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Authors: Robert Wilson
Tags: thriller
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Chapter 5
Wednesday, 24th July 2002
Back at the crime scene next door everybody had moved upstairs into the Vegas' bedroom. Calderón had already signed off the
levantamiento del cadáver
for Sr Vega. The body was in a bag on a trolley in the hallway, waiting in the air conditioning to be loaded on to the ambulance and taken down to the Instituto Anatómico Forense on Avenida Sánchez Pizjuan.
The crime scene team were now congregated around the bed, looking down at Sra Vega, hands behind backs, solemn as if in prayer. The pillow was off her face and had been put in a plastic bag and leaned against the wall. Her mouth was open. The top lip and teeth were set in a snarl as if she'd left life bitterly. Her lower jaw was off centre.
'She'd been hit once with the right hand,' Calderón explained to Falcón. 'The jaw's dislocated… Probably knocked her unconscious. The Médico Forense thinks it was done with the flat of the hand, rather than a closed fist.'
'What was the time of death?'
'Same time as the husband: three, three thirty. He can't be more accurate than that.'
'Sra Jiménez said she used sleeping pills, two a night, to knock herself out. She must have woken up and had to be subdued before being suffocated. Is there any link between this death and Sr Vega's yet?'
'Not until I get them back to the Instituto,' said the Médico Forense.
'We're hoping for some sweat or saliva on the upper side of the pillow,' said Felipe.
'This strengthens your case for an unknown murderer, Inspector Jefe,' said Calderón. 'I can't see a husband dislocating his wife's jaw.'
'Unless, as I said, she woke up, perhaps got out of bed just as Sr Vega came in full of intent. She might have seen something different in him, become hysterical and he felt the need for violence,' said Falcón. 'I'm still keeping an open mind on this. Any ghosts in here'
'Ghosts?' asked Calderón.
'Something that makes a crime scene look "off", not as it should be,' said Falcón. 'We all had the same feeling about Sr Vega's body in the kitchen. Somebody else had been there.'
'And here?'
Jorge shrugged.
'She was murdered,' said Felipe. 'Nobody was trying to make this scene look like anything else. Whether it was Sr Vega remains to be seen. All we've got is the pillow.'
'What did the neighbours have to say?' asked Calderón, moving away from the others in the room.
'We have some conflicting views,' said Falcón. 'Sra Jiménez has known Sr Vega for some time and did not consider him the suicidal type. She also noted the new car and said he was about to go on holiday to San Diego. Sra Krugman, however, showed me these photographs, taken recently, of Sr Vega in private, clearly distressed and possibly unstable. She let me have this contact sheet.'
Calderón looked over the images, frowning.
'He's barefoot in his garden in January,' said Falcón. 'And there's another one of him crying down by the river.'
'What's she doing, taking these photographs?' asked Calderón.
'It's her work,' said Falcón. 'The way she expresses herself.'
'Taking shots of people's private distress?' said Calderón, raising an eyebrow. 'Is she weird?'
'She told me that she was interested in the private, inner struggle,' said Falcón. 'You know, that voice that Sr Vázquez talked about. The one nobody ever hears.'
'But what's she doing with it?' asked Calderón. 'Recording the face but not the voice… I mean, what's the point?'
'The voice is loud in the head but silent to the outside world,' said Falcón. 'She's interested in the distressed person's need to be out in the open… amongst his fellow strangers, walking his pain out of himself.'
They exchanged a look, left the room and went into Mario's bedroom. Calderón gave him back the contact sheet.
'What's all that bullshit about?' said Calderón.
'I'm telling you what she said.'
'Is she getting some… vicarious experience from this?'
'She's got a photograph of
me
on her wall,' said Falcón, still seething. 'A
Chapter 5
Wednesday, 24th July 2002
Back at the crime scene next door everybody had moved upstairs into the Vegas' bedroom. Calderón had already signed off the
levantamiento del cadáver
for Sr Vega. The body was in a bag on a trolley in the hallway, waiting in the air conditioning to be loaded on to the ambulance and taken down to the Instituto Anatómico Forense on Avenida Sánchez Pizjuan.
The crime scene team were now congregated around the bed, looking down at Sra Vega, hands behind backs, solemn as if in prayer. The pillow was off her face and had been put in a plastic bag and leaned against the wall. Her mouth was open. The top lip and teeth were set in a snarl as if she'd left life bitterly. Her lower jaw was off centre.
'She'd been hit once with the right hand,' Calderón explained to Falcón. 'The jaw's dislocated… Probably knocked her unconscious. The Médico Forense thinks it was done with the flat of the hand, rather than a closed fist.'
'What was the time of death?'
'Same time as the husband: three, three thirty. He can't be more accurate than that.'
'Sra Jiménez said she used sleeping pills, two a night, to knock herself out. She must have woken up and had to be subdued before being suffocated. Is there any link between this death and Sr Vega's yet?'
'Not until I get them back to the Instituto,' said the Médico Forense.
'We're hoping for some sweat or saliva on the upper side of the pillow,' said Felipe.
'This strengthens your case for an unknown murderer, Inspector Jefe,' said Calderón. 'I can't see a husband dislocating his wife's jaw.'
'Unless, as I said, she woke up, perhaps got out of bed just as Sr Vega came in full of intent. She might have seen something different in him, become hysterical and he felt the need for violence,' said Falcón. 'I'm still keeping an open mind on this. Any ghosts in here'
'Ghosts?' asked Calderón.
'Something that makes a crime scene look "off", not as it should be,' said Falcón. 'We all had the same feeling about Sr Vega's body in the kitchen. Somebody else had been there.'
'And here?'
Jorge shrugged.
'She was murdered,' said Felipe. 'Nobody was trying to make this scene look like anything else. Whether it was Sr Vega remains to be seen. All we've got is the pillow.'
'What did the neighbours have to say?' asked Calderón, moving away from the others in the room.
'We have some conflicting views,' said Falcón. 'Sra Jiménez has known Sr Vega for some time and did not consider him the suicidal type. She also noted the new car and said he was about to go on holiday to San Diego. Sra Krugman, however, showed me these photographs, taken recently, of Sr Vega in private, clearly distressed and possibly unstable. She let me have this contact sheet.'
Calderón looked over the images, frowning.
'He's barefoot in his garden in January,' said Falcón. 'And there's another one of him crying down by the river.'
'What's she doing, taking these photographs?' asked Calderón.
'It's her work,' said Falcón. 'The way she expresses herself.'
'Taking shots of people's private distress?' said Calderón, raising an eyebrow. 'Is she weird?'
'She told me that she was interested in the private, inner struggle,' said Falcón. 'You know, that voice that Sr Vázquez talked about. The one nobody ever hears.'
'But what's she doing with it?' asked Calderón. 'Recording the face but not the voice… I mean, what's the point?'
'The voice is loud in the head but silent to the outside world,' said Falcón. 'She's interested in the distressed person's need to be out in the open… amongst his fellow strangers, walking his pain out of himself.'
They exchanged a look, left the room and went into Mario's bedroom. Calderón gave him back the contact sheet.
'What's all that bullshit about?' said Calderón.
'I'm telling you what she said.'
'Is she getting some… vicarious experience from this?'
'She's got a photograph of
me
on her wall,' said Falcón, still seething. 'A
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