BooksBarbecue
Back The Counterfeit Candidate Save as PDF
Chapters (61)
  1. Prologue
  2. Chapter One
  3. Chapter Two
  4. Chapter Three
  5. Chapter Four
  6. Chapter Five
  7. Chapter Six
  8. Chapter Seven
  9. Chapter Eight
  10. Chapter Nine
  11. Chapter Ten
  12. Chapter Eleven
  13. Chapter Twelve
  14. Chapter Thirteen
  15. Chapter Fourteen
  16. Chapter Fifteen
  17. Chapter Sixteen
  18. Chapter Seventeen
  19. Chapter Eighteen
  20. Chapter Nineteen
  21. Chapter Twenty
  22. Chapter Twenty-One
  23. Chapter Twenty-Two
  24. Chapter Twenty-Three
  25. Chapter Twenty-Four
  26. Chapter Twenty-Five
  27. Chapter Twenty-Six
  28. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  29. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  30. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  31. Chapter Thirty
  32. Chapter Thirty-One
  33. Chapter Thirty-Two
  34. Chapter Thirty-Three
  35. Chapter Thirty-Four
  36. Chapter Thirty-Five
  37. Chapter Thirty-Six
  38. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  39. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  40. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  41. Chapter Forty
  42. Chapter Forty-One
  43. Chapter Forty-Two
  44. Chapter Forty-Three
  45. Chapter Forty-Four
  46. Chapter Forty-Five
  47. Chapter Forty-Six
  48. Chapter Forty-Seven
  49. Chapter Forty-Eight
  50. Chapter Forty-Nine
  51. Chapter Fifty
  52. Chapter Fifty-One
  53. Chapter Fifty-Two
  54. Chapter Fifty-Three
  55. Chapter Fifty-Four
  56. Chapter Fifty-Five
  57. Chapter Fifty-Six
  58. Epilogue
  59. Author’s Note
  60. Acknowledgements
  61. About the Author

When Vargas returned to the interview room, Delgado was about to launch into another rant when he spotted the bag containing the mobile. Vargas placed it directly in front of Paz and clicked the power button through the polythene to bring up the gruesome image of Ricardo Gonzales’s mutilated body.

“Señor Paz, we found this phone at Sebastian Ramos’s apartment. It was left behind by one of his torturers. Do you recognise it?”

The CEO refused to acknowledge the question and avoided eye contact with Vargas.

The chief inspector picked up the package and waved it in front of Paz’s face. “Your fingerprints are all over it. This mobile places you directly at the murder scene. The phone log also reveals a call to the Franklin Corporation in San Francisco. Matias Paz, I am charging you with the murders of Sebastian Ramos, Pedro García, Ricardo and Raúl Gonzales and Maria Vidal. And that’s just for starters.”

The lawyer visibly deflated and stayed quiet for once, while the frozen mask that was Paz’s face remained in place. However, the crooked grin had disappeared.

* * *

Following the fire, Vargas no longer had an office, so he and Torres held their debrief in a small Costa Coffee located across the street from the temporary station they were now working out of.

Torres handed his boss a fresh latte and took a large gulp from his Americano. “Chief, there’s still a lot going on with this case that you’re not letting me in on. We now know Theodor Consultants were at the sharp end chasing down the security box but we still don’t know who they were working for and why they were so desperate to find it. And what’s the story with Franklin Pharmaceuticals? Are they running the show?”

“Juan, as I told you before, there is a much bigger picture going on and I still believe it’s safer for you not to be directly involved. I want you to find out everything you can about Theodor and pull in the rest of Paz’s employees. See what gives there. I promise it won’t be long till I bring you fully into the loop. You just have to trust me for now.”

Chapter Forty-Seven

6 July 1981

Buenos Aires