Charon's Net

by Gemma Herrero Virto

  “Okay, okay... I understand you,” Carlos rubbed his eyes whilst his mind tried to process the enormous amount of information the lad was capable of letting out in mere seconds. "All right, let's see, who can substantiate what you're saying?"

  “Well the girl, Lorena Sainz Álvarez, is in my class and she lives in Algorta. And the guy who was with her also saw me, but I've no idea who he was. She'll know."

  “And before that? Apart from the phone calls that Lorena was making, do you have anything else to confirm that you were at home all afternoon?"

  “Well, my mother was there, but I suppose that's not worth anything to you because a mother always protects her children, or at least she’s supposed to. I'm not sure if I saw anyone else the whole afternoon, although if you give me a few seconds..." The boy went quiet for a few moments, which was a real gift for Carlos. "Now I know; the neighbour from the second floor came, Amelia, I think she's called. I remember because I was the one who opened the door, so she’ll also remember me, I suppose. Anyway, the lady was in one hell of a bad mood, something about the woman on the third floor having hung up clothes that were dripping with bleach, and splashing all over everything of hers. She said she was going to kill her, and gouge out her eyes. Honestly, I don't know how my mother keeps listening to her, because once or twice every week, she comes with the same thing, and then she doesn't kill anyone. I put up with the shouting, without being able to concentrate until the lady calmed down. Then she was talking with my mother about the neighbourhood gossip for about an hour, and she left."

  “All right, I’ll send for those details to be checked. Can you briefly tell me where you were on Friday the 20thof September, between nine and twelve?” asked Carlos, stressing the word ‘briefly’.

  “That was last Friday... Yeah, sure I remember. I met up with two friends to go to one of their houses. We got together around eight, ordered some pizzas, and were watching ‘Episode Three’.”

  “Episode three of what?”

  “Star Wars, man. Are you not from this planet?” Carlos smiled at him, to hint that he had understood, which was enough for the lad to embark once more upon his explanation. “My mate has just bought a DVD player and hooked it up to this amazing set of speakers, so it feels like you’re in the film. He wanted to use it for the first time, so he invited us over to his place. I really do advise you buy one of those contraptions. It’s properly like being in the cinema. I was tripping the whole film,” Carlos cleared his throat to get him to come back to the real world. “Anyway, as I was saying, we were watching the film until eleven or so, and then we were talking for a bit. Then I fixed a few little problems with my mate’s computer and at around one o’clock I left for home. Oh, his folks were also at home, in case you want to ask anyone else.”

  “Can you tell me the names of your ‘mates’?”

  “Sure, the guy whose place it was is Rubén Palacios... I don’t know his second surname, and we’ve only been friends our whole lives. He lives in the block next to mine, on the fifth floor. The big idiot doesn’t have a lift, and has no idea how annoying it is when you have to go up in summer, especially as I smoke... By the way, would you let me have another cigarette?” Carlos handed him both the packet and lighter, and waited for him to continue talking. “The other guy’s name is Joseba Martín, and he’s also in my class.”

  “Okay, that’s all I need to know for now,” the truth was that just the mere idea of asking any more questions made him shudder. Never before had he interrogated anybody so cooperative. “Wait here while I tell them to check the information. You can keep the cigarettes.”

  The boy smiled appreciatively at him. Carlos headed towards the door, but then another question came to him:

  “Listen, just out of curiosity... Why did they arrest you that other time?”

  “Ah, yes... I thought I had already freed myself of that... Well, they arrested me for having cyber sex with a sixteen year old girl.”

  “Cyber sex? I’m sorry, I don’t know what that is.”

  “Well, it’s talking about sex in a web chat,” Carlos’s face once again showed that he would understand the lad more if he were speaking to him in German. “It’d be better if you sat down for a moment.”

  Carlos took a seat, and the boy sighed before starting, as if talking about that topic displeased him.

  “You know what a computer is? The Internet?” Carlos nodded, and the boy continued. “Okay, well there are programs you can use for talking with people from all over the world through the Internet. You send messages to people who don’t know you and, if they want, you can talk more and become mates. A conversation on the Internet is called a web chat, just so we understand each other. Are you following me so far?”

  “Sure, don’t you worry. If I get lost, I’ll tell you.”

  “Okay, so in the web chats people talk about lots of things, and one of them is sex. That’s what cybersex is. You set about describing a sexual relationship with the person you’re talking to, and the person reciprocates.”

  “Like a sex chat line?” he asked, trying to understand.

  “Similar, but written... Anyway, this is free; people do it for fun,” explained the boy.

  “Seems like nonsense to me. It’s like talking about food when you’re hungry,” commented Carlos.

  “We could say that. ...Most of all because, as you’re having to type the whole time, you’re hands are occupied. If you know what I mean...” Carlos could not avoid smiling upon noticing that the boy was blushing. “Anyway, I was talking with these two girls who were friends. They had told me that they were eighteen, and I believed them. With one of them, I would only talk as a friend, but with the other... Well, we were pretty much dating over the computer, and we did cyber sex every now and then, and, the truth is, for sixteen years old, the girl knew her Latin... The problem was that her father discovered the saved web chat conversations, and the parents of both of them reported me, as if I had been debauching or raping their daughters... They had me arrested, but the parents’ lawyers must have told them that those kinds of crimes were not yet statutory, and that it was going to be very difficult achieving anything, so they dropped the charges. I thought it was all forgotten. Have I been arrested again for that?”

