by David Sal
“How much?” Edgar asked again.
Lorenzo looked at the monitor: 99%. For him, the final percentage point took the longest to finish. Like the last minute of a work day.
Carlos was closing a bag filled with garbage in one of the offices when he was interrupted by Colón. Surprised, he gave a jump that embarrassed him, especially when he realized who it was.
“Hi, Carlos. You want a coffee? What happened? Did I scare you?” asked Colón with a loud laugh when he saw Carlos’ pale face and open mouth.
“No, it’s just…I was thinking and…I take it black,” answered Carlos, trying to stop the questions.
“What’s the new guy’s name?”
“Umm…Luis…why?” asked Carlos, trying to hide any indication of nerves.
“I want to ask him if he wants coffee. Where is he?”
“I don’t think he drinks coffee,” answered Carlos with the intention of extinguishing Colón’s desire to find Lorenzo.
“No? Well, maybe he’d want a sandwich. Just tell me where he is and let him decide. Don’t mistreat the new guys,” insisted Colón with good intentions.
“He must be down the other hallway,” answered Carlos, annoyed.
A happy beep-beep announced that the data transfer had finished. The screen indicated 100% and Lorenzo let Edgar know. Then Edgar gave him instructions on how to disconnect the USB and correctly turn off the machine. Lorenzo, ignoring the instructions, disconnected the device in one fell swoop and pressed the buttons to turn off the computer all at once.
“Sorry, but there’s no time. I’m getting out of here,” said Lorenzo while putting everything back how he had found it.
“Don’t leave yet. Wait until I tell you to,” beseeched Edgar, reminding him of the slight detail that he could be captured on the security cameras. Lorenzo stopped at the door, turning the knob but waiting for Edgar to tell him the exact moment to leave. All he had to do was push the door open.
As soon as the camera image changed, Edgar gave Lorenzo the okay to take off. Lorenzo flew through the hallway, this time headed toward the stairs. He ran swiftly, following Edgar’s instructions to avoid being captured by the cameras.
On the second floor, Colón continued looking through the offices when he spotted Tito, the youngest of the cleaning staff. He greeted him warmly and offered him coffee as he had to the others, to which Tito happily consented.
“Do you know where the new guy is?” Colón asked.
“José?”
“Isn’t his name Luis?”
“José Luis,” clarified Tito, the smile leaving his face.
In the reception area, García did not take his eyes off the screen, watching his partner.
“Why haven’t they come down?” asked Colón over the radio.
“I can’t find one of them,” answered Colón, shrugging his shoulders.
“What do you mean? Look for him now,” ordered García, fed up.
Lorenzo waited in a corner of the fourth floor for Edgar’s signal for the final stretch, the one that would take him directly to the stairs. He was worried about the possibility of slipping or bumping into something and not having enough time to get there, or that he would get hurt, making his escape impossible. When he finally heard the signal, he focused on his legs and balance while running with everything he had, charging the security bar at the door that gave access to the stairs and bounding down the stairs with huge leaps to gain time.
Colón started to find it odd that he still had not found the fourth employee. He went to the last hall that he had yet to inspect. There he spotted a man in overalls, his back toward him, mopping the hallway with astonishing agility. He went up to him in silence and tapped his shoulder with one finger. The man turned around at the touch.
“I finally found you. Are you José Luis?” asked Colón seriously.
Lorenzo did not answer. He was swimming in sweat and was breathing out of his mouth so hard he could not utter a single word.
“You’re definitely working hard. I can tell you’re new. You deserve a coffee!” said Colón, putting his arm around Lorenzo and letting out a loud laugh.
Chapter 13
For Edgar, working with computers came naturally. He just seemed to know what to do to get them to submit to his will. It was an ability that he occasionally wondered if he should be taking greater advantage of. Some of his less talented classmates had managed to sign on to important multinational companies that specialized in cybernetic technology and had done exceedingly well. Nevertheless, he stayed behind in his small coastal town, working at something he knew was far below his true potential.
