Luna heard the familiar sound of her ringtone, and turned to see Cayetano behind her, phone in hand. He handed it to her without a word, and she glanced at the screen. Madrid number. “¿Sí?” she asked, her foul mood making it hard to be polite.
“Luna. It’s Jorge Arias.”
“Jorge,” she smiled, for the first time all day. “How are you?”
“Me? Oh, I’m fine. More importantly, how are you?”
“I’m doing okay.” Physically, anyway.
“I wasn’t sure if I should call, but we have preliminary results on the bodies from Escondrijo.”
“Of course you should call. I’m still very interested. I’m sorry I wasn’t much help.”
“I’m glad Cayetano let us continue the dig after the accident. I’m pleased to say the bodies are respectfully stored for now. But the DNA results have been a little more difficult than expected.”
“Why?”
“We have four bodies – three women and one man. The man was about 50 when he died. It looks as if he got beheaded somehow, perhaps by a wound to the throat. We will need to call in more experts for that. The woman next to him, she was about 40, but her cause of death is hard to say. Another woman, around the same age, who was one of the skulls you first found, had severe fractures to her head so that could have been how she died. The last body was a girl aged about 20. Cause of death is unknown for her, too.”
“If you need more money to do more work, Jorge, I’m happy to pay. Please don’t feel as if you can’t ask.”
“It depends on what you want to do. There’s a lot of paperwork, as you would expect in a case like this. Everything moves slowly, so don’t expect instant answers. But if you aren’t up to hearing about this yet…”
“Please, I need the distraction from rehabilitation.”
“As I said, the DNA tests were a little difficult. You and Cayetano, along with Rúben, Alicia and me have been eliminated from the samples. But we also took a mouth swab from Miguel Morales, since he had been at the site.”
“And?”
“And his DNA test came back as a match for one of the bodies.”
“How is that possible? Like a relative? His parents, Pedro and Jovana, are alive and well, and he has no siblings.”
“It’s a partial match, that’s why it’s a problem. I’m guessing… assuming... there has been a contamination.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.”
Luna thought of Miguel’s stupid idea that he felt drawn to the burial site. My people are here, he said. “Was any other DNA picked up in the tests?”
“Like the murderers of these people? Sadly science is not that advanced. These bodies have been in the ground over 50 years.”
“What kind of partial match do you have for Miguel?”
“Like he is a distant relative of one body. The young woman.”
“Distant how? Cousin?”
“Grandson, perhaps? Nephew? Something like that; I’m no expert. You would need to talk to the lab staff for that. But as you say, these people are strangers. None of your family had ever been to Valencia before you discovered the site.”
Except for José, who hated the fact digging even went ahead. “What do you suggest?”
“That we take Miguel’s DNA sample again. Everything may clear up the second time. I don’t want to suggest his mother is in this fosa.”
“Just the ages of all involved and the time that has elapsed makes it impossible. Miguel’s father was born in Valencia, but Pedro is all Madrileño. Miguel’s mother is from Granada.” Pedro was born in Valencia.
“Let me know what you want me to do.”
“I’ll call you when I make a decision.”
Luna stood up and left the little radio in the wheelchair. She shuffled inside and made her way down the vast hallway to the library. Among the legions of volumes around the room, the Morales and Beltrán family photos hung on the walls. Luna watched her children play on the rug, and Inés and Consuela saw her in the doorway.
“Luna, should you be walking around without your cane?” Inés asked, and the boys looked up from their game.
“I’m fine.”
“How is the cycling, Mummy?” Giacomo asked.
“Darren is doing great,” she replied with a forced smile.
“Do you want to watch the cycling on television?” Consuela asked. “I’m sure one of the men can organise it for you.”
“No, I don’t think I could stomach it. I have too many thoughts on that subject.”
“Will Darren marry Sofía?” Enzo asked. “We saw them kissing.”
“Oh did you now?” Luna replied and folded her arms. “I don’t know, honey.” She looked to Inés, who tried not to laugh. “Do you know if Miguel is at Rebelión today?”
“He was, but he went out earlier,” Inés replied. “Caya and Paco just went down to the practice bullring to see José. Miguel may end up there instead of at the house.”
“I might go and see them.”
“Oh no, you can’t walk that far. Let me take you in the chair.”
“Never mind. You’re doing all I need by watching the children for me.”
“It’s what we were born to do,” Consuela replied. “Go and rest, my dear.”
Luna turned away from the air-conditioned library and headed back towards her chair. She stopped and ripped off her sweaty neck brace with a sigh of relief. She also pulled off her foam helmet and ran her hand through her patchy short hair. The practice ring was just 100 metres from the house. Anyone could manage that.
