The White Corpses

by Gemma Herrero Virto

‘I’ve no reason to withstand this. I’m going to ask them to transfer me to another police station,’ said another.

  Carlos went over to the group, trying to contain a smile. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a coin for the coffee machine.

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be taking him away with me now. You won’t have to put up with him anymore.’

  ‘Just as well,’ said another one of the men. ‘Couldn’t you keep him by your side all the time? You are supposed to be partners.’

  ‘And listen to all of his bad jokes all on my own? No way.’

  ‘Carlos, dude... This one was great. You have to admit that you liked it.’

  ‘Not even if they torture me.’ Carlos picked up his coffee and took hold of Sebas’s arm. ‘I’m taking him away, but you owe me one.’

  ‘Don’t worry, we’ll pay you for the coffee tomorrow.’

  Sebas accompanied him to his office with a sullen face. When they arrived, he collapsed into one of the chairs.

  ‘Come on, be honest. My jokes aren’t that bad.’

  ‘Well, they’re not terrible, but you’re not going to earn a living as a comedian. The sooner you recognise that, the sooner you’ll stop torturing all of us.’

  ‘Okay, whatever you say. Ingrates.’ Sebas puffed out, feeling fed up. ‘What did you want from me?’

  ‘You were investigating the latest victim in our case, weren’t you? What have you got?’

  ‘Wait, I have it noted down here.’ Sebas took a notebook out of his pocket. ‘Estefanía Allende. Thirty-one years old. Resident of Barakaldo. Psychologist.’

  ‘I already had that. Is there anything else?’

  ‘Yes: after Dr Egaña carried out her facial reconstruction and we publicised her photofit portrait on the news, her husband recognised her. He had reported her missing the day after she did not come home. The guy’s name is Sergio Muñoz, he’s thirty-six years old, and he’s a neurologist.’

  ‘Wow, very interesting. That man could prescribe himself all the Luminal he liked.’

  ‘Indeed, but we’ve checked and it seems he never did. There is no prescription for that medication in his name. And, furthermore, he has a rock-solid alibi. Whilst his wife was being killed, he was in Los Angeles, speaking at a neurology conference. There were more than five hundred attendees at that gathering. You can even watch the whole thing online.’

  ‘Damn, that’s a shame... Do you have anything else?’

  ‘Yes: upon looking at the victim’s bank movements, I found a reservation for eight o’clock in the evening, on the day she died, at a hotel called Seven Sins. I went there to check the security cameras and our killer appeared half an hour before and ordered the usual bottle of champagne. Then you can see him on the video putting Estefanía’s unconscious body into the boot.’

  ‘Do you not see his face on those recordings either?’

  ‘No. He acted with as much care as always.’ Sebas was quiet for a few seconds, reconsidering. ‘What do you want to know all of this for? We already know who the killer was. Roberto Azkarraga, remember?’

  ‘Yes, of course. It’s for tying up all of the loose ends and finishing the report,’ lied Carlos. ‘Just one more thing. I’m intrigued as to why he decided to change the hotel with this victim. He looked comfortable in the Cupid. He knew where all of the entrances and exits were, where the security cameras were located... Why did he go to the trouble of changing the hotel just when you started monitoring the Cupid?’

  ‘Maybe he thought that it was too risky to continue acting in the same place. You don’t have to be very clever to realise that we’d discover where he met with them and that we would set up surveillance. Besides, Roberto was a homicide inspector. He knew how we acted.’

  ‘Yes, of course. That’ll be it. You didn’t mention to anybody that you were monitoring the place there, did you?’

  ‘Of course not. Apart from Aguirre and you, the only other people who knew were Natalia and that young man who collaborates with you, the IT weirdo.’

  ‘Gus,’ Carlos clarified.

  ‘Yes, him. If I had to go looking for anyone who might have been going around shooting their mouth off, he would be my prime suspect. That guy might have many virtues, but keeping his mouth shut is not one of them.’

  A couple of loud bangs on the door stopped their conversation. Without waiting for a response, Aguirre opened it and entered the office. Upon seeing them there together, he folded his arms in front of his chest and shot them a smile that had nothing friendly about it.

