“You’re saying that Valls must have blackmailed Sanchís. What with?”

“That’s what we’re trying to establish right now.”

“Are you telling me that all of this is about money?”

“Isn’t it almost always?” replied Leandro. “Of course, everything came to a head this morning, when Captain Vargas told me about the result of your investigations.”

Alicia threw Vargas another look.

“I’ve just spoken to Gil de Partera, and we’ve compared your discoveries with those of the police. Appropriate action has been taken immediately. I’m sorry this happened while you were absent, but it couldn’t wait.”

Alicia kept looking furiously first at Leandro, then at Vargas.

“Vargas did what he had to do, Alicia,” said Leandro. “As a matter of fact, it upsets me to see that you didn’t keep me up-to-date with your investigation as we’d arranged. But I know you, and I know you didn’t do it in bad faith—I know you don’t like to let the cat out of the bag until you’re sure. I don’t either. That’s why I didn’t mention any of this to you until I was quite sure it was connected to our investigation. Quite frankly, I was just as surprised as you to hear about all this. I didn’t know you were trailing Sanchís. Like you, I was expecting something else. Had things worked out differently, I would have preferred a few more days to get to the bottom of it before taking action. Unfortunately, this is a case in which we can’t afford to take all the time we’d like.”

“What have they done with Sanchís?”

“Sanchís is being questioned at the police station as we speak. He’s been there for a couple of hours, cooperating with the police.”

Alicia put her hands on her temples and closed her eyes, pale as a tombstone. Vargas stood up, poured white wine into a glass, and offered it to her.

“Gil de Partera and all his team have expressed their gratitude and have asked me specifically to congratulate you both for the excellent job and service you have rendered the country,” Leandro remarked.

“But . . .”

“Alicia, I beg you. No.”

She downed her glass of wine and leaned her head against the wall. “You said that you also had some good news,” she said at last.

“That was the good news,” Leandro explained. “The bad news is that you and Vargas have been taken off the case. The investigation will now be exclusively in the hands of a new appointment made by the Ministry of the Interior.”

“Who?”

Leandro pressed his lips together.

Vargas, who had been silent until now, poured a glass of wine, this time for himself, and looked sadly at Alicia. “Hendaya,” he said.

Alicia looked at both men in bewilderment.

“Who the hell is Hendaya?”

3

The cell stank of urine and electricity. Sanchís had never noticed that electricity had a smell—sweetish, metallic, like the odor of spilled blood. The air in the cell was stuffy, saturated with that aroma that made his stomach turn. In a corner the generator buzzed, making the lightbulb vibrate. The bulb dangled from the ceiling, projecting a milky light over damp walls that seemed to be covered in scratches.