68

IAGO

Mercury Day, Samhain

Thursday, November 1, 2012

T wo hours after midnight I opened the door to our suite. My father was waiting outside and came in with the stealth of someone well aware of the risk. The lights in our room were switched off, with the exception of the small lamp on the bedside table. Dana was sitting on one of the enormous velvet sofas and gestured to my father to come and sit down beside her.

“Let’s hear your hypothesis,” Héctor said to me, his voice lowered.

“He hasn’t altered his appearance. When he went into exile, he intended to return quickly.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Don’t make excuses for him,” I said, losing patience.

Dana made a gesture to remind both of us that we should keep our voices down.

“A few days ago,” I said, changing tack, “I thought I spotted Patricio in the Esperanza Market carrying various bags of provisions. That means Jairo’s already installed himself back in Santander and, with or without our permission, he intends to stay there. So we’re not the main focus of his attention, but whatever that might be, it’s something in Santander. I think his return has to do with our telomere breakthrough.”

“Do you think Kyra alerted him?”

“That wouldn’t be very smart. Why risk breaking our pact if it provides her with everything she’s been longing for?” I was, in fact, thinking out loud, but I looked at my father and Dana, and they agreed with me: it was highly improbable.

“Anyway, the most likely outcome is that he’ll stick close to Kyra over the next few days. He knows he won’t get anything out of us.”

“Does he suspect that we suspect?” asked Dana.

“He’s an expert chess player, so what do you think?” I replied.

Dana weighed things up briefly. “Well, then, let him carry on. Let’s see where it takes us,” she said to us.

“Okay, but watch your back,” I warned her.

“I will, don’t you worry. One scar is enough.”

We decided our meeting was over, and my father left the room as silently as he’d entered it. Dana and I went to bed, but as soon as she’d fallen asleep I couldn’t stop myself from getting up and endlessly pacing the room, wearing out the spotless carpet. I became so deeply involved in anticipating Jairo’s chess moves that dawn caught me by surprise, leaving me with dark bags under my eyes and black stubble on my face. Dana woke up a short time later, and even though she guessed the reason for my dreadful appearance, she didn’t say anything. She simply came over to me and covered my face and hair with kisses, totally unaffected by the smell of my tiredness and sweat from a very long day and night.

What I didn’t tell her about was the brief conversation I’d had with Jairo when the rest of the family was distracted with other things.

“We have to talk. Alone.” It was an order rather than a request on my part.

“Come to my villa tomorrow evening after my flight gets to Santander,” he’d replied without bothering to look at me.

Samhain had once again become the beginning of my nightmares.