  ‘Well, if you don’t need anything else, I’ll be going,’ said Sebas, getting up out of the chair.

  ‘No, don’t go, Sebas. I’m really glad to see you together, because I wanted to speak with you both. I’ve just received a call from Roberto Azkarraga’s father, asking me how the investigations into exonerating his son are going. Do either of you know anything about that?’

  Carlos riveted his gaze on his desk and pretended to be highly busy arranging his papers. Sebas cleared his throat a couple of times before answering.

  ‘To tell the truth, sir, no. As you know, we’re on the verge of closing the case.’

  ‘That’s exactly what I was thinking, but this man has just told me that Inspector Sebastián Casado called in at his house yesterday to ask them a ton of questions, and told them that there were points in the investigation that were not tallying for him, and that he would not close the case whilst there was any doubt over Roberto’s culpability.’

  Sebas opened his mouth to answer, but the only thing he ended up doing was gaping whilst running his confused gaze between the sergeant and Carlos, who decided to step in to clarify things:

  ‘It wasn’t Sebas who visited those people. It was me.’

  ‘And would you mind telling me why you usurped your partner’s identity?’

  ‘Because Roberto hated me, and I suspected that he would have spoken badly of me to his parents. That suspicion turned out to be true. If they come to find out who I am, they’ll throw me to their dog for its dinner.’

  ‘But why did you go to their house?’ Aguirre’s face had begun to turn red.

  ‘Well, just like I told them, there are things that aren’t tallying for me... We don’t know where Roberto got hold of the Luminal that he used to drug the victims, nor what his motive was, nor how he knew the quarries where the bodies appeared...’

  ‘That’s enough already, Carlos. The case is closed.’

  ‘No, it isn’t, not yet,’ he insisted.

  ‘As far as the investigation is concerned, it is. Fill out the reports and hand them in to me in forty-eight hours’ time.’

  ‘But there are things that don’t add up...’

  ‘Everything adds up. We have more than the necessary clues. We found the medication in his home, the Bible verse that signified his confession, locks of the victims’ hair in a box in his wardrobe... What more do you want?’

  ‘Well for me, there are things that don’t convince me.’ Carlos raised the tone of his voice and stood up to reinforce his stance.

  ‘I don’t care what you think.’ Aguirre struck the desk. ‘I am the sergeant of this unit, and you will do what I say. Forty-eight hours.’

  Aguirre opened the door to leave, and bumped headlong into Natalia and Gus, who had been listening from the corridor. Without saying a word to them, he strode out of the office.

  ‘Seems we came at a bad time,’ commented Natalia.

  ‘No, we’ve already faced the music now, and we’d finished talking,’ said Sebas, getting up to leave. ‘I’ll leave you alone, as I’ve got a report to urgently finish.’

  ‘Sebas,’ Carlos called out to him, before he could cross the threshold. ‘You’re not annoyed I used your name, are you?’

  ‘Not at all, my man,’ he replied, with a wink. ‘Just laugh at a couple of my jokes in front of the others, and I’ll forgive you.’

  ‘I’d prefer it if you were angry,’ joked Carlos.

  Sebas burst out laugh
ing and left the office. Natalia and Gus came in and sat down in front of him. She slid her arm across the desk and took Carlos’s hand.

  ‘What’s happened now?’ she asked him.

  ‘He doesn’t want me to continue investigating about Roberto. He says the case is solved and forbids me from continuing to go over it.’

  ‘Damn, just when we came to tell you that you might be right and that it isn’t solved. What bad luck we have,’ commented Gus. ‘Maybe Natalia can go and tell him what we’ve discovered and convince him. Don’t take this the wrong way, but she has far more credibility than you, and knows how to speak to people. I think that, if she goes, Aguirre will listen to her.’

  ‘Just stop a moment and tell me what you’ve discovered.’

  ‘My friend has sent me the graphological report I asked her for regarding the handwriting samples you gave me.’ Natalia opened a file and began taking out papers and spreading them out over the desk. ‘All of these documents were written by the same person: the letters on the victims’ masks, and the supposed suicide note of Roberto’s. However, my friend says that the handwriting from Roberto’s poems doesn’t match.’