  “No, the truth is that it’s a much uglier matter, but you don’t need to worry about it,” replied Carlos as he stood up. “I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Natalia hurried into Capri, and searched for Carlos amongst the tables. He was sitting at the back, with a glass of some transparent liquor in his hands and a lost look. Whatever it was he had to tell her couldn’t have been very pleasant if he was drinking alcohol at eleven in the morning. She took a breath, trying to find strength. If this was going to be a goodbye, the best thing would be to get it over with as soon as possible. She went over to the table, faking a smile.

  “Hello. How did everything go for you with the beast?”

  “I think the boy’s innocent...”

  “No, I was referring to Aguirre.”

  “Don’t worry, I know how to handle him,” Carlos looked at her with a serious expression, signalling to the chair opposite his own. “Natalia, sit down, please. I have to talk to you about something very important.”

  Natalia took off her coat, ordered a coffee from the table, and sat down.

  “What’s going on? Are you going to be in trouble because of me?”

  “No, don’t worry... It’s not because of you that Aguirre was angry. He’s obsessed with the idea that Roberto and I would form a great team, and there’s no way to get that idea out of his head. He’s told me that we either work together, or I’m off the case.”

  “And what are you going to do?” asked Natalia, concerned.

  “The most prudent thing would be to listen to him, which would entail leaving you out of the case. It would be very risky to carry on investigating on our own, against our orders. If they found us out, we could both end up on the stree
t.”

  “I already know that, but it’s a shame we have to leave it. I keep thinking that it could have worked,” Natalia interrupted him, without knowing why she felt the need to keep fighting for something that she knew was a losing battle. “I think our hypotheses were good, and that, if we had carried on working, we would have caught him.”

  “I think so too. That’s why I wanted to talk with you. I don’t plan on collaborating with Roberto, at least no more than is necessary to keep Aguirre quiet. The lives of who knows how many young girls could be in danger, and I’m not going to allow the investigation to go on forever just because Roberto doesn’t know how to work in a team.”

  “And what do you plan on doing? How are you going to take the case all by yourself?”

  “I wasn’t planning on doing it alone. I was thinking about us carrying on together, like we have been doing so far. Of course, that also depends on you. I can’t promise you a promotion if this goes well in the end and, if it goes badly and they discover us, we’ll have to start looking for another job. I’m not going to try to convince you; it depends solely on your decision and, whatever it is, I will respect it.”

  Natalia averted her gaze and remained silent for a few seconds, stirring the sugar into the coffee that the waiter had just placed in front of her. That situation could be dangerous for them both, and she knew that what she ought to do was to advise him to leave it; that he be reasonable and try to carry out the investigation as he was ordered to. But, on the other hand, it felt to her that to say that would be a betrayal, to Carlos, to herself, to the girls who could be in danger...

  “Are you sure there’s no way Aguirre will understand that our method is better, and change his mind?” she insisted. “There has to be some way of convincing him, of making him see... Maybe if you go and talk to him tomorrow, when he’s calmer...”

  “Natalia, it won’t work. I’ve known Aguirre for many years, and I know how he thinks... But the thing is that there are other factors, on top of that, which are making this the only way. What happened with Roberto, for example... It makes me think about who I can trust, and who I can’t... It gives me the impression that I’m surrounded by climbers who are only waiting for me to go wrong, in order to move on up. And I need to be able to trust my team in order to solve this. I can’t concentrate on the case if I’m having to make sure they don’t stab me in the back,” Carlos sighed, resigned. “But I’ve already told you that I’m not going to pressure you. I understand you not wanting to do it without Aguirre’s approval.”

  Natalia avoided his eyes once more. She did not know what to do. She liked to have clear ideas, to know very well where she was going, and be confident that she was taking the right steps. But now she was unable to see the road. Her whole world had been turned upside down ever since he came into her life. Carlos remained silent, waiting for her decision. She looked at him and felt that, for once in her life, she needed to fight for something illogical, to forget what her orderly mind was trying to impose on her, and allow her heart to speak. She breathed deeply, raised her gaze, and smiled.

  “All right, if there’s no other way, we’ll go ahead, against everyone else. I haven’t been in this post long enough to have garnered affection.”

  “Thank you; I expected no less from you,” he said, looking her in the eyes and gently taking her hand.

  “This..., well..., it’s nothing...” Natalia felt herself blushing, and took advantage of the excuse of taking out a packet of cigarettes in order to withdraw her hand. For a few seconds, she felt lost, taken aback by that contact she had not been expecting. “And how are we going to carry on with the investigation? Roberto was the only one who knew anything about IT.”

  “I’ve been thinking about forming a complete investigation group, separate from politicking of the police station. Between the two of us, we’ll form a team with a fair chance but, as you well said, we’re still missing something indispensable in this case: computers.”

