LAURA, TORRES AND the others in Homicidios needed to know. This was now a double murder case – they would have to coordinate the investigation. If they played it right they might have the first arrests before the end of the day.
The botanical gardens were a short distance from the Jefatura. In little over a minute he was parking the bike and stepping inside the door. Once he had got things off the ground he would try ringing Alicia again.
Azcárraga was at reception.
‘No more night shifts, then?’ Cámara called out as he rushed past.
The policeman did not reply.
The first face that Cámara saw as he walked into the murder squad offices was Maldonado. He was dressed in his full police uniform, with thick gold braiding on his cap and a row of medals across his chest.
‘Chief Inspector,’ Maldonado said. He was smiling.
‘You look like you’ve been expecting me,’ said Cámara.
‘Hah! Of course. Always the game with you, always pretending to be one step ahead. I notice you’ve deliberately ignored my directive about the wearing of uniforms. Respect for national institutions is important to some of us, but obviously you regard yourself above such things.’
‘Look, Maldo—’
‘It’s Chief Inspector Maldonado. I am the head of this unit and you will respect that.’
Cámara glanced around the office. Albelda, Lozano and Castro were there, dressed in their uniforms. As was Torres, standing behind Maldonado with a troubled look on his face.
‘OK,’ Cámara said. ‘Something’s going on here and I don’t think it’s anything to do with the clothes I’m wearing right now.’
‘Chief,’ Torres began, trying to take a step forward. But Maldonado put a hand out and stopped him. From somewhere in the corridor two policemen appeared and stood behind Cámara.
‘What’s up?’
‘It’s about your lady friend,’ Maldonado said. ‘Alicia Beneyto. You are intimate, aren’t you?’
‘Cut the shit, Maldo. What the fuck is going on?’
A cold trembling was moving up his legs and into his guts, as if his body already knew.
‘The incident room received a call a few minutes ago,’ Maldonado said. The smile had dropped from his face and he had a look of seriousness and concern. ‘Alicia’s been abducted.’
A wave of nausea, soupy and grey, enveloped him. The threat had been real.
‘It was witnessed by some journalist colleagues,’ Maldonado explained. ‘They’d been talking to her and she was heading off when a car appeared and a group of men bundled her in and drove away.’
The words registered somewhere, but they were drifting in and out, as though caught on a fierce wind.
‘It’s your fault,’ Maldonado said. ‘You’ve been doing your usual, not following protocol, getting non-professionals involved.’
‘How do you know?’ The question was unheard, a whisper as his mind raced.
‘You asked Alicia to snoop around for you and then she got a death threat.’
Sitting in her usual place, Castro kept her eyes fixed on the computer.
‘Which you tried to keep quiet,’ Maldonado continued. ‘And now you’re reaping the reward.’
Cámara stared at the ground, thinking, calculating. His superior’s unexpected presence ceased to matter.
‘This is for your own good as much as for the benefit of the police.’ Maldonado’s words had a harsh, metallic quality, as though barked through a loudspeaker, but Cámara’s mind was focused on what to do next, where to go, who to find. And fast. If the LOP thugs had their hands on Alicia – and who else would it be? – there was very little time. They were capable of committing horrific acts. He had to move. Now.
He spun on his heels to leave, not bothering to hear the rest of Maldonado’s speech, but the two policemen – members of the riot squad? He did not recognise them – stood in his way.
‘What?’
‘We have to think of our reputation.’ Maldonado was still speaking. ‘You have done so much to discredit us, and right now—’
‘Get out of my way!’ shouted Cámara. They did not move. Then at a signal from Maldonado, they stepped forward. One held Cámara by the shoulders while the other pulled his arms behind his back and clapped a pair of handcuffs on him.
He was too stunned to react.
‘Take his phone off him,’ Maldonado ordered. ‘And take him to the cells.’
Cámara tried to struggle free, but the policemen were too strong for him.
‘You can use force if necessary,’ Maldonado said from behind, his voice betraying an excitement behind the faux calm.
‘Maldonado!’ Cámara began to scream.
‘We can’t have you charging around the city like a vigilante,’ Maldonado said. ‘The matter is in hand. You would only make things worse. Now please,’ he addressed the two policemen, ‘take him away. The chief inspector is charged with insubordination and corrupt practice.’
‘Torres,’ Cámara called out as the policemen began to lead him away. ‘Torres, do something.’
‘Inspector Torres is leading the investigation into Señora Beneyto’s disappearance,’ Maldonado added. ‘In the professional manner. And he’s doing everything he can.’
Cámara glanced back as he was pushed and dragged out of the office. Torres, his police cap planted firmly on his head, had averted his eyes.