Of course, Cámara thought with a smile. He could have answered the question for himself.
He pulled up a chair and sat down at his grandfather’s side, holding his hand. A nurse came in and checked the amount of fluid left in the drip bag.
‘Come and get me when it drops below this line,’ he said to Cámara. ‘Then we’ll change it.’
He left the door open behind him, and the sounds of a hospital ward filtered through. A bunch of flowers had been left on the floor, a gaudy collection of yellows, oranges and pinks.
‘Got an admirer?’
‘They’re from Pilar,’ Hilario said.
‘I don’t believe it.’
‘It’s true. Check the card if you like.’
‘Did she—?’
‘No, they were sent. She wasn’t going to show her face round here after what happened. No, the beautiful Pilar has left our lives for good, I fear. I asked around – the story about her getting married is true.’
Pilar had been such an integral part of life at the flat that Cámara wondered what things would be like without her, whether he would actually miss her, in fact.
Hilario, he felt certain, hadn’t even gone so far as that. Once Pilar had walked out the door life had instantly moved on. It always did for him. No looking back, no wondering what if. Pilar leaving barely registered as a hiccough.
Although there was the question of how he would look after himself. Would he be all right on his own? Some solution had to be found.
‘Gerardo was here,’ Hilario said.
‘My mechanic friend?’
‘His dad’s a mate of mine. Taught him a few things years back. They’ve always been a generous lot.’
‘Yeah . . .’
‘Well, until you filled his prize BMW with bullet holes, that is.’
‘He told you that, did he? Couldn’t be helped.’
‘He’s all right. Got over it. Must have, or else why would he have come round?’
‘What did he say?’
‘If I needed a helping hand, that kind of thing. Everyone seems to have heard about Pilar leaving.’
‘We could always find someone to replace her.’
Hilario shrugged.
‘Something will come up.’
He grinned.
‘You’ll be pleased to know,’ Cámara said, changing the subject, ‘that your name will not be appearing in any police reports.’
‘Thank Christ for that.’
Cámara laughed.
‘You’re the anarchist detective,’ he said. ‘Invisible to the authorities, silently solving the crimes that have them tied up in knots.’
‘It’s got a ring to it.’
‘So I was the one who found the wedding band, not you.’
‘Right. So why didn’t you hand it in as evidence?’
‘Because of the doubts Yago sewed in my mind about the corruption in the Jefatura. I didn’t know who I could trust.’
‘OK. But why didn’t you realise earlier that it was his wedding ring?’
‘Because my attention was being distracted by this saffron scam thing.’
Hilario pursed his lips.
‘Maybe. Or you’re just fucking stupid.’
‘Well, there’s that as well.’
‘You know your problem?’
‘Here we go.’
‘You never suspected Yago because he’s a policeman. But that’s precisely why I had my doubts about him from the start.’
He tapped his finger on his temple.
‘You’ve got to be smart, see? Got to see the prejudices and assumptions that stand in the way of you seeing what’s really going on.’
‘Hang on, you’re just as prejudiced as I am. You’re prejudiced against the police.’
‘And I was right.’
Cámara groaned.
‘You going to start giving me lessons on how to be a detective now?’
‘This is just the beginning.’
Hilario grinned, then coughed. There were droplets of blood on the palm of his hand where he covered his mouth.
‘We still don’t know who killed Concha.’
Hilario looked him in the eye.
‘You’ve come a long way,’ he said. ‘You’re slow, but you’ve made some progress these last days. I’ve seen it.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘It’s loosening its grip on you, bit by bit.’
‘What is?’
‘The fear, the anger. All this rushing about, wanting and wanting.’
‘It’s all very well saying, don’t be angry. But you never told me how.’
‘I’ve never shown you anything but.’
Hilario turned away.
‘Many years ago I made a deliberate decision about how I was going to live my life. When they shot Maximiliano I told myself that nothing was going to crush me or push me off the course that I decided to be on. And I’ve stayed there. And you know the shit there’s been. But you keep on, you just keep on. God knows I’ve been trying to tell you this for years. And there are times when you’ve almost got it, but you slipped back, got caught up in your own self-pity.’
He sat up in bed, leaning in towards Cámara and squeezing his hand.
