Read Online A Death in Valencia by Jason Webster - Free Book Online Page B

her. Or if she was expecting him again that night.
    â€˜And I’m really sorry about your neighbour,’ Torres said, looking down. ‘The woman and her little baby. They, er, mentioned it on the TV.’
    â€˜Yeah,’ Cámara said. ‘So am I.’
    He finished off his second cup of brandy, and reached forward for the hip flask they kept in their shared office as an emergency supply. It had been Cámara’s turn to refill it, though, and there was barely a drop left.
    â€˜I can go out and get some more,’ Torres said. ‘You look like you need it.’
    â€˜I’m all right,’ Cámara said, raising a hand. ‘Thanks. I’ll pick something up myself later on.’
    He crinkled the plastic cup in between his fingers, his gaze unfocused.
    â€˜They’ll be wrangling over the responsibility now,’ he said, gritting his teeth. ‘The Town Hall trying to claim it was nothing to do with them. The landlady saying it was all their fault. She’s well connected–it won’t be easy to lay it on her.’
    He threw his head back and sighed.
    â€˜What I’m wondering is if there’s a case for manslaughter here.’
    Torres gave a low whistle.
    â€˜The building was falling apart. I saw some cracks in the wall myself, but…’
    He covered his face with his hands.
    â€˜You couldn’t have done anything,’ Torres said. ‘You couldn’t have saved her. The building could have come down at any time. Just because you didn’t mention some cracks in the wall? How long do you think it would have taken the Town Hall to send the inspectors round?’
    â€˜They’re building the bloody new metro line right outside. They must have been on the alert.’
    Torres pursed his lips.
    â€˜Come on. You know they don’t work like that. That’s far too proactive for this lot. Wait for the disaster to happen and then blame it on someone else–that’s how they operate. You know that. Trying to fix things before they occur takes up far too much time. And money.’
    â€˜A young woman and her baby died.’
    â€˜I know. It’s the kind of thing we deal with every week.’
    Cámara shot him a look.
    â€˜I’m not trying to say it’s not horrible, that it’s not awful and disgusting,’ Torres said. ‘But who’s your manslaughterer here? Your landlady? She’ll just say the Town Hall failed in their responsibility to inspect all buildings over fifty years old. And then they’re building the metro line–well, that’s not her fault, either.
    â€˜Then who? The Town Hall? They’ll say that they did carry out inspections, that their technicians did all they had to do, but it’s not their fault if the cracks were invisible, or in flats they couldn’t get inside because no one was at home when they called. They’ll have records of all their visits, and everything they saw. And it will prove that they did the minimum, and that they can’t be held responsible either.’
    Cámara tapped his fingertips together as Torres continued.
    â€˜So where do you go from there? The original builders? That place went up, when? In the fifties?’
    â€˜About that.’
    â€˜Right, well, you try and find the architect now. Might be difficult to press charges. Know what I mean?’
    Cámara was shaking his head.
    â€˜What I’m trying to say is that this is a political case. Yes, a woman and her little son have died. That’s the human side of it. But we both know that that will soon be drowned out by the sound of politicos and civil servants scrabbling to save themselves while they’re busy putting the boot into their opponents. The opposition are already using this to make waves. Emilia’s even appeared to make a statement about how everyone’s homes are safe, and there’s nothing to worry about.’
    Silently, Cámara wondered