“Listen, I don’t want you to think that I’m a busybody,” she said, “but us compatriots must stick together, ¿sabes?” She lit her cigarette. “I just overheard something that might interest you. My husband and I were talking to Captain Blake—isn’t he handsome? —about your husband’s investigation. The captain said there had been no progress made and that he was closing the case and blah, blah, blah when one of his men came in with a valise.” Smoke escaped her lips. “This valise was apparently found in one of the storage rooms by the galley, where they keep cleaning supplies, mops, brooms. Well, the thing is, they believe it belonged to that man who attacked you and your husband, and they think he’d been hiding in that room all along because there was a blanket on the floor.”

So, I wasn’t crazy. There was proof that the man had been here.

I stood up.

“Wait! Where are you going?”

“To talk to the captain, what else?”

“That’s not going to do you any good.” She uncrossed her legs. “Captain Blake asked me and my husband not to tell you anything. I think he just wants to turn the page and forget this ever happened.”

“Well, I’m not going to allow that.”

She smiled.

“Do you know where the valise is?” I had to see it before they disposed of it.

“I saw the captain leaving it by his desk. We should go now while they’re having breakfast.”

* * *

Montse stayed outside the captain’s office while I snuck inside. A worn-out suitcase sat by the desk, in the same spot Montse had said it would be. I set it on top of the sofa, unclasped the draw bolts, and lifted the lid.

Beneath two shirts was a pair of trousers, underpants, a shaving kit, a box of soap. I was desperately looking for a wallet or something that would give me a name, but all I found was a book: a Bible. I nearly laughed at the irony.

I flipped through the book, scanning for his name. There was an envelope tucked inside. Glancing at the door, I opened the flap and removed two pieces of paper: one was a check, postdated, from a bank in Vinces. The beneficiary’s name was left blank, and the signature was illegible.

The other paper had only one name: mine.