‘That’s what’s changing in you. It’s there, in your eyes. They’re quicker these days. Perhaps it’s Alicia, or maybe it’s been coming back here, this case. I don’t know. It’s probably not important. The point is, you’re close to becoming who you really are.’
Cámara smiled.
‘Another anarchist, like you?’
‘Call it what you like. There are a thousand tyrannies, and the majority of them exist inside ourselves. Free yourself of them and you can call yourself any name you want.’
‘Even a detective.’
‘Even a detective. But one who solves crimes not for the State, but for a greater good. One who isn’t afraid to break the law, even, if it helps him get where he needs to go.’
‘Oh, I don’t think I have much of a problem with that.’
‘See? Some things have managed to rub off, then.’
He closed his eyes and lay back on the bed.
‘You should read Ernst Jünger and his ideas about the anarch, a sovereign individual.’
His grip around Cámara’s hand relaxed.
‘Why did you confront Yago like that? Why didn’t you—?
‘Get you to do it?’
Hilario’s eyes were still closed.
‘For example.’
Hilario shrugged.
‘Seemed like a good idea at the time.’
‘That Luger is ancient. You didn’t even know if it would fire.’
‘I took my chances. German engineering – the best in the world, they say.’
‘You could have been killed.’
‘Life, death. What’s the difference?’
‘I think I know.’
‘What? The difference between life and death? Dead people don’t move very much, it must be said. And they smell pretty bad.’
‘No. I mean why you went off to meet Yago like that.’
‘Go on.’
‘He tried to have me killed.’
‘So?’
‘So you were taking revenge, or trying to protect me, or something like that.’
‘Is that the best you can do?’
‘What I’m trying to say is that for all your talk you really are a sentimental old man who wants to take care of his own.’
His eyes still closed, Hilario took a deep breath, and sighed.
‘Might be,’ he said at last.
‘Thanks.’
‘Bugger off.’
The drip bag was almost empty, so Cámara got up to call for the nurse. After a few minutes he appeared with a fresh supply and attached it to Hilario’s arm.
‘Has he fallen asleep?’ he asked Cámara.
‘Just dozing, I think.’
‘He looks paler. Has he said anything?’
‘Said anything?
’
‘Complained about pains or anything?’
‘No. Not to me.’
‘I’m going to call the doctor.’
And he rushed out.
Cámara sat down again in the chair, reaching out for Hilario’s hand.
‘Are you awake?’
He shook his hand slightly.
‘Grandpa?’
There was no response. Cámara squeezed harder, standing up to look Hilario in the face.
‘Hey!’ he called.
Hilario’s eyes flickered. After a pause, he opened them; they looked bloodshot, with a creamy film covering them.
‘Are you all right? The doctor’s coming.’
‘I was having a vision,’ Hilario said quietly. Cámara raised an eyebrow.
‘It’s time to leave Albacete. I’ve been here far too long.’
Cámara tightened his grip around his grandfather’s hand, looking pleadingly into his eyes.
‘Somewhere new, a different place. I can see water.’
‘Water?’
‘The sea.’
From the corridor Cámara could hear hurried footsteps; the doctor was on his way.
‘Time for new horizons.’
He closed his eyes again.
‘Yes.’
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The initial idea for this book came from my friend Toby Follett, who told me about the very real saffron scams that are taking place around the world. I have him to thank for that tip off, and for setting things in motion.
My contacts in the Valencia Policía Nacional were as helpful as always, passing on details about police work – Rafa Campo, Sebastián Roa and Esther Maldonado.
Once again, everyone at Random House has been very supportive. My thanks to Becky Hardie, Clara Farmer, Parisa Ebrahimi, Alison Hennessey, Bethan Jones, Vicki Watson, Roger Bratchell, Jane Kirby and Monique Corless for all their hard work on the Max Cámara series.
Thanks also to my agent, Peter Robinson, for his kindness and support.
Mary Chamberlain performed copy-editing magic, as ever, while Jenny Uglow remains the rock on which these books are built. I can’t thank her enough.
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted inwriting by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
Epub ISBN: 9781446484838
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Published by Chatto & Windus 2013
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Copyright © 2013 by Jason Webster
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First published in Great Britain in 2013 by
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The Anarchist Detective (Max Cámara) Page 22