  “And how are we going to fix that?”

  “We can’t ask the help of anyone who works at the station, because we’d be running the risk of Roberto or Aguirre finding out. And you and I can’t do it. Honestly, I don’t see myself having much desire to sign up for a crash course in IT. That’s why I thought of inviting someone else to our little party.”

  “Who?”

  “The suspect they arrested today. I’ve spoken with him, and I’m confident that he’s innocent. And he knows about computers. He’s studying Computer Science and, on top of that, from what he’s told me, he must be good.”

  “Ah, but have you suggested it to him yet?” asked Natalia, still surprised, thinking that the whole thing was becoming more absurd with every sentence he uttered.

  “No, but he’s told me about a thousand other things that I hadn’t asked him, either. That’s the only fault I see in him: there’s no way to shut him up. But I can’t think of any other option. I don’t know anybody else who could do it; how about you?”

  “I don’t either... Are you sure he’ll accept?”

  “Yes, you just need to offer him a bit of money... That’s another one of the risks to this plan. If we did manage to catch the culprit, we might just be able to have the police pay for it; there’s a budget specifically set aside for collaborators, but if not, it’ll have to come out of our own pockets, and that really would be a task and a half.”

  “Well, it’s best we see it as an extramotivation for catching him. Okay, I’m in total agreement... I hope you’re right, and that this is the way to do it,” Natalia sighed, worried. “What do we do now?”

  “I’m waiting for the station to call me confirming the lad’s alibis. As soon as they let him go, we’ll go and talk with him.”

  ***

  Gus sat up in the chair, and then took a few paces about the room for the umpteenth time in the last half an hour. It had been a very long time now since the policeman he had been talking with had left. He had seemed like a nice guy and he had thought that he would have taken him out of there straight away but, it would seem, the man had more important things to worry about. At least he had left him the packet of cigarettes but, what with how nervous he was, it would not last him another hour.

  And on top of that, he did not even know what they were accusing him of. If he had only known that those girls were going to give him so many problems... He sat back down again and held his head in his hands. A few minutes later, he looked at his watch again. One thirty. They had definitely not remembered to bring him anything to eat either.

  In that moment, the door opened and a uniformed officer came in.

  “Come on, lad. You’re free. You can leave.”

  Gus got up and walked out. That was the best thing about the police: their manners. No ‘We’re sorry, Mr Guevara. It’s all been an unfortunate misunderstanding’, no explanations or apologies. They simply told him that he could leave, and on top of that they would expect him to be grateful.

  He went out into the street and put on his jacket. Great, it was also raining: a perfect day. He put his hand into his pocket and counted the coins he had on him. He had just enough money to catch the train, so he could forget about buying cigarettes now. He put both hands in his pockets and began walking to the station. At that moment, a car pulled up alongside him, with the good enough aim to splash his trousers. He lifted his head, ready to take note of the driver’s entire family, and recognised the policeman with whom he had been talking:

  “Agustín Guevara, right? Listen, I’m sorry about the water. I didn’t see the puddle.”

  “It’s all right. There are days when you’re better off just staying in bed. Of course, today you guys didn’t let me,” he replied, trying to play it down. After all, the only thing he wanted to do was go home.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll tell them that next time they’re to ask if it’s convenient for you.”

  “It’s not that I find you guys unpleasant,” said Gus, as he began walking, “but I would prefer not t
o have to see you again.”

  “Come on, why don’t you get in, it’s no day to be out walking,” Carlos smiled at him and indicated with his head to the car’s interior. “We’ll take you home.”

  Gus thought about it for a second. After all, it was not an official car, so he would not have to worry about his mother seeing him arrive home with a police escort. Besides, this policeman seemed nice, and the miniskirt on the young woman sitting beside him merited a more exhaustive inspection, so he opened the back door and got in, and sat with his arms resting on the front seats.

  “You live in Sestao, right?” asked Carlos as he pulled away.

  “Yes. Listen, thanks a lot for getting me out. Until I spoke with you, I thought I was going to be stuck there for days.”

  Carlos joined the traffic, which was still just as infernal as it had been during the morning.

  “It was nothing; the fact is that they shouldn’t have arrested you. This is my case, and I wasn’t told they had found a suspect but, if they had told me, I wouldn’t have bothered you. The evidence against you was laughable.”

  “Man, at least there’s one good cop. Is she the ‘bad cop’?” asked Gus, smiling at him.

  “No, forgive me for not introducing you. This is Natalia. She’s a medical examiner.”

  “Charming profession. I hope that, when I die, I’m attended to by a medical examiner like you,” Natalia smiled at him and offered her hand. “I’m Gus,” he said.

  “Delighted. Listen, have they give you anything to eat?”

  “No, and to tell the truth, I’m dying of hunger.”

  “That’s what I guessed; good manners are not obligatory requirements for getting the badge,” said Natalia, and Carlos grumbled in the seat next to her. “If we have to take you straight to Sestao in this traffic, it’s going to be three in the afternoon. I think the best thing would be to let Carlos invite us to have something to eat, by way of an apology to you.”