“It was about five years ago. I’d racked up huge gambling debts and couldn’t make my house loan payments or cover my daughter’s college fees. I received a text from an unknown source who seemed to know every detail of my personal finances. They suggested there might be a way out if I were prepared to take on a second job. I was desperate and curious and, after a few exchanges, I met with a man in Recoleta Cemetery. His name was Alonso Núñez and he explained he worked for a respectable security company called Theodor Consultants. He said they wanted to recruit me as a confidential source. After the first meeting, he took me across the road from the cemetery to his offices, which were incredibly impressive.”

Vargas and Torres glanced at each other when Bianchi mentioned the company’s name. Finally, they had a proper lead.

“What sort of information did Núñez want.”

The floodgates were open and Bianchi was keen to give up everything she knew as fast as possible. “At first, it was pretty innocuous stuff – personal details on certain officers, like salary levels and career history and sometimes home addresses. Of course, I knew it was wrong but I told myself it wasn’t actually causing any real harm and the money was allowing me to pay off my debts.” She paused for a brief moment to take a sip of water and collect her thoughts. “After the bank robbery, everything changed. Núñez turned incredibly aggressive and demanded I report in every day with anything I could discover about how the investigation was progressing. On two occasions, I visited your station late at night and took photos of the crime boards in the open-plan area. Where I could, I tried to source internal email chains that discussed the case. Then, last week, he summoned me to a late-night meeting, and that’s when he hit me with the arson plan. He made it clear, should I refuse to cooperate, they would kill me and my daughter. I was in far too deep by then and felt I had no choice.”

She paused again and Vargas jumped in. “Olivia, did Núñez ever mention the name Franklin?”

“No, never. Why?”

Vargas switched off the recorder and indicated to Torres the interview was over. His parting shot to Bianchi exhibited a complete change of tone. “Your cooperation at this point is noted and you’ll need to sign a written statement. Señora Bianchi, your deceitful behaviour may well have contributed to the deaths of nine victims, so I suggest you think about that.”

Ten minutes later, Vargas conducted an emergency meeting with the entire detective team. On the crime board behind him, the name Theodor Consultants loomed large.