Natalia lit another cigarette, trying to control the tension. Every time she remembered that the person they were talking to was the one responsible for all of those crimes, her stomach constricted. In that moment, the sound of an in-coming message came through the loudspeakers, whilst a flickering little envelope to the side of Charon's name told them that he had finally answered. Gus clicked enter so that his computer would begin searching for the source of the message.
"We have him, we have him... He's fallen for it, the big idiot."
The computer went along showing the different points through which the message had passed in order to get from Charon's computer to his. Natalia brought her head even closer to the monitor, trying to decipher those lines, which to her had no meaning. Her heart was beating so hard it felt like it was going to blow up her chest. The tension was unbearable. A few seconds later and they would have him... Then the lines that had appeared on the screen stopped.
"Shit, no..." whined Gus.”The bloody server.”
"And what the hell is that?" Carlos interrogated him.
"Well, on ICQ you can either talk directly from one computer to another, in which case we would have been able to take his IP, or you can do it via the server. So that you both understand me, the server is like a big computer which organises all of the ICQ information. Charon sends his messages to it and that in turn sends them to the person he wants to talk with, so we can only get as far as that computer. From there onwards, the trail is lost.”
"And there's nothing we can do?" Carlos seemed desperate. Gus shook his head. "Shit, it would have been so easy. Sending messages that way ought to be illegal."
"It can't be illegal. People tend to use it in order to protect themselves from the hackers, to avoid them being able to get into their computer. You can't blame anybody for trying to defend themselves," Gus sighed. "Well, it's over then. I did tell you that it might not work.”
"What has he said in the message?" Natalia did not want to throw in the towel just yet. “Maybe he's accepted that we'll speak another day.”
“Well, we won't lose anything by looking at it."
Gus opened up the message, and the final shred of hope vanished. Charon did not seem prepared to be an easy prey.
−Go and look for someone else, the Internet is full of people. I don't like what you've done, so don't bother sending me any more messages. In just a moment, you're going to be on my Ignore List.
"What's this Ignore List?" asked Carlos.
"A list on which you put the people who you don't want to talk with, so their messages don't come to you."
“So this account is no longer of any use to us, then?”
“No, but don’t worry,” answered Gus. He was quiet for a few seconds, as if he were weighing up an idea; he looked at them, and resumed speaking, very serious. "I have another plan yet. We might still be able to get his IP, but I’ll need peace and quiet for a few minutes."
He pointed out the sofa to them, and waited until they were both sitting down before going back to typing on the computer. Natalia picked up a magazine from the table, and pretended to read it for a few minutes. She tried to make out from where she was sitting what Gus was typing on the screen but, from this distance, it ended up being impossible. Nevertheless, the continuous beeps suggested that he was receiving messages, most likely from several people at the same time, given the speed at which they were arriving. Who could he be talking with? She was feeling so nervous that she was on the verge of getting up and demanding Gus explained himself. After all, they were in her home and, besides, he was supposed to be working for them. With great effort, she managed to control herself. She knew that the investigation was also very important for Gus, and that he would not do anything that could wreck it. She needed to trust him. A few minutes later, Gus stopped typing, and turned to face them, inviting them to come over.
"Okay, I'm going to tell you what I've done. I don't think you're going to like it at first, but I ask that you let me explain myself. A few friends of mine on ICQ have sent me some programs for finding the IPs, even if he sends messages via the server. All I need is for him to be connected, and we have him here right now. I just have to put in Charon's user number, and it will tell me the IP. Then all Carlos will have to do will be to ask for a warrant to get the telephone number corresponding to that IP today, and we'll have him."
"What you mean you've asked a few friends for help?" asked Carlos. "I thought we had made it clear to you from the very start that all of the information pertaining to this investigation was confidential."
"I know, but I wanted to do something more to trap Charon.” Confronted with Carlos’s angry face, he began to hurriedly explain. "Don't freak out. These guys are trustworthy, and I needed help, and it's not like I've said anything either that could mess up the investigation. I just had to give them a superficial explanation of what we were doing, and what I needed, and they offered right away, without any problem, so neither of you have anything to worry about.”
"What do you mean we’ve nothing to worry about? What if they say something to the press? How do you think it would look in the news report that the Ertzaintza is going along recruiting volunteers on the Internet because it isn’t capable of solving an investigation on its own?" Carlos stood up and began pacing furiously through the living room.
"Don't worry, they won't say anything. They're not even from this country..."
Carlos stopped short and went up to him, until his face was just a few short centimetres from Gus’s. He lowered his voice and asked him, virtually in a whisper:
"And would you mind telling me where you’ve got friends who aren't even from this country?"
"Well, from the Internet. I don't know them in person, but I know they can be trusted, and..."
"Please, Gus..." Carlos's voice began to rise in volume again, before becoming a shout. "If you don't know them, how the hell do you know they can be trusted? How do you know that they're not going to say anything? Do you not realise that you could have fucked up the whole thing? Do you not understand that this is not a game?"
