“And what does the mission consist of?”

“In being my eyes.”

“Whatever you say.”

“What do they pay you per month at the grocer’s?”

“A pittance.”

“Multiply that by four, and you’ll get your basic salary per week. Plus incentives and bonuses. And I’ll cover your monthly payments for the Vespa. That’s for starters. Does it seem fair?”

Fernandito nodded, hypnotized. “You know that for you I would work for nothing. I’d pay, even.”

Alicia shook her head. “No more doing things for nothing, Fernandito. Welcome to capitalism.”

“Don’t they say that’s really bad?”

“Worse. And you’re going to love it.”

“When do I begin?”

“Right away.”

28

Vargas clutched his stomach as if he’d suddenly developed an ulcer. “You said what to that kid?”

“His name is Fernandito. And he’s not much of a kid. He’s almost as big as you. And besides, he has a Vespa.”

“Holy Mother of God. Not happy with complicating my life, now you want to drag innocent souls into your machinations?”

“That’s what it’s about. What we need in this enterprise is some innocent person.”

“I thought that idiot Rovira filled that gap. By the way, he’s been following me all morning. Hadn’t they told him to follow you?”

“Maybe he’s not as stupid as he seems.”

“And this Fernandito, what is he? A fresh victim for your Countess Báthory bath?”

“You’re becoming better-read by the day, Vargas. But no. Fernandito is not going to shed a drop of blood. Sweat, if anything.”

“And tears. Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way he looks at you with those mournful eyes.”

“When have you seen that?”

“When you were hypnotizing him down there, in the café. You two looked like a queen cobra and a baby rabbit.”

“I thought only Rovira was spying on me.”

“I saw you when I walked by, on my way back from Metrobarna.”

Alicia muttered something under her breath, as if to play down the matter, while she poured some white wine into one of her fine glasses. She took a first sip and leaned on the table. “Tell me how you got on, and forget about Fernandito for the moment.”

Vargas huffed and collapsed on the sofa. “Where do I begin?”

“Try the beginning.”

Vargas summed up his visit to Metrobarna and his resulting impressions. Alicia listened to him quietly, walking up and down the apartment, wineglass in hand, nodding every now and then.

When he’d finished, she went over to the window and downed her glass of wine. Then she turned to the policeman with an expression that filled him with anxiety. “I’ve been thinking, Vargas.”

“God help us.”

“With all this stuff you’ve discovered today about Señor Sanchís and his profitable marriage connections, his driver, the trail of the Mataix books, Brians and the Semperes—”

“Don’t forget the invisible man, your ex-colleague Lomana.”

“I’m not forgetting. The fact is that you and I alone won’t be able to follow up all these leads. And the knot is tightening.”