Although he sometimes wondered what would have happened if he had left his hometown in search of better opportunities, deep down he did not regret it. His mother had become ill and he was all she had. If he had moved far away to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and maintain responsibilities too important to become careless about, he surely would have had to send her to a nursing home. No, staying was the best decision, he was sure of it. Allowing her to convalesce in her own home, being watched over and accompanied by her son, was the best way to repay her for the sacrifices she had made while raising him.
Edgar had started working in Pedroza’s offices as a messenger, among other small tasks, until one day he heard Doris complaining about her computer’s strange behavior. Edgar offered to help her and immediately resolved the problem. Doris alerted her superiors and Edgar’s position was reclassified, which included a significant raise. It was not until Doris discovered his special power that Edgar was pulled out of the darkness and into the light so that his specialty could be taken advantage of. The help that Doris gave him fueled his desire to help her and to unmask the person responsible for the misery she was suffering.
Spending one night digging through the information extracted from Irma’s computer was a small price to pay in appreciation for what he considered to be a great opportunity. But that was not really the reason why he admired Doris so much. Not even remotely. He appreciated her help, yes, but his admiration stemmed mainly from the way she treated him. She respected him as a person, without looking down on his position with arrogance, as others did. She always greeted him with a smile and a wave, no matter whom she was with. He understood that this was a quality that should be appreciated and returned. He saw in Doris’ misfortune an opportunity to demonstrate, with actions, the appreciation and gratitude that he felt.
Since their arrival at Lorenzo’s house at close to midnight, after the daring incursion into the Pedroza Enterprises building, Edgar had devoted himself to running his special programs to find the pertinent information gathered on the USB drive. It would have been very easy had the files not been erased. Not only that, the fact that Lorenzo had not properly removed the device prevented some of the data from registering correctly, adding another level of complexity to the operation. The process was therefore slower and more tedious than he had hoped, to the point that he had to write a new program to reduce the time spent and increase the search’s accuracy.
Lorenzo had resolved to accompany Edgar on his shift, but his brain automatically shut off at about two forty-five in the morning. His body lay motionless on the living room sofa the rest of the night, leaving Edgar to dust off from his memory the all-nighters that he had pulled in his college years to fight the drowsiness that was overcoming him. Edgar’s intense desire to see the results and know if they justified his suspicions about Irma definitely helped him. If he did not achieve those results, it would have all been in vain.
When Lorenzo woke up around eight o’clock in the morning, his body would not respond to his brain’s commands with its normal quickness. Nevertheless, his brain did process without difficulty an intense pain that seemed to come from his neck and spread throughout his entire body. He figured he would have to wait it out since he had gone months without working or exercising, two activities that he had performed in large quantities last night.
On his second t
ry, Lorenzo managed to sit himself up on the sofa. From there he noticed that his back also ached. His eyes fell on Edgar, seated at the kitchen table, completely asleep. His head was thrown back, which he imagined would cause him bothersome and prolonged neck pain throughout the day. He was moved by the effort that Edgar had put forth when faced with a problem that really only affected his family. He decided to let him sleep a little longer. He deserved it.
After cleaning up and eating a little cereal, Lorenzo stood, out of habit, on the balcony to observe the sea. He wondered how Doris was doing, remembering that the health of the baby depended on her condition. He needed to see her as soon as possible. Perhaps she had improved a little, maybe even enough to be able to talk. Not to ask her about the miserable case, but to support and console her. He wanted to give her the love that she and the baby so desperately needed.
A loud and unexpected thud made Lorenzo jump. Edgar had fallen out of his chair. Lorenzo felt responsible for not having awakened him or moved him just moments earlier. At least it looked like he was not hurt. Edgar woke up, apparently unaware of the fall that he had suffered. He mumbled a few words about something he had been dreaming and sat down on the floor, grimacing in pain as he rolled his head from side to side. When he saw Lorenzo standing on the balcony, he remembered where he was.