"Of course I understand. When you called me last night and told me he had killed another girl... I couldn't stay still; I had to do something... I tried to do it via my own means, but when we encountered the Proxy thing... I don't know what came over me, but I couldn't let him get his own way, for him to be able to carry on killing when I know full well I have contact with people who could help me... That's why I decided to do this, because I want to catch him as much as you two. And I know that I haven't made a mess of it. I can trust them, and I know that this will work," Gus's voice became a whisper, as he kept his eyes fixed on the floor. "The only thing I want is to avoid another death."
It looked as though Carlos was about to come back at him, still in a foul mood but, instead of that, he stood studying Gus with a sad expression:
“All right, I’m sorry. I know this is hard for all of us. But the next time, consult us first. If this goes badly, you’re not going to be the only one to lose their job.”
Gus smiled, thanking them for understanding him, and turned back to look at the screen.
“Okay, show us how this wonder works,” said Natalia, trying to dissipate the tension.
“It’s very simple. I open this program, put Charon's ICQ number in, and the program sets to tracing his trail. Gus continued typing as he explained. “We wait a few seconds and... There it is: his IP."
"That easy?” Carlos was looking at the screen, distrusting.
“Yes, that easy.” Gus jumped up out of the chair, euphoric. “That's it. I told you that you could trust me. We have it!”
"I can't believe it. That's it, we've got him,” Natalia was feeling so happy that she planted a great big kiss on Gus's cheek.
"And what do we do with this now?" asked Carlos, uncertain, as if he could not entirely believe it.
“Like I already told you. You take this number,” Gus noted it down and handed him the piece of paper, “
you take it to the police station, and request a warrant for someone to look into which telephone number corresponded to that IP, today, at this time. And that’s it. Then all you’ll have to do is go and arrest him.”
“I’ll go right now. I’ll call you as soon as I have results.”
CHAPTER NINE
Carlos took a couple of deep breaths so as to summon his strength, and knocked on the office door. Aguirre's voice answered from inside, inviting him to come in. He opened it with determination; he must not show how nervous he was. He repeated to himself a couple of times that he did not have anything to worry about, and he went in:
"Good morning, you wanted to see me, didn't you?"
"Yes, sit down," said Aguirre as he pointed to a chair.
Carlos sat down in silence, hoping for the other man to take the first step.
"Okay, Carlos..." Aguirre cleared his throat, uncomfortable, before beginning. I suppose you can imagine why I wanted to see you. It's taken us three days but, at last, we have attained the warrant to investigate the IP you passed on to us."
"We have his phone number?" asked Carlos, impatient. “Do we know where he lives now?”
“It appears to be impossible to find Charon's telephone number, because the IP belongs to the Proxy server for Telefónica.”
Carlos remained silent, hoping that Aguirre would continue talking, to try and conceal the fact that he had not understood half of the sentence that he had just been told. Aguirre limited himself to looking him in the eyes, so he tried to justify himself:
"Well, it’s turned out to be no use in the end, but it was still a good route. We could have caught him,” Carlos defended himself.
"We? Who’s ‘we’?” Aguirre raised an eyebrow, suspicious.
“Well... us... the Ertzaintza."
"Yes, of course," Aguirre shot him a look of suspicion. “I thought you didn't have a clue about IT. To tell the truth, I'm very happy with your newfound abilities... You're taking an interest in IT, criminal psychology... What surprises me is the fact that, even with your new knowledge, your investigation has not yielded a single positive piece of information so far.”
"These things take time. A serial killer is difficult to catch. It's taken years to catch some of them...”
"But we don't have years," Aguirre's tone of voice rose, and became harder. "We don't have time. I'm receiving very uncomfortable calls from the high-ups, and they're beginning to grow tired of me telling them that we're making headway. They want to see the advancements, and they want to see them now."
"You'll have them soon,” said Carlos and his defence. "I'm following several lines of investigation, and one of them will bear fruit."
He tried to keep his voice steady and calm, in spite of the fact that he was finding it increasingly difficult to control himself. It was hard for him too not having caught Charon. It was certainly much harder for him than for the people who dedicated themselves to demanding progress from Aguirre because another murder would mean a loss of a couple of points in the next electoral results.
"I'm sorry, Carlos, but that's not enough. So far the only thing you've done is cause a ton of problems that haven't served for anything. For example, here you have the forty-four warrants you asked me for to have access to confidential psychiatric reports. Would you mind telling me why the hell you want this?”
“It's one of my lines of investigation. Damn it, Aguirre... You know the police procedure. I'm not going to leave something un-investigated just to avoid bothering people."
"Of course, but every warrant you ask me for makes the people higher up get annoyed just a little bit more. So I want the next warrant you ask me for to be for the arrest of this guy, understood? Not one more mistake, Carlos,” Aguirre looked him square in the eyes to check whether he had been understood.
"Yes, of course, no problem," Carlos nodded calmly. In that moment, all he wanted was for the meeting to be over. “Can I go now?"
