“Ana, there’s absolutely nothing for you to worry about. We just need to talk to Paz and Núñez about a routine investigation we’re working on. Do you know where they are?”

Ana Varela breathed a huge sigh of relief. “That’s easy, chief inspector. They’re holding their morning briefing in the cemetery. You’ll find them near the boxer’s statue. I think his name is Firpo.”

The giant map by the gates of Recoleta Cemetery provided Vargas with a precise route to Firpo’s mausoleum. He’d left two men behind in the boardroom to ensure no one could provide advance warning to Paz. He quickly formulated a pincer movement with Torres, and they split into two groups of three. The cemetery was vast but it took less than five minutes to reach Paz’s informal office. Both groups of detectives liaised by radio and came to a stop about twenty yards away from the imposing statue. Vargas led the team from the north and could see the backs of two figures seated on a stone bench, deep in animated conversation.

Torres and his men approached Paz and Núñez head-on from the south. Vargas held his position and, when they were all ten yards away from the statue, he actioned the attack. Torres and his two detectives, weapons drawn, moved forward to confront the two men who had been oblivious to them. Suddenly, Núñez spotted some movement. Instantly, he drew his Glock and began firing wildly at Torres, the lead man.

Bullets slammed into the side of a marble mausoleum but failed to find any human flesh. Torres and his men fired back as they dived for cover. Núñez spun around and raced off in the opposite direction, slap bang into Vargas and his men. He weaved to his left and raised his gun again to shoot but, before he could let off another round, two bullets slammed into his chest. The impact sent his body lurching backwards. Vargas turned and nodded to Lucas Rivas, who had fired the decisive shots. The youngest detective on the team had probably saved his boss’s life. Rivas ran forward with his gun still drawn and checked Núñez’s body for signs of life. Up ahead, Paz had remained stationary on the stone bench and was now surrounded by Torres and his men. He stood up arrogantly and offered his wrists, the universal gesture for handcuffing. One of the detectives happily obliged.

* * *

Cabellero and Delgado was considered one of the city’s top three criminal legal firms and Mario Delgado, one of the founders, was known to be a Rottweiler. At the beginning of the interview, Paz’s eminent lawyer wasted no time in rebuking Vargas.