  ‘Are she sure?’

  ‘Yes, completely. I did warn her that those poems had been written a long time ago, when Roberto was a teenager, and that the changes in style could be down to that, but she says that the passage of time does not explain it. According to what she has told me, there are certain characteristics of a person’s writing, such as the size, the pressure, or which way it slants, that don’t vary significantly over the course of one’s lifetime. She says that she can guarantee that the person who wrote the abbreviations from the Bible is not the same person who wrote the poems.’

  ‘Bloody hell...’ Carlos puffed out, feeling relieved, and rubbed his face with his hands. ‘So you both believe me then?’

  ‘Well, we do, but will Aguirre? He seems pretty pissed off,’ said Gus. ‘I don’t know whether it’d be a good idea to turn up now at his office, after the scene that’s just happened, to tell him all of this. The most likely thing is that he’ll tell you to go to hell.’

  ‘Yes. I don’t think a graphology report is enough indication for reopening a case he considers to be closed,’ commented Natalia.

  ‘Indeed, but the thing is that’s not all we have. I was talking yesterday with Roberto’s parents, and they told me a ton of stuff that supports my hypothesis that it wasn’t him: he was not epileptic, nor did he have any family members of friends with that illness. He was not a hiker. In fact, he hated walking in the mountains. He did not have strong religious convictions, but rather considered himself an agnostic. And his parents do not remember a single romantic relationship that left him troubled enough to commit these crimes.’

  ‘Okay... So we have a ton of clues saying that Roberto was innocent, but we still don’t have the slightest idea who could have been the culprit,’ intervened Gus. ‘I don’t know whether Aguirre’s going to like this.’

  ‘We know one very important thing about our killer: that he works in this station, that he knew Roberto perfectly and knew how to implicate him, and that he is abreast of every step we take.’ Carlos leaned forward and lowered the tone of his voice. ‘I suggest we carry on ahead on our own, and speak with Aguirre once we’ve found a firm suspect.’

  ‘For my part, I agree,’ whispered Natalia.

  ‘And me,’ replied Gus, also lowering his voice.

  ‘Are you sure you’ll be able to keep your mouth closed?’ asked Carlos. ‘Sebas suspects that it could have been you who went around the place saying that we were surveilling the Cupid, and that that is why the killer changed hotel with his latest female victim.’

  ‘Me? Please, Carlos, you offend me... You know I keep my mouth shut; I’m discretion personified. In fact, if you search on Wikipedia for the definition of discretion, my photo comes up. I don’t know how you could mistrust me. I’ve worked with you guys on other cases, and the whole time I’ve told nobody about what we were investigating. Damn it, if I was capable even of hiding things from you when Natalia went off investigating that sect...’

  ‘You’re right, okay, sorry...’ Carlos cut him off. ‘However things may be, from now on we will be even more discreet. We’re not going to tell anybody that we’re still investigating. Not even our colleagues, or Sebas, or Aguirre... Our killer is very close, but we have the advantage of him not knowing we’re going after him. If we’re careful, he won’t suspect a thing.’

  CHAPTER FIVE

  In spite of the fact that Art was doing nothing but get in the way and stepping on the cables, Gus managed to set up his computer in the living room. He turned it on and, once he checked that it was all working correctly, he called Natalia.

  ‘I’ve got it now. Come and see.’

  Natalia appeared and stood looking with furrowed brow at the corner in which Gus had set himself up. He waited a few seconds to see whether she would say anything.

  ‘What’s wrong? Don’t you think it’s good?’

  ‘It’s just I don’t understand why you have to put up a desktop computer instead of grabbing a laptop.’

  ‘I don’t know, I’m a romantic. The desktop computer gives a feeling of security, of permanence... It makes me feel that our relationship is going to be more lasting.’

  ‘I think that that’s precisely the thing that Carlos is not going to like...’