“Morning,” greeted Lorenzo. “Tell me what you want to eat for breakfast so I can prepare it for you while you tell me what information you were able to find. And, please, tell me you were able to find something.”
“Some eggs would be fantastic,” Edgar answered in a hoarse voice. He cleared his throat and stood up with a jerk.
“Perfect, you read my mind,” said Lorenzo as he headed to the kitchen.
Edgar tapped the mouse on his laptop to wake it up and sat down in front of it.
“I’m happy to inform you that I found what we were looking for,” announced Edgar triumphantly.
Lorenzo dropped the frying pan he was holding and ran to the table.
“What’d you find?” he asked eagerly.
“Everything. Look,” said Edgar, pointing to the screen with his finger. “This is the report that Doris submitted. Perfect, no mistakes, as only she is capable of. Now look at this,” he said, moving the mouse’s cursor over a different file and clicking it open. “Identical, right? Only to the untrained eye. There are a few strategically placed errors that would indicate that the person who prepared it didn’t make the proper revisions and submitted it in a rush. This was the report that Pedroza received, which caused Doris to be fired,” announced Edgar.
Lorenzo remained silent. He was happy to have discovered the reason why Doris lost her job, but at the same time he was dismayed by the fact that someone had wanted to hurt his wife that way. He knew that human beings have been capable of worse atrocities throughout history, but feeling it so close to home caused him a greater shock. Someone purposely hurt the person closest to him. He felt nauseated.
“So it was Irma,” said Lorenzo calmly.
“There’s no doubt about it.”
“She ruined the report because she knew that Pedroza wouldn’t tolerate those types of mistakes,” analyzed Lorenzo, pacing the living room.
“Exactly. And then she invited her to the get-together to humiliate her,” theorized Edgar.
“Correct, but not only to humiliate her,” added Lorenzo.
“No?”
“No, it was all to frame her. To blame her for the crime and send her to jail.”
“What?” asked Edgar, looking for an explanation for the sudden turn that Lorenzo had taken in his analysis.
Lorenzo buried his face in his hands in frustration while throwing himself onto the couch. It was wonderful that they were able to bring Irma’s sins against Doris to light, but it was not enough to be able to avoid jail. There had to be something bigger.
“I don’t know,” conceded Lorenzo, overwhelmed. He lifted his head and looked out toward the sea.
“At least we can clear up the office accusation. Irma will have a lot to explain,” added Edgar, looking for the silver lining.
Lorenzo stared intently outside, toward the sea’s horizon. He stood up and took a couple of steps toward the sliding door that led to the balcony, stopping inside the doorframe. For a few moments he did not utter a single word, which seemed like a very long and tedious pause to Edgar.
“You know what? I think it’s time to visit the scene of the crime,” said Lorenzo without taking his eyes off the horizon.
“Pedroza’s house?”
“Yes. We’ll never completely understand the facts until we recreate them where they took place,” explained Lorenzo.
“You’re completely right. But I don’t know if his widow will let us in. You do know that your wife, Doris, is…the main suspect,” said Edgar, watching his words.
“She’ll let us. You’ll see. If there are innocent victims in this incident, it’s she and I. She’ll understand,” assured Lorenzo.
While watching Lorenzo get ready to head out, Edgar searched for a way to remind him that he still needed to finish preparing the eggs that he had promised him.
Chapter 14
Lorenzo wrote his name in the log book that the security guard put in his hands. He also had to provide his driver’s license number in addition to the purpose of his visit and the name of whom he was visiting. Edgar assured him that it was the custom at the Seaside Manor, the deceased Armando Pedroza’s lush property in front of the sea.
“How long have they been keeping a register of all the visitors?” Lorenzo asked the guard, a well-built man in his twenties.
“When I arrived two years ago they were already keeping it. They say that the owner insisted on recording the information in case it were ever needed. He never could have imagined that the first time would be because of his own death,” said the distressed young man.
