The Exile (61 page)

The corridor was empty and Galíndez tidied her hair before she went down the drab green corridor to reception. She put a hand in her jacket pocket, checking for the tube of painkillers. A couple of those would get her through the meeting nicely. As she looked round for the women's toilets, the receptionist came out of a room a few metres down the corridor.

‘Dr Galíndez?' The woman extended her arm towards the open door. ‘Everyone's ready if you'd like to come in.'

Reluctantly, Galíndez put the tablets back in her pocket and followed the receptionist into the conference room.

There were five people at the table. She already knew the meeting would be conducted by Comandante Del Rio and Capitán Rodriguez from Internal Affairs, and she was expecting Mendez to be there in her role as union representative, but it was a surprise to see Capitán and Señora Fuentes at the table, both staring at her as if she'd just crawled out from under a rock.

‘Have a seat, Dr Galíndez,' Del Rio said, writing in his notebook.

Galíndez went towards an empty chair next to Mendez. Before she could sit down, Mercedes leaped up, her face contorted with anger. ‘We invite you into our home and this is how you repay us?' Her eyes narrowed. ‘You twisted bitch.'

Galíndez struggled for words. ‘
Qué pasa
?' Her voice was still gruff.

Mercedes slapped her across the face, hard. The sound of the blow seemed ridiculously loud in the small room.

Galíndez raised a hand to her cheek, bewildered. Mendez looked on, even more surprised. She'd seen the blow coming, just as she knew Galíndez must have, yet she hadn't blocked it.

Capitán Fuentes pulled his wife away. ‘Leave it,
mi amor
. She's not worth it.'

‘You know,
Capitán
, it would be better if you'd leave this to us,' Del Rio said.

‘He's right. Let's get out of here,' Fuentes said, pushing Mercedes towards the door.

Mercedes looked back at her. ‘How could you, Ana María?'

‘How could I do what?' Galíndez asked. ‘I don't understand what you're so mad about.' She lifted her hand to the angry red mark on her cheek.

Capitán Fuentes took a step towards her, his fists clenched, the veins in his neck bulging. ‘You don't understand how taking advantage of a child's trust is the lowest thing you could stoop to?' He punched his fist into his palm.

‘I had to protect the girls. I couldn't do anything about the fire.'

Fuentes shook his head in disbelief. ‘No one's talking about the fire.'

‘Then what's the matter?'

‘I can't bear to look at you.' He turned and pulled open the door, standing aside to let Mercedes leave. He stared at Galíndez. ‘The next time I see you, I hope you'll be wearing prison uniform.'

Fuentes stormed out, leaving the door open. Galíndez heard Mercedes crying as they went down the corridor to the lift.

Del Rio got up and shut the door. ‘You want a glass of water, Galíndez?'

‘No,
gracias
.
' Her mouth was dry and her throat burned but she refused, knowing if she took a drink they'd see her hand shake as she held the glass. She slumped back in her seat.

Del Rio took a long breath. ‘I'll make this as quick as I can.'

‘Thank you.'

‘Don't thank me yet,' Del Rio said, picking up a large cardboard envelope. He leaned towards the microphone in the centre of the table. ‘For the record, Dr Galíndez is being shown the photographic evidence labelled as item A1.'

‘Just a second,' Mendez cut in. ‘She has a right to know what's happening.'

Del Rio looked up, annoyed at being interrupted. ‘Go ahead.'

Galíndez saw Mendez's expression and felt a sudden weight in her stomach.
She thinks I did something wrong.

‘Ana,' Mendez said, ‘this meeting is about a charge being brought against you. Comandante del Rio will go through it and you can comment or not, it's up to you. You have the right to have a lawyer present, so if you want legal representation we'll stop now and reschedule the meeting for a later date.'

Galíndez looked across the table at the two men, confused. She'd known they'd want to review events at the Fuentes house, but had assumed it would be a formality since she'd risked her life to protect the children. No one had even mentioned that.
Merche hit me. She hated me.
That was what hurt most: not the slap but the anger behind it.
What was she angry about?

‘OK.' Rodríguez looked down at the paper in front of him. ‘First, we have a few questions about the incident at the Fuentes house.'

‘Are the
capitán
and his wife angry because of all the damage?' Galíndez asked.

‘No,' Rodríguez said, avoiding eye contact. ‘And there's no problem about the men you killed in self-defence. We've spoken to the Fuentes girls and they corroborated your story.' He met her eye. ‘To a point. But this is just a preliminary session. You don't have to say anything until you've seen a lawyer.'

‘I've got nothing to hide.'

Rodríguez shrugged. ‘I need to inform you of your rights first.'

Galíndez felt the blood drain from her face. ‘I know my rights.'

‘Just listen,' Mendez said. ‘He has to read your rights in case they decide to arrest you.'