"No, there’s one more thing. As you will have realised, I've not asked Roberto to come. I imagine that, with him being your partner in an investigation that you are ‘both’ doing a half-baked job of, you'll be wondering why he isn’t here to give explanations," he waited a few seconds, in case Carlos wanted to add anything. "I know perfectly well that all of these lines of investigation here are not joint ventures between you and him. I know that you're still not collaborating."
"Well, we have very different ideas regarding how to investigate this case," Carlos said, to justify himself. “I decided that, since we could not come to an agreement about anything, the best thing would be for me to work on my own. I don't want anything to do with it if he goes and arrests another innocent person without telling me anything about it.”
"An innocent person like the one that you arrested in San Sebastián last week? Did you mention anything to Roberto about that?” Carlos lowered his gaze even more. "For God's sake, this is like nursery. You can go now."
Carlos stood up and made his way to the door. At that moment, Aguirre called him back:
"Carlos, remember what I've told you. I need results, or I'll have to take measures. I wouldn't like to have to give you the boot, but this is not a bluff. I'm under a lot of pressure from the people above."
Carlos nodded with a smile and left. He made his way to his office, went inside, and lit a cigarette to calm himself down. He felt the rage flooding his body like venom. He had felt like screaming at Aguirre that he was wrong: that he was doing the correct thing, and that if Aguirre didn't like it, he could solve the case himself. But he could not do that. He needed to catch Charon, and he needed to do it himself, with Gus and Natalia. On thinking about the two of them, he felt even more nervous. How were they going to take all this? Perhaps they would be even more crushed to know, in addition to not getting results, that doors were closing for them, that time was running out...
He got up and smoked the rest of the cigarette whilst looking out of the window. The sky was clouded over again, with a sickly and suffocating shade of grey. The rain was still falling slowly, unstoppable, as if it was no longer in a hurry to fall because it had already taken ownership of the streets of the city forever. The weight of those clouds hammered into his soul, making him feel small and devoid of any strength. Maybe he was expecting too much of himself, someone who was not capable of organising even his own life. The rain brought back to mind once more Ana's departure at the airport; how he had watched her walk in amongst the people without daring to say anything to her; how he had stood watching her plane take off in the storm. Nevertheless, for the first time, those images lost their strength, and the sad raindrops falling on the grey street reminded him of the bittersweet taste of Natalia's tears on his lips.
***
Natalia was pacing nervously through the living room. She walked to the kitchen, verified that there was nothing to tidy up in order to kill time, and made her way back to the living room. She devoted a few minutes to pacing behind Gus, until he turned around, irritated:
"Would it be too much trouble for you to pace somewhere else? I know this is your house and all, but you're making me nervous."
"I'm sorry, it's just I don't know what could have happened. Carlos could have called to tell us that the judge has reached a decision," Natalia sat down next to him, and then stood up again, in frenzy.
"Well, take it as a positive thing. The most likely thing is that the judge has decided to approve the warrant and that they're already looking for the information, so don’t worry."
“How can you expect me not to worry when we've spent three days trying to get them to approve a warrant? We could have arrested him by now if it weren't for those ridiculous excuses regarding there being a legal vacuum about data protection on the Internet," Natalia was getting increasingly worked up with every word she said. "And all the while Charon will be so calm, planning another murder."
In that moment, the doorbell went. Natalia ran towards the door. On opening it, she found Carlos, who walked in wit
hout saying a single word and slammed it shut. Natalia followed him in silence. Carlos arrived in the living room, and sank despondently into the sofa.
"What’s happened?" asked Gus.
"I don't know exactly, but it hasn't worked," Carlos searched in his pocket, and extracted a crumpled piece of paper, from which he read out to them. "It seems to be impossible to find Charon's telephone number, because the IP belongs to a Proxy server for Telefónica. Can you explain to me what that is?"
"Well, just so that you understand me... He's played it back at using the same way as the thing with sending the messages via the server," explained Gus. "A Proxy is a computer through which other computers access the net."
"I'm still not understanding it."
"Let’s see... Charon connects to the Internet 'calling' this Proxy server. That server has a single IP, but many users, so his trail is lost. He then sends and receives all of his messages via the ICQ server, so that he can't be followed through that either. The truth is this guy certainly knows how to look out for himself. Talk about paranoid.”
“You can't say he's paranoid,” intervened Natalia. "He has reasons for not wanting us to find him."
"But didn't you say yourself that this type of person tends to want to be caught?" asked Carlos.
"Well, that was a hypothesis... We're not all that certain either about the nature of his imbalance and, in any case, one possibility is that he may feel increasingly more anguished and make mistakes, and another is that he set everything out on a tray for us from the start.”
"So what are we going to do now?" Carlos looked at them, as he scrunched up the paper and hurled it furiously onto the table. Faced with the lack of response, he continued talking, feeling increasingly more angry. "I've spent the last three days insisting to Aguirre about this damn warrant, having to hide from him where I've got that information, so you can imagine how cheesed off he is. And all for nothing."
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