  ‘Like what? Having me here every afternoon? When he was the one who started this whole mess... I was very happy doing my internship in the Ertzaintza without having any trouble with anybody, trying to set up a criminal database that was better than the shit that all of you use. Then it was coming to an end and I was going to go back home to carry on with my life. It was Carlos who insisted that we have to prove Roberto’s innocence, which, in case you don’t remember, was the guy that landed me in it, because he was on the verge of getting me killed in La Arboleda... But come on then, if you want, I’ll take all of this down and go home. I have things to study, homework to do, a girlfriend to go out with...’

  ‘Calm down, Gus. It’s fine like this,’ she cut him off. ‘And speaking of your girlfriend, how’s it going with her?’

  Gus remained silent for a few seconds, took his packet of cigarettes out of his pocket, searched for an ashtray, and started smoking. Natalia waited for him to break the silence. It was not normal for him to be quiet for so long, and less so after a direct question.

  ‘Is something up with her? Are you having problems?’

  ‘Well, not problems... The relationship’s going well.’

  ‘Are you sure? You’re answering in very short sentences. Either something’s wrong, or you’ve just become ill.’

  ‘I don’t know... Do you know a good hairdresser where they can give me a haircut that looks smart, but which doesn’t make me look like a fool?’

  ‘Are you thinking about cutting your hair?’ asked Natalia, before looking at him open-mouthed.

  ‘Yes. What’s so strange about that? Don’t look at me like that, for God’s sake.’

  ‘I’ve spent years getting tangled up in your hair. I’ve insisted to you a thousand times for you to cut it, and you’ve always said that your hair is the most sacred thing you have and that nobody touches it. What’s happened to you?’

  ‘Well, Lorena doesn’t like it... I think my style still doesn’t fit in with her and her friends.’

  ‘But do you want to cut it?’

  ‘What difference does it make?’ he asked, shrugging his shoulders.

  ‘What do you mean, what difference does it make? That’s the only thing that matters.’ Natalia made a couple of little taps on the sofa to invite Gus to sit down beside her. ‘Listen carefully to me. I don’t know whether you’re going to continue going out with that girl for a week, a month, or a year, but there is one thing I know for certain. You are the only person who’s going to be with you throughout your entire life, so you are the only person you should please.’

 
; ‘Yeah, but I love her...’ protested Gus.

  ‘And that’s all very good, but you should love yourself more. Can you imagine how you’ll feel if, within a certain amount of time, the relationship ends and you find yourself alone with a person you don’t like anymore? You must always be loyal to yourself, no matter who you’re with.’

  ‘I understand you, but I want to please her and have her be happy with me.’

  ‘She started going out with you because she liked you. With your crazy hair, with your black shabby clothes, with your personality... Why does she want to change you now? If she loves you, she should love you as you are. If she wants you to be somebody else, then she can look directly for someone who suits her taste and leave you in peace.’

  ‘It’s so easy to speak like that from the outside!’

  ‘That’s not it. For me, it would be far easier to take you to a hairdresser and let you cut your hair. In fact, you know I think you’d be far more handsome with short hair.’ Natalia gently took hold of his chin and forced him to look at her. ‘But I’m not going to do that, because I believe you’re a unique and special person, and I don’t want you to turn into somebody else.’

  Gus looked down upon realising that he had gone red. Natalia waited patiently by his side to give him time to reflect on her words. After a few seconds had gone by, he raised his head and gave her a smile.

  ‘Thanks, honestly. I’ll think about it.’

  ‘Perfect. If, after thinking about it, you decide you still want to cut your hair because you’ve decided to do so, I’ll take you to the best hairdressers in Bilbao and pay for it myself. But if you’re going to change something that’s important to you just to please someone else, you’re going to come up against me defending the real Gus from your attacks. And I can be a very bad enemy.’

  Art shot towards the hallway at that moment. Seconds later, they heard the front door opening.

  ‘It seems Carlos has arrived,’ Natalia got up from the sofa and winked at him. ‘Don’t worry, I won’t tell him anything about this.’

  ‘Yes, I don’t want any mick-taking about how a posh little blonde girl is dominating me.’