. He always told me that if his visa hadn’t expired, he probably wouldn’t have come back. He loved the Spanish wine country.”