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Natalia and Carlos came into the room where Gus was waiting for them, sitting in front of Andrea’s laptop with his arms folded across his chest and a smile of superiority on his face.
‘Didn’t I tell you I’d manage it?’ he told them by way of greeting. ‘Here we have our guy.’
Natalia sat down beside him and moved the computer in order to see what was showing on the screen. Carlos remained standing, with his hands resting on the back of the chair that she was in, and leant forwards to read.
‘What’s this supposed to be?’ she asked, as she manoeuvred the mouse in order to see the entire page.
‘It’s Quicklove, an online dating site in the style of Tinder or Meetic. It isn’t a page for making friends or talking about love. These people know what it’s all about.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Carlos.
‘Well, it’s because we’re not facing another Charon, and the victims aren’t innocent little girls to charm, either. On this page, the people become acquainted, send a few photos, and meet up to have sex. Just like that, without any further complications or sentimentalities.’
‘Wow, how direct. I think I liked Charon’s style better,’ commented Natalia.
‘Well I like this one way more,’ commented Gus. ‘This way I’m not going to have to spend hours reading sickeningly sweet chat threads. A couple of conversations per victim, and sorted.’
‘Well, that has its negative side,’ said Carlos. ‘We have far less chance that the killer has let slip any important piece of information about himself. What have you found out?’
‘The first thing is that you were right: Azkar is the killer’s nickname. To tell the truth, it’s not an entirely suitable name.’
‘Why do you say that?’ asked Natalia.
‘Well, Azkar means quickly in Basque. If what you’re offering is a shag, then saying that you’re quick doesn’t seem to be the best cover letter. I would have chosen something that meant fiery, powerful, hot...’
‘That’s because you’re a more randy git than anyone,’ joked Carlos. ‘Do we have any information about him?’
‘Not much. On this page, people are fairly discreet, so they don’t give much personal information. According to what he puts on his profile, he’s thirty-five years old, single, and from Bilbao. This is his description: “I’m a happy and active guy who loves to travel and play sports. I like good music, animals, and cooking.”’
‘You have to put all those hobbies down just for sex? What more is it to you whether he likes animals or not in order to have a roll in the hay with you?’ asked Carlos.
‘I can’t believe how stupid you are. You need to write something on the profile and put those kinds of things you favour which could start a conversation. What do you want him to put? I measure eight inches and I like light S&M?’
‘I’m beginning to feel uncomfortable with this conversation,’ intervened Natalia.
‘Well then don’t open his chat thread with Andrea,’ Gus recommended. The following second, Natalia was clicking to see the conversation. ‘Don’t say I didn’t warn you.’
‘My God! Is that a penis?’
‘Yes, Natalia, it is. I don’t know why I bother speaking, if you never pay any bloody attention to me. I’ve already told you that on this site they don’t mess about.’
‘But there are photos of Andrea naked too...’ Natalia was astonished. ‘And then people are surprised about what’s happened to them.’
‘What the hell do you mean by that?’ asked Carlos.
‘I don’t know... Sending these kinds of photos, meeting up with men they don’t know from Adam in order to have sexual relations... They were asking for it.’
‘My God, Natalia...’ Carlos took a couple of steps away from her and stood looking at her with his mouth open. ‘It’s one thing for you to have had a traditional education, and another for you to allow your grandmother to talk out of your mouth. How were they asking for it?’
‘I’m just saying that if they hadn’t met up with guys they didn’t know, this wouldn’t have happened to them.’
‘I’m genuinely gobsmacked at you, Natalia. I know you’ve never been one to go out and flirt, but there are concepts you have to understand. When a woman goes out looking for sex, she goes out looking for consensual sex with the man she chooses. That does not give any pervert the right to say vulgar things to her, become a pest, or place a hand on her. And much less gives a madman the right to kidnap, torture, and kill her.’
‘Yes, I know that...’
‘No. You know it on a theoretical level, but inside you you’re still thinking that thing about “they were asking for it”. I need you to have it very clear in your mind who is the one responsible in all of this, because we’re the ones who’re going to be in charge of searching for him and putting him behind bars. And if you’re going to excuse it, you’re not the suitable person to be leading this case.’
Natalia lowered her gaze and remained silent. She did not like to admit Carlos was right about anything, but she had to acknowledge that on this occasion he was. The fact that she had been brought up differently and could not imagine herself meeting with a stranger in order to have sexual relations did not give her the right to judge those women. She limited herself to nodding, feeling embarrassed. Fortunately, Gus decided to intervene in the conversation and take the heat off her.
‘Well, I’ve found something that I’m sure you’re going to love. This Azkar, thank God, has sent photos of other parts of his anatomy besides his penis.’ Gus performed several clicks of his tongue, and a photo appeared on the screen. ‘This is the face of our suspect.’
‘He’s fairly attractive and has a good boy face,’ commented Natalia.
‘Yes, to tell the truth he is attractive,’ admitted Gus, shrugging his shoulders. ‘With that smile, nobody would say he devoted himself to killing women.’
‘Would you be able to send me the photo and all the details by email?’ asked Carlos. ‘We’ll compare it with the photos of any sexual criminals on our files, to see if there’s any luck there.’
‘Of course,’ Gus typed into the keyboard for a few seconds. ‘There you have it. And what if he isn’t on file?’
