Charon's Net

by Gemma Herrero Virto

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Dear Natalia,

  Just as I promised you, I'm sending you the graphological analysis regarding the writing sample you sent me. As I told you when we spoke, I cannot be sure that that kind of information can be extrapolated from the analysis of writing carried out on a computer, for which reason I would ask if you could send me a sample of the subject’s actual handwriting as soon as you can. That point aside, I have carried out a graphological analysis of the font, and these are the results:

  -In a general sense, we notice that the letters are leaning towards the right, which tells us of a dynamic and explosive character, with an intense and basic emotional nature which is not controlled in a conscious manner. We also see that the letters are formed of straight lines that also present curvatures, which tells us that this person is subjected to a great deal of internal anxiety and tension.

  -The subject demonstrates aggression and irritability, as much towards the environment as de does to himself, which is made clear in the ‘cross’ strokes of the ’t’ and the ‘f’, and in the upper rightward curves at the tops of the ‘d’, ‘b’, ‘v’, and ‘p’.

  -If we are talking about general characteristics of his personality, we could say that representation of the ‘m’ and the ’n’, which are completely closed at the top in this font, tells us that he is an individual who has a great preoccupation with self-defence; he is untrusting, and closed off to others. The curved letters show us that he is a person with a great gift for persuasion, and a great intuition that compensates for his lack of logic.

  - We also find lines that suggest an increased egocentricity. This is illustrated in the excessive separation that appears between the uppercase letters and the lowercase ones, which tells us that he has difficulties in social relationships, and a disregard for others against his own ‘ego’. This is ratified by the swirls which appear in some of the letters, and by the predominance of the first mound over the second in certain capital letters such as 'M', 'H', 'V' and 'LL'.

  -Regarding his sexuality, this font sample provides us with some very interesting information: the ‘g’, with its foot extending very far to the left, suggests strong subconscious libidinous impulses. The curved script, with very broad and rounded peaks and troughs, demonstrates a hypersexual personality. Furthermore, as the script is adorned with curls, loops and swirls typical of a feminine hand, it would give us evidence of some strong homosexual urges.

  -The calligraphy style font, along with the swirls that adorn it, could be telling us about a person who is afflicted by an obsessive-compulsive neurosis, caused by the importance that the subject gives to the past, which could be indicating some strong feelings of guilt. The tension within the crests, together with the arches on the left, the overly tall font, the very large capitals (most of all in the case of the first mound in the 'M', 'H', 'V' and 'LL', as we already said before),and the signature on the left-hand side, all show a strong tendency towards self-destruction and to suicide.

  -With regard to the question you asked me about whether the subject of the investigation could fit the description of a psychopath, I can answer you with a categorical no, according to this font sample. The writing of psychopaths is angular and not curved, the second mounds of the capital letters are more pronounced than the first, and the inclination and sizing of the letters is variable.

  In summary, what we have here is a subject who is both impulsive and aggressive, as much towards himself as to others. He is withdrawn and untrusting, with a low number of social contacts, and who furthermore places much more value on himself than on the feelings of others. He has both some uncontrolled sexual impulses and homosexual traits, which could also be tinged with a high level of culpability due to their adherence to traditions. This could have provoked an obsessive-compulsive disorder with thoughts of guilt and aggression, which could be focused towards either himself or his environment. For that reason, this person would need urgent psychological treatment as, being subject to heightened levels of anxiety, he could inflict serious damage on himself or others.

  From reading this, you will understand that I feel curiosity for the subject of the investigation, for which reason I reiterate my availability for analysing any other writing sample that you could send me, or any additional information that you could provide me with that might help me to refute or strengthen my assessment.

  To finalise, and as a personal opinion, I hope that the reason for your sending me this writing sample is professional and not personal, as I would not like to think of you being involved with an individual with these characteristics.

  I hope that you keep me informed.

  Best wishes,

  Raquel González

  Natalia re-read the report that she had just received by fax, trying to retain all of the information. At least he wasn't a psychopath, although the personality of the individual Raquel was describing in her report was not much better. The description of a person who was aggressive, anxious and with some uncontrolled self-destructive impulses did not leave her feeling all that reassured, even though she already knew that they were searching for a killer. She had to find the positive aspects of the report: any piece of information that would allow them to have hope. And there was one. The fact that they were dealing with a person who was suffering from an obsessive disorder meant that he didn't kill by chance, but rather was following a well thought out plan. If she managed to get to the root of that obsession, to understand his motives, then they would be able to know whom he would choose next and why, and be ahead of his movements.

  She went back over some of the sentences again. The part that spoke about his homosexual impulses left her feeling confused, but it did add a new angle to the investigation. Several ideas were going around in her head. She would have to consult a few books before sharing her hypothesis with Carlos and Gus that night.

  She put away the report, and went back to her work, feeling somewhat more optimistic. After all, the killer had feelings, and was being affected by a heavy burden of guilt. It was possible that he might end up handing himself in, or making mistakes. And she could not help feeling good at the thought that perhaps he might decide to kill himself, and finally put an end to the nightmare.

