Triana removals truck. Calderón played with that idea in his head.
‘So he gets into the apartment, which admittedly is empty, but he hides in it for twelve hours and he’s even brought his video camera with him to record Raúl Jiménez with a whore? That doesn’t sound …’
‘If that was the case, I don’t think that part of it was planned,’ said Falcón. ‘I think he did that in a moment of arrogance. He wanted to show us that he’d been there all the time. If he hadn’t filmed them we’d have known much less. We’d probably still be wasting our time with Basilio Lucena. So we can thank the killer for that small slip, along with the forgotten chloroform rag, because with each of these mistakes he’s telling us something about himself.’
‘That he’s an amateur,’ said Calderón.
‘But an amateur with nerve,’ said Falcón, ‘He’ll take risks and he likes to tease.’
‘Psychopathic?’
‘Driven and playful,’ replied Falcón. ‘With not a lot to lose.’
‘And some surgical expertise,’ said Ramírez.
Falcón gave him the second scenario — Eloisa Gómez letting in her lover or low-life friend to kill Raúl Jiménez.
‘Nothing was stolen,’ said Ramírez. ‘The place was practically empty, so the only reason for getting in there was to kill Raúl Jiménez.’
‘How did she stand up to the interrogation?’
‘She toughed it out,’ said Ramírez.
‘You’ll go back to her though, won’t you?’ said Calderón.
In the quiet that followed their nods Falcón gave Calderón a short report about his discussion with Lobo on the level of corruption in the building of Expo ‘92 and Raúl Jiménez’s involvement. He mentioned the warning he was given by the Comisario.
‘If there’s corruption associated with this murder I have to be free to talk about it,’ said Calderón, eyes alight, suddenly the crusading judge.
‘You are, of course,’ said Falcón. ‘But there are some sensitive issues here and important people, who, even if they’re clean, might not like the associations. You remember who was in those photographs from your side: Bellido and Spinola, to name two.’
‘It’s ten years old, anyway,’ said Calderón, idealism instantly doused.
‘That’s not so long to hold a grudge,’ said Falcón, and the two men looked at him as if he might be holding several simultaneously.
Falcón gave a report on his conversation with Consuelo Jiménez and handed over the print-out of the address book, mentioning that the killer had stolen Raúl Jiménez’s mobile. Calderón ran his finger down the list. Ramírez yawned and lit another cigarette.
‘So what you’re saying,’ said Calderón, ‘is that despite that terrible scenario the killer left in the apartment, despite all the interviews and statements so far … we actually have no definite leads?’
‘We still have Sra Consuelo Jiménez as the prime suspect. She is the only one with defined motive and she has the means to execute it. Eloisa Gómez is a possible accomplice to a murderer acting on his own.’
‘Or not,’ said Calderón. ‘The killer could still be paid for by Sra Jiménez and, if that’s the case, I’m sure she wouldn’t want to draw attention to herself by giving the killer his own key. She would have told him to find his own way in.’
‘And he’d use the prostitute or the lifting gear?’ asked Ramírez. ‘I know what I’d do.’
‘If he used the girl to get in why would he film her?’ asked Calderón. ‘That doesn’t make sense. It makes moresense the other way round — to show us how brilliant he is.’
‘There’s possibilities and improbabilities in both scenarios,’ said Falcón.
‘Do you both have Sra Jiménez down as a serious candidate for having her husband killed?’
Ramírez said yes, Falcón no.
‘Which way do you want to take the case, Inspector Jefe?’
Falcón cracked his knuckles one by one. Calderón winced. Falcón didn’t want to have to come clean
‘So he gets into the apartment, which admittedly is empty, but he hides in it for twelve hours and he’s even brought his video camera with him to record Raúl Jiménez with a whore? That doesn’t sound …’
‘If that was the case, I don’t think that part of it was planned,’ said Falcón. ‘I think he did that in a moment of arrogance. He wanted to show us that he’d been there all the time. If he hadn’t filmed them we’d have known much less. We’d probably still be wasting our time with Basilio Lucena. So we can thank the killer for that small slip, along with the forgotten chloroform rag, because with each of these mistakes he’s telling us something about himself.’
‘That he’s an amateur,’ said Calderón.
‘But an amateur with nerve,’ said Falcón, ‘He’ll take risks and he likes to tease.’
‘Psychopathic?’
‘Driven and playful,’ replied Falcón. ‘With not a lot to lose.’
‘And some surgical expertise,’ said Ramírez.
Falcón gave him the second scenario — Eloisa Gómez letting in her lover or low-life friend to kill Raúl Jiménez.
‘Nothing was stolen,’ said Ramírez. ‘The place was practically empty, so the only reason for getting in there was to kill Raúl Jiménez.’
‘How did she stand up to the interrogation?’
‘She toughed it out,’ said Ramírez.
‘You’ll go back to her though, won’t you?’ said Calderón.
In the quiet that followed their nods Falcón gave Calderón a short report about his discussion with Lobo on the level of corruption in the building of Expo ‘92 and Raúl Jiménez’s involvement. He mentioned the warning he was given by the Comisario.
‘If there’s corruption associated with this murder I have to be free to talk about it,’ said Calderón, eyes alight, suddenly the crusading judge.
‘You are, of course,’ said Falcón. ‘But there are some sensitive issues here and important people, who, even if they’re clean, might not like the associations. You remember who was in those photographs from your side: Bellido and Spinola, to name two.’
‘It’s ten years old, anyway,’ said Calderón, idealism instantly doused.
‘That’s not so long to hold a grudge,’ said Falcón, and the two men looked at him as if he might be holding several simultaneously.
Falcón gave a report on his conversation with Consuelo Jiménez and handed over the print-out of the address book, mentioning that the killer had stolen Raúl Jiménez’s mobile. Calderón ran his finger down the list. Ramírez yawned and lit another cigarette.
‘So what you’re saying,’ said Calderón, ‘is that despite that terrible scenario the killer left in the apartment, despite all the interviews and statements so far … we actually have no definite leads?’
‘We still have Sra Consuelo Jiménez as the prime suspect. She is the only one with defined motive and she has the means to execute it. Eloisa Gómez is a possible accomplice to a murderer acting on his own.’
‘Or not,’ said Calderón. ‘The killer could still be paid for by Sra Jiménez and, if that’s the case, I’m sure she wouldn’t want to draw attention to herself by giving the killer his own key. She would have told him to find his own way in.’
‘And he’d use the prostitute or the lifting gear?’ asked Ramírez. ‘I know what I’d do.’
‘If he used the girl to get in why would he film her?’ asked Calderón. ‘That doesn’t make sense. It makes moresense the other way round — to show us how brilliant he is.’
‘There’s possibilities and improbabilities in both scenarios,’ said Falcón.
‘Do you both have Sra Jiménez down as a serious candidate for having her husband killed?’
Ramírez said yes, Falcón no.
‘Which way do you want to take the case, Inspector Jefe?’
Falcón cracked his knuckles one by one. Calderón winced. Falcón didn’t want to have to come clean
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