They were silent for a few seconds, whilst the program located the mobile. The screen showed a map on which a green-coloured circle signalled the location of Carlos’s mobile.
‘He’s in the La Peña neighbourhood,’ said Gus. ‘What’s he doing there?’
‘No idea. The last time I spoke with him, he was in Casco Viejo, and said he was going to stay around there looking for more leads. Could you zoom in on the map to find out where he is exactly?’
‘Of course...’ Gus started clicking the button to bring the image closer, until the green circle indicated a building. ‘There you have the address. Give me a second; I want to look something up on Google Street View.’
‘What do you want to look up?’ asked Natalia, impatiently. ‘We already know the address. let’s go.’
Gus did not reply, and limited himself to typing and moving the mouse. When he found the information, he pointed out the screen to Natalia with a satisfied smile.
‘I was worried it would be a block of flats and that we’d have to go along, from neighbour to neighbour to ask them whether they had a policeman we’d lost. But we’re in luck: it’s a single family home. We know exactly where it is. Let’s go.’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
‘Are you going to hurt me?’ asked Carlos, before placing the first tablet into his mouth.
‘No. You don’t need to worry. At first you’ll notice a sense of confusion and lethargy, something similar to drunkenness,’ explained the doctor. ‘I believe you have experience with that.’
‘I was giving it up, but I still remember. And then what?’
‘You’ll start feeling increasingly more drowsy. By the time the respiratory depression comes, you will no longer be conscious. In all actuality, I’m being very merciful in providing you with such a sweet death. Take another.’
‘I hope you’ll forgive me for not being grateful.’ Carlos placed another pill in his mouth and took another sip of water to wash it down. ‘After all, you’re murdering me without me having done anything to you.’
‘If you had just left things as they were, we wouldn’t be finding ourselves in such an unpleasant situation. I don’t understand why you had to carry on investigating. I thought you hated Roberto, and that you’d be fine with believing that he was the killer.’
‘Do you seriously think that my aversion for Roberto would make me feel happy and not investigate it any further?’
‘To tell the truth, yes. You are much more professional than I was expecting.’ Salazar pointed with the gun to the box of tablets that was sitting on the table. ‘Take another. I don’t have all night.’
‘I don’t see where the hurry is.’ Carlos took another pill, accompanied by a gulp of water. ‘You know you’re not going to get out of this, right? I told Natalia and Gus that I was coming to talk to you to see whether you had any lead. As soon as they find my body, they’ll know it was you.’
‘I imagined so, but that’s not a problem. By the time they find out, I will be far away. As soon as you have finished taking the tablets, I’m taking my car and leaving for the airport. By the time they give the arrest warrant, I’ll already be on a plane heading for Paris or Frankfurt. From there, it’ll be easy travelling to some South American country that doesn’t have an extradition agreement with Spain.’ Salazar went back to pointing at the box of pills. ‘Keep taking them. Two at a time, come on.’
‘As you wish.’ Carlos put another two tablets into his mouth. ‘Have you thought it through properly? You’re going to be abandoning your whole life, your career...’
‘You’re very kind to be worried about me, but, because of you, if I stay here, the only prospect I have is going to prison. In South America, I’ll be fine. I’ve just received a good load of money from my wife’s life insurance. That will allow me to live comfortably for a long time.’
‘So that’s why you did this?’ asked Carlos, incredulously. ‘For the bloody money?’
‘Of course not!’ cried Salazar. ‘I loved Carmen, I loved her with all the strength of my being.’
‘Then why did you do it?’ Faced with Salazar’s silence, Carlos insisted. ‘I’m going to die over this. I think that I at least deserve to know why.’
‘She cheated on me. I loved her. I loved her so much... I was in love with her from the very first moment I saw her. For years, I made an effort to make her happy, to look after her and cater to her every whim... I thought that she, too, was happy at my side, but, during that entire time, she was cheating on me.’ Salazar paused for a moment, thoughtful, with his gaze vacant and his mind lost on his memories. Suddenly, he appeared to come round, and fury tinged his features. ‘Keep taking the damn tablets. Don’t make me repeat myself, or I’ll put a bullet in you and we’ll finish all of this.’