  Ten minutes before home time, she began to gather all of her instruments. She was feeling restless, unable to concentrate on her work, looking again and again at the large clock that graced the wall in the foyer. She had spent the entire day impatient to discuss the results of the graphological analysis with Carlos and Gus, to find out what their opinions were, and to what extent the new hypotheses she had drawn up would be useful. She put her things in her bag, collected her coat, and left, murmuring an excuse about a doctors’ appointment to her chief of department. She could not bear the inactivity anymore. She had to leave, or she would go crazy in there.

  In the car park she saw Carlos in the distance, opening his car door. She greeted him with a wave, and he smiled and approached:

  "Hello, I see you’ve made a quick getaway. The responsible girl, skiving off?”

  "No; I stay much longer nearly every day, so it doesn't matter today if I leave five minutes early. If only you knew what I've got on the case..." She began to search for the report in her bag.

  "No, wait..." Carlos interrupted her. "First, you have to hear what I’ve got to tell you. I have good news."

  "Wait, mine is more important, and besides, I'd already begun to talk."

  "It can't be any more important than what I have to say myself," he responded. "In any case, I think it's ridiculous talking about it here because then we'll still have to repeat it all to Gus. It's best we leave it until we get to your place."

  "Of course; if you can't talk first, nobody can,” Natalia said, reproaching him.

  "Don't be childish. Let's make a bet to see who gets to talk first," Carlos waited for her to agree. "We'll have a race. The first one to get your flat wins."

  Carlos’s eyes were sparkling with excitement, like a
naughty little boy. Natalia loved that look, and the idea did seem fun and exciting to her but, once again, the rational part of her brain had to protest.

  "And I'm the childish one? Carlos, please... We belong to the Ertzaintza; we can't play at having little races through the centre of Bilbao."

  Carlos turned his back to her and made his way to his car. Once he had reached the door, he turned back to face her.

  "You’ll know whether you want to race, or whether you want to act like a good girl. You’ve already accepted the bet, so I'll be waiting for you at your place."

  Carlos smiled at her, and winked an eye as he got into his car. Natalia ran towards him, trying to put an end to this stupidity. She rapped on the window with her knuckles, smiling at him. He opened it, looking at her with an air of superiority as he started the ignition:

  "It'll better for you if we bet on something else," she tried to persuade him. "You've got no chance in that old banger."

  "We'll see about that, doll."

  The car tore away at full speed, leaving half of the rubber from the tyres on the concrete. He was nothing more than a brazen, conceited lout. And, on top of that, he had called her ‘doll’. Reacting quickly, she broke into a run towards her own car. She was not going to let him get his way. She opened her bag and began searching for the keys amongst the thousands of other things she was carrying inside it. After a few angst-filled seconds, her hand brushed against them and she managed to extract them without dropping anything. She opened the car and tried to start it up, but the first two attempts were unsuccessful. She tried to calm herself. It was ridiculous getting like this; it was only a stupid race, and besides, he would be so far away by now that she would never be able to catch up with him. On looking up from the ignition, she saw Carlos’s car stopped some hundred metres away, waiting for her with the engine on. So he thought he didn't need an advantage to beat her? She’d show him...

  She managed to start the ignition, and the engine responded with a powerful roar. The car shot out of the car park and, in that moment, Carlos began to move again. Natalia smiled. He was not so confident as to wait for her to draw level with him. She accelerated even more, and, within a few seconds, she positioned herself just behind the other car.

  They came out of Erandio and headed towards Bilbao, going alongside the estuary. Night was beginning to fall, and the pollution surrounded the city like a fog, making the sky flare up with a spectral, golden-coloured glow. At full speed, they proceeded to leave behind old abandoned factories, grey and ruined barriers and yellowish walls from which hundreds of glassless windows appeared to be looking at them. The road was narrow, only single carriageway. The fences and walls bordering it were very close, and they were passing so quickly along her angle of vision that it gave her the impression that she was going to lose control of the car at any moment. But even so, she did not brake. Her heart was beating quickly, her breathing was shaky, and she was beginning to feel incredibly hot. She pushed the button that lowered her side window and let the cold October air strike her face and whip up her hair. She felt free, devil-may-care, happy... The only thing that mattered to her in that moment was running, getting ahead of Carlos, winning...

  Natalia realised after a few seconds that, in spite of the fact that her car was far more powerful than Carlos’s, she would not be able to make the most of that advantage in the middle of the city, and less so in the evening rush hour, when everybody was leaving work. She needed to overtake him before they left the banks of the estuary. If she was still behind Carlos by the time they got to Deusto, there would no longer be anything she could do. She urged her car forward even more, hoping for the slightest opportunity to overtake. Carlos was making little zigzags with his car, mocking her attempts to poke out the nose of her Mercedes. Natalia was beginning to feel increasingly more nervous; she could not allow him to taunt her.

