‘Is there a problem?’ she asked.
‘The ceremonial chicha for the Sun Ceremony, it was spoilt.’
‘That’s very strange. What do you think might have happened to it?’ Teya made her eyes big with innocence. She prayed that Coco, with her absolute inability to lie, would be too weak to speak up. She imagined the two of them looked ridiculously guilty, sitting side by side on Coco’s bed with the three interrogators standing over them.
‘It was the finest, the best we had stored. Somehow it was ruined before it reached the Intihuatana temple.’
‘How annoying for you.’
‘Did something happen?’ Uritu asked. Teya was thinking quickly.
‘Now that you mention it…’ She hesitated, racking her brain for a suitable explanation. ‘There was something.’
‘What? What?’ Teya hoped the old bag wasn’t having a s