‘I am. Calm down.’ Carlos put another two tablets into his mouth. ‘I understand your resentment, but that does not justify a murder, and much less three.’
‘She cheated on me with Roberto. When I found out, I thought I was going to go mad. How could she cheat on me with one of my work colleagues? We collaborated on many cases, we’d have coffee together... And, all the while, he was having it off with my wife. I began investigating to find out how long they had been laughing at me, and what I discovered was horrible.’ Salazar rubbed his forehead hard, as if trying to erase those memories that hurt him. ‘The thing with Roberto was nothing serious. He was just another one of her flings. She had been cheating on me for years. All those late hour meetings, all of those conferences she was supposed to be going to were no more than lies. I couldn’t take revenge on all of those guys, but I could on her and Roberto.’
‘But why kill the other two women? They hadn’t done anything to you.’
‘In all murder cases, the first thing that’s investigated is the victim’s environment. There is only one exception; serial murders, sickos who hunt their victims by chance. If I managed to convince you all that you were after a serial killer, you wouldn’t suspect me or interrogate me.’ Salazar lowered the tone of his voice, almost as if talking to himself, trying to convince himself that what he was doing was correct. ‘Besides, those women deserved it. They were like Carmen, just fucking adulterous whores. They were asking for it.’
‘Are you sure about that? Do you believe it? Can you sleep soundly at night after what you’ve done?’
‘That’s enough talking now.’ Salazar went back to pointing the gun at him. His hands were shaking so much that Carlos feared that he could shoot him by accident. ‘Take those damn pills already and let’s be done with this.’
Carlos obeyed and placed another two pills in his mouth. He took a sip of water to wash them down and, when he was about to put in another two, he froze. Salazar turned his head towards the window, with all of his nerves on edge. Carlos threw the pills under the table whilst allowing himself to regain hope. They could clearly hear the sound of an engine, and the sound of car wheels advancing along the gravel path to the front door.
*****
Natalia turned off the engine and sat looking at the house. There were several illuminated windows on the ground floor, which meant that there were people inside. She turned her head towards Gus, who was still focussing on his mobile.
‘Does it still say that Carlos is in there?’ she asked.
‘Yes, the app is still indicating that he’s in this house, but we don’t even need it now.’ Gus pointed towards a dark shape situated a few metres away. ‘Isn’t that Carlos’s car?’
‘Yes, that’s the one.’
‘What are we going to do now? Go up to the door, ring the bell, and pleasantly ask Salazar not to hurt Carlos and to hand himself in?’
‘To tell the truth, I don’t have a better plan,’ admitted Natalia.
‘Then I have to tell you that as far as plans go, it’s really crap. Do you medical examiners carry a handgun?’
‘Of course not,’ she replied.
‘Well then the plan is even more crap,’ Gus puffed out, his eyes rive
ted on the façade of the house. ‘Don’t you think we ought to call Aguirre? We have enough evidence to make him listen to us.’
‘Aguirre is a personal friend of Salazar’s. He’s not going to send a bunch of patrol cars to his house if we can’t prove, beyond all doubt, that he is the culprit. In order to prove it, we would have to go back to the station, wait for him to arrive, and argue with him for hours. If Carlos is in danger, we can’t afford to waste that time. I want to get him out of there now.’
‘Okay. This is suicide, but I can’t leave you on your own. Let’s go.’
*****
Salazar looked out through the window without taking his aim off Carlos. In spite of the darkness outside, he discerned the shape of a large and smart looking car parked in front of his house. He turned to Carlos with a furious expression.
‘I believe that’s your girlfriend’s car.’
‘Natalia? No... I don’t believe it...’ Carlos noticed that his words were slurred, and that he was finding it difficult to think. ‘She doesn’t know where you live...’
‘Well she’s found us.’ Salazar moved the pistol nervously whilst he aimed at the kitchen door. ‘Come on, get up and open that door.’
