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“I didn’t think you were going to visit me today,” Sofia said when Cortez entered her hospital room.
“I had work to do,” Cortez said as he dropped casually onto the chair by the bed.
“I thought you’d been put in charge of protecting me. Doesn’t that mean you should be here all the time, making sure I’m alright and someone isn’t trying to kill me?”
“That’s what the officer outside your room is for, and the officer down the corridor at the nurse’s station. I’m in charge of them. I don’t actually have to be here.” It still amazed Cortez that he had been put in charge of Sofia’s protection, he had never expected that to happen.
“So, why are you here?”
“To check on you, make sure you’re safe, and check on the officers looking after you. How’s your day been?”
“Boring. I watched some TV and read the magazines you brought me. I must have been through them all at least half a dozen times now.”
“Didn’t anything interesting happen?”
Sofia shook her head. “Not unless you consider a couple of Interpol agents turning up with some pictures for me to look at interesting. Did they tell you I made an identification? Apparently, the guy I saw at Mr Abrantes’ estate is called Philippe Noir and he’s from France. They said he’s a very nasty person and they’ve been after him for years.”
“I don’t imagine they felt it necessary to give me that information,” Cortez said as he reached into the bag he had brought and took out a plastic tub and some cutlery. He set them on the table in front of Sofia and reached back into the bag for a pair of plastic plates, onto which he set the two slices of lemon cake he removed from the tub. “Perhaps they’ll decide to tell me if they discover a definite threat against you.”
“I don’t understand why your wife left you when you can make cakes like this,” Sofia said after finishing her first mouthful. The circumstances that had resulted in her hospitalisation were terrible, but she couldn’t help thinking that the cakes and desserts Cortez brought her helped to make up for it in some small way. “Doesn’t she appreciate how difficult it is to find a guy who can bake like this? Everything you’ve brought me has been delicious.”
“Unfortunately, it takes more than good desserts to make a marriage successful. You need to be a good husband, and I wasn’t that.”
“Have you ever thought about opening a bakery? You like baking, and with desserts like this you’d probably do pretty well. You might even make more than you do as a cop.”
“It’s a nice idea but I bake to relax. If I was doing it as a job, I’m not sure I’d still enjoy it. Besides, I’d make a lousy businessman, and I couldn’t deal with a partner. Anyway, I don’t have that many years left before I can retire, and I’m looking forward to that. What about you? What do you plan on doing when this is all over?”
“I don’t even want to think about that until it is over. The doctor said I’m going to start therapy soon, physical and psychological.” Sofia didn’t look happy about that, but whether she was unhappy about the prospect of the physical therapy or the psychological was unclear. “What happens now I’ve made an identification?” she asked to change the subject.
“To be honest, I’m not really sure. I imagine Francisco and Interpol will do what they can to make a case against this Philippe Noir and extradite him here so he can be prosecuted. If they do their job right, he and the rest of his organisation will get long sentences. After that, you’ll be able to go back to your life, or maybe on to something new, if that’s what you want.”
“You make it sound so simple.”
“Probably because I’m a simple person,” Cortez said with a laugh. “I don’t have experience with this kind of investigation, so it’s impossible for me to be certain what’s going to happen. There isn’t much point in worrying about it, though. You’ve done your part in identifying the man you saw. The rest is up to Francisco and Interpol.”
“And you get to babysit me until it’s all over.”
“I guess that’s one way of looking at it,” Cortez said as he slid his plate onto the table and got to his feet. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
When Cortez returned with drinks for the two of them, he found Sofia looking worried. “What’s the matter?”
“Do you think many people know that I’ve identified this Philippe Noir?” Sofia asked in a voice that was tinged with fear.
Cortez shrugged. “A few at least, why?”
“I was thinking. The more people that know I’ve identified him, the more likely it is that he’ll find out, and when he does, he’ll send someone to kill me, won’t he?”
“I wouldn’t worry about it. You have two armed officers between here and the lift, and more nearby; there’s plenty of officers around to protect you, and that doesn’t include hospital security. I doubt this Noir will try and have you killed here, though. There are CCTV cameras all over the place, as well as plenty of people. It’d be crazy for anyone to try and get you while there are so many potential witnesses around.”
“But what about when I leave here? There won’t be plenty of people around then, and the doctor said I can go home next week some time. There’s no reason for me to stay now my lungs are recovering. I just have to stay off my feet while my legs heal, and come back for therapy.”
Cortez was both surprised and concerned to hear that Sofia would be going home so soon. While he was reasonably sure that no attack would take place while she was in hospital, he wasn’t so confident that she would be safe after she left. He had been a police officer for long enough to know that for the right price any piece of information could be found, which meant that sooner or later Noir would learn of Sofia Torres’ existence, and where she was, at which point her life would be at risk.
As he thought about it, Cortez realised that an uncomfortably large number of people knew there was a witness to the massacre at the Abrantes Estate. He could think of at least a dozen people who knew of Sofia, and who would soon know that she had identified Philippe Noir, including Diego Vega and Roberto Abrantes. Of those people, the only ones he trusted not to sell the information to Noir were Vega and Roberto Abrantes, which was a thought he found more than a little troubling.
“I don’t know what arrangements have been made for when you leave here. I don’t think anyone was expecting you to be ready to leave quite this soon.” Cortez tried not to let his concern show. “I’ll speak to Francisco first thing and make sure everything’s been organised and you’ll be properly protected.”
“As long as you’re protecting me, I’m sure I’ll be safe.”
Cortez wished he had her confidence.