  In that moment, she saw that there was nothing coming in the opposite direction. She stepped on the accelerator all the way, even though the line was solid on this part of the road. To hell with what she wasn't supposed to do. She had spent her entire life doing the right thing. The speedometer displayed 140kmph, but even so, Carlos did not allow himself to be intimidated. He launched the car out on to the same side of the road, trying to get far enough into it so that she would not be able to pass. Natalia continued at the same speed, showcasing to him that she was not going to give up. Carlos returned to his lane, accelerating to the fullest extent of his car’s capacity. For a few eternal seconds, the two cars were running side-by-side. Natalia looked at Carlos through the window, smiling triumphantly at him whilst she accelerated even more. In that moment, she was dazzled by a set of lights, causing her to look back at the road. An enormous lorry was approaching her head on. Carlos braked to allow her to move past him, and Natalia swerved to get into her lane. The lorry passed by her side, its horn blaring loudly. Natalia accelerated again. She had finally managed to overtake him, and now nothing was going to stop her from winning the race. Smiling happily, she left Carlos’s car behind. She had never felt so alive.

  A few minutes later, they arrived in Deusto, and she needed to lower her speed in order to join the slow traffic that filled the streets at that hour. Whilst she was stopped at a traffic light, she looked into her rear-view mirror and saw Carlos, a few cars further behind. She smiled euphorically. She had won.

  In that moment, she began to hear the sound of a siren, and saw a blue light glaring in her rear-view mirror. The other drivers went along parting the way for him, and Carlos's car began gradually making its way up. On passing alongside her, he waved as he smiled at her. Despite not being in an official car, he had put on the siren that was designated for emergencies. Natalia felt furious. It was not fair: he was cheating. She tried to slip in behind him, taking advantage of the gap he was going along opening up, but the other cars closed in behind him immediately, and the only thing she managed to do was incur the wrath of the drivers around her. Frustrated, she leaned back in the seat as she watched Carlos's car disappear into the distance.

  ***

  Carlos parked up and smiled with an expression of triumph. He got out, closed the door, and gave a few little affectionate pats to the roof of his car:

  "That’ll teach people for calling you an old banger. Who needs a sports Mercedes?"

  Along the road could be heard the roar of Natalia's engine. He leaned against one of the doors and lit a cigarette. The car barrelled down the street at full speed, drew level with him, and slammed on the brakes. Without even parking, Natalia shot out and made her way towards him as if she were going to kill him:

  "You are the most dishonest guy I've ever seen in my life. You know that I won."

  "How is it that you've won? Who got here first?" Carlos could not help the triumphant smile. In reality, he found seeing her in this state to be so funny that he had to fight to contain the laughter.

  "But I overtook you on the road. My car is faster, and I drove better."

  "If you call nearly getting us squashed by that lorry driving better..."

  "Of course that's driving better. I took the risk, and it paid off...”

  "No; you risked us both, and just to win a stupid race..."

  "A stupid race! But it was your idea..."

  "But you liked it, and it was totally legal."

  "Legal? Don't make me laugh... That thing with the siren was the dirtiest trick I've ever seen in my life. You knew you had no chance with that shitty car."

  "The siren is a perk of my car, just like the power of your engine is a perk of yours."

  "Don't talk crap..." Carlos was taken aback. He could not manage to get used to hearing Natalia swearing. "You cheated and you know it."

  "I didn’t cheat..."

  "Yes you did..."

  "No I didn’t..."

  "You did!"

  Carlos sighed. They were already starting again. He went up to Natalia, grabbed her hard by the waist and brought her body against his own:

>   “Since you’re not shutting up, I’ll have to kiss you just so your mouth is closed.”

  Natalia’s eyes opened excessively wide and her breathing became shaky, but she managed to hold his gaze and answer:

  "Kiss me if you want, but I won the race, and I'll be speaking first."

  Carlos smiled at her, and brought his face closer to hers:

  "And let you make off with two prizes in one night without deserving either? I don’t think so, big shot.”

  He gently let her go and headed towards the entrance hall. Natalia needed a few seconds to get her head around what had just happened, before starting up again:

  "You're the most boastful guy I’ve ever met in my life... I don't know how I can put up with you... First you almost get me to kill myself on the road, and now you're trying to make it look as though I want you to kiss me... Honestly, I don't know why I don't turn around and leave right now..."

  "Maybe because we’re at your flat?" replied Carlos with an ironic smile, pointing at the building.

  Natalia looked at him, not knowing how to answer. He drove her mad but, at the same time, that mischievous glint in his eyes was so adorable... She was surprised at herself for regretting not having let him kiss her. She banished those thoughts from her mind:

  "I ought to kill you... I'm not going to play along with you anymore. I’m not going to let you get me involved in anything again just so you can do more stupid things like this afternoon...”

  To her surprise, Carlos burst out laughing. Then he looked her in the eyes, with that glint in his gaze that made him seem like a little boy, and he said to her:

  "But it was fun, wasn't it?"

  Unable to help it, Natalia also laughed. It was strange that he, who was a fair bit older than she was, would have the capacity to make her feel younger. She could not remember any occasion on which she had felt freer or more alive.