Carlos tried to obey, but upon standing up, he felt that the floor was moving and that the kitchen seemed to be spinning. He sat back down and gripped his head with his hands.
‘Come on!’ shouted Salazar. ‘I told you to get up.’
‘I can’t. I’m really dizzy...’
‘Stand up and get out of the kitchen if you don’t want your head to fly off in front of your girlfriend,’ the man insisted.
Carlos nodded and, making an effort, managed to stand up and take a couple of steps. Upon reaching the wall, he rested his hand against it in order to feel more secure. When he opened the door, the dog came in wagging it tail, as if happy to see them.
‘Aker, get out of the way,’ ordered Salazar. ‘You, keep walking.’
They crossed the hallway and arrived in the living room. It seemed vast, and did not have very much furniture. The wall at the back was taken up by a large, dark wooden bookcase that was filled with books, and an elegant greyish-coloured stone fireplace that brightened up the room with warm and luminous flames. In front of the hearth could be seen two enormous black leather armchairs, inviting one to sit down and entertain oneself for a while with reading. Unfortunately, Carlos was in no mood to enjoy the cosy environment. The only thing that he could think about was whether he would be able to cross the living room to make it to the chairs without supporting himself on anything. Fortunately, Salazar asked him to stop as soon as they entered. He took hold of the side of the door whilst he observed as the doctor went into the room and lifted up the thick rug, to reveal a trapdoor on the floor.
‘Come on, inside. Get in there and don’t make any noise if you want Natalia to stay alive.’
‘You’re doing it all wrong,’ replied Carlos in a thick voice. ‘You’re just making it worse for yourself all the time... You’re never going to leave prison in your whole damn life...’
‘Do you think I care that much about whether I’m given twenty years instead of fifteen? I’ve already told you, I have no intention of setting foot in prison. Come on, inside.’
Carlos went over to the trapdoor and looked down. There was a metal ladder that plunged into the darkness. He could not go down there in the condition he found himself in. The most certain thing was that he would lose his balance and fall before having even gone down three rungs.
‘I don’t want to go down there with this dizziness... I’m going to crack my head open.’
‘I honestly don’t care about that. Whatever happens, in half an hour you’ll be dead. Come on, go down.’
*****
As soon as they got out of the car, they heard the deep and imposing barks of a large dog. They walked a couple of paces along the gravel path, and the lights in the house began turning off, one after the other.
‘Bloody hell, this is looking worse by the minute,’ commented Gus. ‘He knows we’re here, and it seems like he’s in no mood for our visit. And, on top of that, he has a dog that sounds like a monster from Hell.’
‘Don’t worry, we’re two against one,’ said Natalia, walking towards the porch steps. ‘And Salazar is a medical examiner, like me, so he won’t have a gun either.’
‘It’s just I still don’t know what we’re going to say to him.’
‘Leave the talking to me.’
Natalia rang the bell and the two of them stood in silence, waiting. Inside the house, all they could hear was the barking of the dog, which made her feel even more nervous. It was rational that Salazar would try to pretend that he was not at home so that they would go away and leave him in peace, but they knew that Carlos was in there. Why was he not coming out or calling out for help? Why was he not doing anything? One part of her mind suggested to her that he could be gravely injured, perhaps dead... Natalia buried those painful thoughts in the most separate part of her consciousness and went back to pressing her finger on the bell. This time she did not take it off. She let it ring and ring, to make Salazar see that she knew that he was inside and that she had no intention of leaving without a response.
The dog’s barking intensified. They heard some footsteps inside and the sound of a door closing. A few seconds later, the footsteps approached the door, which opened by a few centimetres. Salazar was behind it, his face appearing behind a security chain that prevented the door from opening any further.
‘Natalia, what are you doing at my house at this time? I’d just gone to bed.’
‘We’re looking for Carlos,’ she said, with an innocent smile on her face. ‘He’s not answering his mobile, and he told us he was going to come and pay you a visit to clarify a few points about the investigation.’