‘I’ll have to talk with Aguirre. Perhaps we should pass the photo onto the press in order to ask for public cooperation. Someone must know this guy.’
‘Have you got anything on Carmen’s computer?’ asked Natalia.
‘No. I still haven’t uncovered the password, but I hope it won’t take much longer. As soon as I can get in, I’ll let you know.’
‘Good work, my boy,’ Carlos said to him, giving him a couple of pats on the back. ‘With any luck, we’ll have that son of a bitch behind bars before the end of the week.’
*****
She should never have looked at his phone. Through the tears, Estefanía repeated that sentence over and over again whilst she waited for her computer to boot up. She should never have looked at his phone. It was one thing to suspect that Sergio was no longer interested in her; that he no longer found her attractive; that perhaps he was being unfaithful on all of those weekend conferences, and another thing to see it with her own eyes... All of those photos, all of those bawdy conversations, all of those allusions to past nights of pleasure, all of those women... She should never have looked at his phone. Letting out a gasp, she hid her face in her hands, trying to expel all of that rage and sorrow.
After a few minutes she realised that she would never get over it. The trust had been forever broken, and there was no going back now. She would never be able to forgive Sergio for what he had done to her. She would give herself a few hours or days to contemplate her decision and to calm down, and then she would tell him that their marriage was over. But before that, she had something else to do: something that would serve to rebuild the pieces of her self-esteem. She needed to retaliate, to hurt him in the same way that he was hurting her.
She opened up the browser and typed in “Websites for finding a partner”. The screen filled with results. She chose one of the first ones almost by chance. Quicklove. That’s what she needed. Something fast, before she had a chance regret it, before the feelings she still continued to have for her husband stopped her.
She began filling out the registration page, cursing all of those questions. Age, residence, hobbies, likes... By the time she managed to fill out the whole questionnaire, her confidence had already begun to dissipate. What if all of this was no use? Why would she think that any one of the men on that site was going to be interested in her? Sergio was sleeping beside her, and had not felt the least bit of interest for her in months now. Whilst she was suffering to hear any loving word from him again, to be caressed again, to feel desired, he was looking for any other woman than her. And what if the problem was with her? What if she was no longer desirable to any man?
The beeping sound of an incoming message brought her out of that vortex of negative thoughts. Someone had taken interest in her profile. And in less than five minutes! She clicked on the envelope icon that was blinking on the screen and a message opened up. On it appeared the photo of a young and attractive man, with dark hair and incredible black eyes. She read the message whilst a smile began to faintly appear on her face, banishing all of her tears into oblivion:
Hello, I’m Azkar. I liked the smile in your profile so much that I don’t know whether I’ll be able to withstand seeing it in real life.
*****
After dropping Gus off at his home, Carlos started up the car again. Natalia was beside him, in the passenger seat. She had been very quiet throughout the entire journey to Sestao, and it seemed she was going to continue in that way. When Carlos was on the verge of turning on the radio to break that uncomfortable silence, she began to speak:
‘You know something? I’ve been thinking about what you told me before...’
‘About what? I’ve said a lot of rubbish by the time the end of the day rolls around.’
‘This wasn’t rubbish. I think you could be right when you say I’m not going to be able to lead the investigation on the deaths of those women.’
‘Wow, now you’re the one talking rubbish,’ he joked.
‘I’m being serious. I go around like I’m a modern and feminist woman, but, without realising it, I’m full of prejudice. I don’t know whether that could be due to all those years I spent in a convent school, or because of such a strict upbringing that my father gave me, or because I have never been too sociable and have never gone out to have drinks and to flirt, but I find it incredibly difficult to put myself in those women’s shoes without judging them.’
‘Don’t worry. That’s what I’m here for: to hold back your chauvinist and hetero-patriarchal mind.’
‘Do you want to talk seriously for a moment? This really bothers me.’ She puffed out, feeling offended. ‘How am I going to see this case in an objective way; how am I going to create a profile of the killer; how am I going to find out his motivations and patterns of behaviour, if I’m busy judging the victims; if I’m not capable of understanding them?’
‘Natalia, you’re the most professional person I know. You’ll do a good job. Besides, you have me to help you.’
‘Can you help me to understand a person who only looks for sex in a relationship?’
Natalia waited a few seconds, but no reply came from the other seat. She turned towards Carlos, who was pretending to be highly focussed on driving, whilst trying to contain a little grin.
‘Seriously? I can’t believe it...’
‘Natalia, please. Are you going to be shocked now? I got divorced seven years ago, and have gone five without a single stable relationship. Did you think I’d been holed up in my home like a Carmelite monk?’
‘And did you sleep with a lot of women?’
The car became plunged into silence once more. After a few seconds had gone by, Carlos diverted his gaze from the road and looked at her as he shook his head.
‘Don’t ask questions you don’t want to know the answer to.’
Natalia opened her mouth to respond, but she closed it back up again without saying anything. Maybe he was right. What use would it be to her knowing whether he had gone to bed with ten, twenty, or fifty women? There was no sense in obtaining a piece of information that would only serve for her to torture herself with. She leant back in the seat, sighed, and tried to settle the conversation.
‘All right. Then every time I have a question about loveless sex, I’ll consult my expert.’
‘Well ask soon. I’m losing my wisdom on that topic.’
‘How so?’
‘Ever since I met you, I see less sense in it.’