CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE

ANOTHER SINGLE-PEAK CRISIS

Lara, Megan, and Clara were ready for the night. The address Jânio had given them was in an upscale neighbourhood. They took a taxi, and Megan had asked Lara to drive, but she didn't want to drive, making it clear that she would also be drinking. It meant that she was still not taking a break from drinking. Clara and Megan exchanged glances but didn't say anything about it.

Lipe didn't actually intend to work at Dália's house that night as he had said, but he didn't want to stay home ruminating over Lara's departure. And he would definitely be thinking about it. He arrived at Dália's house with a beer in hand. Since Lara wasn't in the condominium, he decided he could enjoy a cold beer.

The house was empty. Dália had told him she was staying at Clara's house for now. So he sat in her backyard, in the dark, opened the beer can, placed the other three he had brought on the ground, sighed, and leaned against the wall where the bags of cement and lime were piled