‘How strange! Well he’s not stopped by here. I imagine that would suggest something to you.’ Salazar’s voice was calm and polite, as if he had nothing to hide. ‘When you happen to see him, tell him that I will be delighted to respond to his questions and to cooperate in every way I can.’
‘Are you sure he’s not here?’ asked Gus, immersed in the screen of his mobile phone. ‘His car is parked here, and this app’s telling me that his phone is in there.’
Salazar was silent for a couple of seconds. He was trying to keep himself unemotional, but his pupils had dilated and his lower lip was trembling slightly.
‘There has to be a mistake. I’ve already told you he hasn’t stopped by here.’
Gus smiled and nodded, as if admitting that he was right, and pressed the screen of his mobile. A couple of seconds later the first few notes of Hoochie Coochie Man broke the silence of the house’s interior.
‘That’s Carlos’s ringtone. Did you know there are apps that can make a phone ring and be located, even when the sound’s been turned down?’
Salazar opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, in the same way a fish would gape in search of oxygen. Without saying a single word, he closed the door again. Gus and Natalia heard from the other side as he locked it with several bolts. Then they heard his hurried steps going up the stairs, accompanied by the nervous barking of his dog.
‘What are we going to do now?’
‘I don’t know,’ said Natalia, hysterically. ‘Shit, you’ve scared him! Didn’t I tell you to leave the talking to me?’
‘It didn’t seem like you were getting anywhere. In any case, that doesn’t matter now. What do we do?’
‘Go inside. I know that something bad has happened to Carlos.’ Natalia’s voice broke with the distress.
‘But how? We don’t’ know how to force open the door.’
The both looked all around, until Natalia’s eyes alighted on a gardening shovel resting against a tree trunk. She ran over to it, picked it up, and, after climbing up the steps to the porch, smashed it against one of the windows. Then she ran the flat metal surface of it over the frame to eliminate any remaining shards of glass,
took off her high heels, and put one leg inside.
‘Are you sure about this?’
‘Very sure,’ she replied. ‘You grab that spade just in case we have to defend ourselves. I’m going to look for Carlos.’
*****
Carlos found himself plunged into the most utter darkness. He reached out his arms, trying to position himself, and began walking little by little, with the fear of tripping on something and not being able to get back up. He was feeling very confused and disorientated, and was having a hard time thinking. He felt as though his brain had been submerged in a thick and viscous liquid that trapped his thoughts and did not let them flow normally. It was a very strange sensation. He had been drunk many times in his life, many more times that advisable. A few times he had drunk to the point of losing consciousness, but he did not ever remember having felt so clumsy and so defenceless.
He managed to get to a wall. In spite of it being cold, uneven, and coarse, he found it comforting. It was a point of support, something real that tied him to the world and allowed him to concentrate and separate himself from that sticky fog that flooded his mind and was encouraging him to resign himself to sleep. He went along touching the wall as he advanced, searching for a switch. If he managed to turn on a light, he would be able to check the room and search for some way to defend himself, or get our of there, or at least let Natalia know that Salazar was dangerous. If anything happened to her because of him, he would never be able to forgive himself.
He was not able to pinpoint exactly the time he spent advancing through that dark room, but he was certain that he had by now done a complete circuit without finding a single light switch. He started again, moving his hands along the wall, in case he found one higher up or lower down. Every step took more out of him than the previous one. The dizziness was increasing, and his movements were growing ever more uncoordinated. He was feeling very tired, and his eyelids were heavy. In addition to that, he noticed that he was finding it difficult to breathe. He did not know whether it was down to the anxiety, the fact that the place was badly ventilated, or whether it was another effect of the drug. He decided to sit down for a while and rest, at least until his breathing returned to normal. He dropped down, with his back resting against the wall. His head felt immensely heavy to him, and his eyelids had become two lead stage curtains that were impossible to hold up. He understood that he was dying, and that he could do nothing to avoid it. At least he had the consolation that Salazar had told him the truth: that that way of dying did not hurt.
The White Corpses Page 27