She headed off the balcony and through the fenced yard, and quietly unclipped the gate, so no one noticed where she was. She didn’t need the lecture. With the gate shut, Luna wandered along the dusty path, through another gate, and towards the concrete bullring, the voices of the guys already audible as she approached. The practice ring was a simple concrete circle, just high enough so no one could see in, giving Cayetano privacy to practice. Luna ran her hand on the dusty white concrete wall as she walked around the circle, and to the wooden gate on the side where the bulls came into the ring. She stopped and watched for a moment; Paco and José stood to one side of the ring while Cayetano stood in the centre, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt in the late afternoon heat. He held a cape, magenta on one side, yellow on the other. The bull alongside him seemed small, one of the younger animals to train with, suitable after Cayetano’s break in the ring. She watched Cayetano make a few passes with the animal; it was a keen beast, following the cape with gusto. It wouldn’t be wise to try to climb over the gate; Luna didn’t want to startle the bull or fall over without her helmet. Dizziness combined with oppressive heat made everything a little tricky.
“Mariposa,” Paco called to his son.
Luna watched Cayetano comply, and do the ‘butterfly’ pose, where he held the cape behind his back while the bull passed through it. Cayetano grinned while he did it; just being there looked like therapy for him.
“Ceñirse,” Paco called.
Cayetano stood firm and only had to wave the cape a little and the bull charged it. The angry animal brushed himself against Cayetano, but his feet stayed firm on the sand.
“Shit, he is one angry asshole,” José commented and took a puff on his cigar.
“He is,” Cayetano called back as he stood tall, the bull eyeing him up from a distance. “It’s just because it’s his first time here. But still, he might not be fit for purpose.”
“Rodillas,” Paco said.
“No, Papá, the bull isn’t ready for that. I will do that with an animal I can trust.” Cayetano didn’t want to get down on one knee and let the animal pass through the cape. Luna knew Cayetano didn’t like training with agitated bulls; he wanted to practice, not upset animals. She saw him glance up at the gate and see her watching. “How long have you been there?”
Paco and José both looked over to the gate, and Luna saw Paco try to hide the fact he was smoking a cigar.
“I’ve been
here long enough.”
“How did you get here?” Cayetano asked with one eye on the ill-tempered young bull.
“On two legs.”
“Would you like me to walk you back to the house?”
“No, I’m happy here.”
Cayetano dropped the cape on the sand and wandered over to Luna. He confidently stood with his back to the animal, but Luna watched it over his shoulder. Cayetano rested his elbows on the top of the wooden gate and smiled. “Nice to see you up and about the place.”
“Nice to see my favourite left-handed bullfighter so happy.”
“I’m always happy to see you, my favourite left-handed bike mechanic,” he teased.
“That’s soppy.” Luna leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
“At least when Gilberto was filming us for the documentary, the bull was a little more co-operative. This is one needs to end its life as a tender young steak. It’s no good to me.”
“It looks grumpy.” Luna glanced around Cayetano, to see Paco retrieve the cape from the ring, which the bull had stamped its hoof on multiple times. Even Paco moved cautiously around the irate young beast.
“Who was on the phone?”
“Jorge Arias.”
“What did he want?”
“It’s a long story. One I fear could cause serious problems. I want to talk to José about it.”
“Do we need to all get into a fight again?”
“Oh come on, José loves a good fight.”
“Cogerme!” Paco cried behind Cayetano.
Cayetano turned to see why his father had just yelled ‘fuck me’ so damn loud. The petulant bull charged at Paco and the cape, and it seemed annoyed when Paco had the agility to out-pace him.
“Give that thing a bullet,” José called across the ring.
“Where’s Miguel when you need him?” Cayetano replied.
“I’ll get the gun,” Paco said.
Luna looked past Cayetano and saw everything unfold in slow motion. As Paco walked towards her, the bull turned and swerved at José. Luna called out to him, and the old man looked up from the cigar he had just dropped on the sand. Cayetano and Paco both turned, but the bull was between them and José. José tried to side-step the grumpy beast, but the animal had become so worked up by Cayetano that he had gained a will that could not be beaten. Cayetano darted towards his grandfather, but he was on the opposite side of the ring. The animal pinned José against the wall, and his sharp horn speared straight in his right leg. The bull backed away from his victim, and stood still as José fell face first onto the sand.
Cayetano and Paco ran at the bull, and it charged at the pair. Father and son dove either side of the animal, and it came straight at Luna by the gate. In a split second decision, Luna flicked the gate open, and swung it just in time for the bull to run straight through the gap. She turned and watched him run into the paddock, but knew he couldn’t get into the yard by the house. Luna stepped through the gate and shut it, so they would be safe.
In the dizziness from the sudden movements, Luna stood and tried to clear her head. Across the ring, she watched Cayetano and Paco roll José onto his back. Blood. More blood than she had seen in her life. Luna stumbled across the sand, but everyone could see what was happening. Rebelión was about to suffer a substantial loss.
Luna fell to her knees next to Cayetano and saw his panicked expression. Paco shared the same expression. The wound on José’s leg was immense, a deep red hole with ragged flesh. The blood poured like a river.
“That bastard hit the artery,” Paco said and fumbled for his belt. He pulled it from his jeans in a blind panic to apply as a tourniquet on the partially severed leg.
“Let me die,” José managed to utter. His face had gone grey to match his hair.
“No, Papí, we won’t let you die, I promise,” Cayetano replied.
“Don’t let Consuela see me here,” he uttered.
Luna pulled her phone from her pocket, and Cayetano grabbed it from her to call an ambulance.
