Vargas went up to a desk in a corner of the room, picking up a couple of blank pieces of paper and a pencil.

“May I?” he asked.

“Of course. Feel free.”

The policeman came over to the table and, his eyes fixed on the magnifying lens, began to copy the numbers.

“They look like numbers in a series,” suggested Matías.

“Why do you say that?” Alicia asked.

“They’re correlated,” Matías replied. “If you observe the first three digits of the column on the left, they seem to be part of a series. The rest is also in a sequence. The last two digits only change every three or four numbers.”

Matías paused to look at them both with a note of irony. “I suppose it’s not worth my asking you what your job is?”

“I’m just an errand boy,” Vargas replied, still copying down the numbers.

Matías nodded and gazed at Alicia. “I wanted to send you a wedding invitation, but I didn’t know where to send it.”

“I’m sorry, Matías.”

“It doesn’t matter. Time is a great healer, isn’t it?”

“That’s what they say.”

“What about you? Happy?”

“Over the moon.”

Matías laughed. “Same old Alicia . . .”

“Unfortunately. I hope Serafina doesn’t mind that I’ve come here.”

Matías sighed. “Well, I imagine she has some idea of who you are. There’ll be a bit of trouble at dinnertime, but that’s all. Serafina seems a bit surly when you don’t know her well, but she has a good heart.”

“I’m glad you’ve found someone who deserves you.”

Matías looked into her eyes but said nothing. Then he turned around and patted Vargas on the back. “Have you got it all?”

“I’m working on it,” said Vargas. He’d been trying to keep out of that hushed conversation, playing the role of the uninvited guest as he copied down the numbers on a piece of paper, barely daring to speak.

“Perhaps we could clip the paper onto a cellophane sheet and place it on the projector.”

“I think I’ve got it all,” said Vargas.

Alicia had risen and was wandering around the room as if she were in a museum. Matías watched her, his head lowered. “You’ve known each other for a while?” he asked Vargas.

“Just a few days. We’re working together on an administrative job, that’s all.”

“Quite a character, right?”

“Excuse me?”

“Alicia.”

“Yes, she does have her ways.”

“Does she still use the harness?”

“Harness?”

“I made it for her, you know. Made to measure. A masterpiece, though I shouldn’t say so myself. I used whalebone and tungsten tapes. It’s what we call an exoskeleton. So fine, so lightweight and articulated it’s almost like a second skin. She’s not wearing it today. I know because of the way she moves. Remind her that she must use it. It’s for her own good.”

Vargas nodded, as if he understood what the taxidermist was talking about, and finished taking down the last numbers. “Thank you, Matías,” he said. “You’ve been a great help.”