“Can I see the register from that night?” asked Lorenzo.
“No, the police kept it as evidence,” declared the guard, who was working in a long-sleeved shirt and black tie.
The guard instructed Lorenzo to park in front of the staircase at the mansion’s main entrance, not far from where they were. Although Edgar had heard about some of the mansion’s peculiarities, it was the first time that he saw them in person. He liked the idea of seeing first-hand how his wealthy boss lived.
A tall concrete wall separated the land from the road. Two similar walls did the same with the adjoining properties along the sides of the mansion. This was different from the sides bordering the beach, where a wall made of steel bars had been erected to keep from spoiling the amazing view of the sea enjoyed by residents and guests alike.
Lorenzo and Edgar climbed the first three steps of their ascent, flanked by two large bronze lions. Those first steps were followed by a courtyard with wooden benches, beautiful plants, and multicolored flowers around the perimeter. On his left, beyond the gardens, Lorenzo spotted a tennis court. No one was playing at the moment, but he could see it was well maintained. Immediately after, his gaze came across an unrecognizable silhouette behind one of the mansion’s second floor windows. He looked at Edgar briefly to see if he had seen it, too, but he was distracted by a red Ferrari parked in the garage, to the right of the building. When Lorenzo’s gaze returned to the window, the silhouette had disappeared.
After crossing the courtyard they found themselves in front of the main stairway. The twenty stairs became smaller in width from bottom to top. With concrete banisters painted in white and wrapping slightly upwards, the stairway led directly to the main door on the second floor. The stairway’s curved shape gave Edgar the feeling that he was leaving behind the ordinary world to step into a world of luxury and convenience. In contrast, all Lorenzo could feel was that he was entering a world where he could discover the truth about the unfortunate incident that was keeping his wife locked up and sick.
The cushy Colonial-style mansion had a four-pitched hip roof covered in terracotta-colored tile
s. The windows and doors were made of varnished wood. All of the bedrooms and living spaces had a balcony with a baluster banister made of white stone, some with a garden view and others with a view of the sea.
When they reached the top they were greeted by a young woman dressed in a work uniform. Her attire reminded Lorenzo of the employees in the area’s hotels. The woman welcomed them and invited them to step into the foyer, exquisitely furnished with rattan armchairs and sofas and cushions upholstered in fabric with tropical designs. The employee, Teresa, asked that they wait there for a moment.
Lorenzo and Edgar noticed that the wall on the opposite side of the foyer consisted, in reality, of seven wooden doors with large glass windowpanes that gave access to an outlying corridor. The doors were opened wide, allowing a continuous and refreshing breeze to cross the room, which was welcomed by both of them.
They crossed through the doors, stepping into the corridor and looking down to appreciate the pleasant open-air indoor patio. Its main feature was a beautiful central fountain with bronze dolphins that shot streams of water into the air. The patio was adorned by a collection of plants and antique patio furniture. From overhead, the mansion was basically a rectangle with an opening (the indoor patio) in the middle.
Edgar always knew that Pedroza had money and that he lived in luxury, but he was very impressed by the house’s comfort and style. Lorenzo thought that the structure gave the impression that a well-designed building should give. It not only stimulated the senses, but it also made an emotional impact. He did not know how to put into words the emotions that he was feeling, but the architect was clearly successful. He not only felt invited to live in the space but to soak it all in as well.
The maid interrupted Lorenzo and Edgar’s architectural analysis, signaling them to follow her. Lorenzo took a deep breath. He was aware that the following meeting would not be easy and that his stay in the mansion, in order to achieve his goal, depended on making the right impression. They followed the girl, who led them down the outside corridor until they reached the room adjacent to the foyer, on the far right side of the house. It was another small room that functioned as a library. There were not many books on the shelves. It looked more like a sampling of books so that guests who enjoyed reading had something to read during their stay, which in some cases, especially when it was family, could last several days.