“I want to die,” José said to Paco. As Paco tied the belt to José’s leg, he grabbed his son-in-law’s arm. “If not by a bullet on duty, this is where I want to die. It’s no one’s fault.”
“Don’t worry, José, you won’t die today,” Paco replied. He looked up at Cayetano who had just managed to get hold of someone on 112. Rebelión was a long way out of town; help wouldn’t be nearby.
“What can we do for a wound like this?” Luna asked Paco, but the man couldn’t say a word in reply, and neither did Cayetano. They knew what a wound like this from a bull meant, and neither wanted to say it to José.
José grabbed Luna’s shirt and yanked her towards him. Luna held his hand on her shirt as he looked her right in the eyes. He looked afraid in a way she had never seen. His dark brown eyes quivered in their sockets as he tried to focus on her. “Don’t ruin my family,” he whispered. “Don’t ruin my family with what you find in Valencia. Promise me.”
Luna nodded but had no idea what he meant. He pulled her shirt so tight the constricted collar made it hard to breathe. She could feel the shake coursing through José’s body as he went into shock. “Promise me. We lived with the lie. You have to, as well.”
“I promise,” Luna said, and José let go in an instant.
José looked at Paco, who grabbed the old man’s hand. “Don’t worry, old mate,” he tried to smile. “We’ll help you.”
“No, you won’t,” José muttered.
“They’re saying don’t move him,” Cayetano interrupted as he spoke to the ambulance staff. “It’s going to be all right,” he said to his grandfather, but they all heard the fear in his deep voice.
“I love Consuela, and I love Inés, tell them that. Everything I ever did was to keep them safe.”
“They know that, José, don’t worry. They love you, too,” Paco replied.
José looked to Cayetano who dropped the phone onto the sand. He could see as well as anyone what lay before him. “Adopted babies, biological babies… they are all the same, they are all you have,” José said, his voice little more than a croak.
“Don’t worry, Papí, there will plenty of babies in my future.”
“You’re all I ever wanted, my boy. You’re my shining light. Pray for me.”
Cayetano stumbled out the only prayer that came to mind. “To thee I have recourse, St. Joséph, Patron of the dying; and to thee, at whose blessed death watchfully assisted Jesus and Mary, by both these dearest pledges, I earnestly recommend the soul of this servant in the sufferings of his last agony, that he may, by your protection, be delivered from the snares of the devil and from eternal death, and may merit to attain everlasting joy through the same, Christ our Lord.”
“Amen.” Paco and Luna both and gave the sign of the cross, and José smiled one last time.
“Take care of my Consuela,” José mumbled.
“Of course,” Paco said, ready to cry.
“And my Inés. My Inés belongs to you, Paco.”
“Sí, Padre. Siempre.”
José looked at Cayetano, who grabbed his weak hand. “This girl here, keep this girl. She’s good for you.”
“Anything, Papí, anything for you.”
Luna watched tears stream down Cayetano’s face as he watched his grandfather slip away. José’s eyes fell on her, and he mouthed ‘promise me’ one more time. Luna nodded, and José’s imposing stare swung at the sky.
The three sat motionless, lost in a moment of total shock. In a matter of minutes, José had gone from Morales family figure, to helpless, to dead. In the blink of an eye, the whole family had changed, in José’s own little bullring on his dream farm.
“Let us pray,” Paco muttered.
Cayetano clasped his bloodied hands together, and Luna copied.
“All-powerful and merciful God, we commend to you José, your servant. In your mercy and love, blot out the sins he has committed through human weakness. In this world, he has died: let him live with you forever. We
ask this through Christ our Lord.”
“Amen,” Luna and Cayetano mumbled.
“A fighter’s greatest honour is to die in the ring, like a God,” Paco said. “Owning Rebelión was the closest José could come to stepping onto the sand and into the ring of valour. This death is worthy of him.”
“How are we going to tell Mamá?” Cayetano whispered. “Or Mamí?”
“I should tell them,” Paco said, and his voice shook. “It will break their hearts.”
Cayetano reached past Luna and attempted to close José’s eyes, a task more difficult than he expected. The three sat in silence, a mix of blood and sand on them. Paco looked to his stunned son and Luna next to him. “Someone has to be at the house when the ambulance arrives,” he said. “Luna, you have to go back to the house. Keep the boys out of the way; they won’t need to see any of this. Caya, take Luna back to the house, and then go to the main shed and get something, anything, to cover your grandfather with, for your mother’s sake. The moment I tell Inés and Consuela what happened, they will dash out here. We need to make this as easy as we can. That’s our job.”
“I shouldn’t have brought that bull in there,” Cayetano muttered.
“It was José’s idea.”
“That makes no difference now.”
“We live with death, all three of us.”
Cayetano pulled himself to his feet, and helped Luna to stand next to him. Without a word spoken, they left the ring and headed the short distance back to the house, knowing Paco needed a moment to grieve on his own.
“Go in the side door, in the kitchen,” Cayetano said. “Wait until Papá goes in to see Mamá and Mamí before you go and get the kids. That’s what Papí would have wanted.”
Secrets of Spain Trilogy Page 85