Galíndez stared at Mendez, her heart pounding. Mendez looked away.

‘According to the
Ley de Enjuiciamiento Criminal
article 520.2 the detainee must be informed of the charges resulting in his detention,' Del Rio began.

‘
Her
detention,' Mendez cut in.

‘Whatever.' Del Rio shrugged. ‘Dr Galíndez, you have the right to remain silent, to refuse to answer questions and you may choose to speak only to a
juez de instrucción
.'

‘I don't need an examining magistrate,' Galíndez said. ‘I'll answer your questions.'

Del Rio glanced at his wad of papers. ‘You have the right not to incriminate yourself, the right to legal representation and the right to inform a family member of your arrest.'

‘I know all of that. Can we just get to the part where you tell me what I'm supposed to have done?' She felt her temper rising.

‘In a moment.' Del Rio nodded. ‘First, there's the matter of the two dead men who were found in the bushes where the Fuentes girls were hiding.'

‘I didn't shoot them.' She swallowed, trying to ease the pain of speaking.

‘No one's saying you did,' Del Rio said, impassive.

Rodriguez slid two photographs across the table. ‘You recognise these men?'

‘They're the two corpses I found in the girls' hideaway,' Galíndez said, looking him in the eye. ‘I already said I didn't shoot them.'

‘Want to know who these two are?' Rodriguez asked.

‘Go ahead.'

‘This first one is Juan Luis Calderón, the husband of the Minister of the Interior,' Rodríguez said, watching as her expression changed. ‘You know anything about him?'

‘I certainly do,' Galíndez said, recovering from the surprise. ‘He's been linked to a number of very questionable financial dealings, he's also been under fiscal investigation in at least three European countries and the
guardia civil
have arrested him several times over the last two years on suspicion of corporate fraud. There's also stuff about him attending parties with prostitutes but that didn't constitute a criminal action.'

‘He was never formally charged with any of those things,' Del Rio said.

‘What are you, his lawyer?' She felt Mendez kick her leg.

‘How come you know all that stuff about him?' Rodriguez asked.

‘I did some background checks.'

‘You must have done a lot of checking?'

Galíndez gave him a sharp look. ‘He had a lot of background.'

‘So talk us through why you checked him out.'

‘I was carrying out my investigation into the
niños robados
,' Galíndez began. ‘That led me to a health-care company called GL Sanidad. The chief executive wasn't helpful when I questioned him so I asked to speak to the chairman of the board. It turned out the chairman was Juan Luis Calderón. So then I ran his name through our system.' She looked at them defiantly. ‘I guess you don't remember what real police work is like when you work on this floor?'

Rodriguez smiled to himself.

‘What?' Galíndez snapped. ‘I'm answering your questions and you're being a smart-arse. What's your problem?' She closed her eyes, wishing she'd taken the tablets before she'd come in.

‘You're answering the questions, Ana. But are you answering them truthfully?'

‘So I'm a liar now?' She clenched her fists.

Del Rio cut in. ‘You said you met the chief executive of GL Sanidad, Jesper Karlsson?'

‘That's what I said.'

Del Rio tapped one of the photos lying on the table. ‘But you don't recognise him?'

She looked again at the picture of the dead man. The gaping wounds to his face. ‘This is Karlsson?' She sat back, twirling a strand of hair in her fingers.

Mendez remembered the gesture from when Galíndez was sixteen, training at the dojo. A sign she was under pressure.

Rodríguez sensed he'd got her rattled. ‘So what was your opinion of Karlsson?'

‘My opinion of both these men was very low. Frankly, Karlsson was a complete shit, as far as I'm concerned.'

Mendez groaned and leaned forward, resting her face in her hands.

‘
Joder
, you think I shot them, is that it?' Galíndez glared across the table at Rodríguez. ‘For fuck's sake, it's just a question of ballistics. I was armed with Capitán Fuentes's pistol. Compare a bullet fired from his weapon to the bullets in those guys' heads. It's not difficult. Or is that something else you've forgotten since you moved to this floor?'

‘Calm down,' Rodriguez said, ‘and don't swear at us, please, we're not swearing at you.'

‘
Jesús Cristo
.' Galíndez slammed the table with her fist. ‘Don't talk to me like a cop talking to a drunk on the street corner.'

‘You've got a temper, Ana,' Rodriguez said, locking eyes with her. ‘And by the way, I am a cop and I'll thank you to remember it. I don't have to justify myself to people like you.'

Galíndez leaned forward so quickly Mendez grabbed her arm, thinking she was about to attack him. ‘What do you mean, “people like you”?'

Del Rio tried to calm things down. ‘Just help us here, Ana María. You have no idea why those two were at the Fuentes house?'

Galíndez thought about it, remembering Rosario Calderón's threats in the Retiro. ‘Maybe they were killed to send out a warning.'

‘That's a lot of trouble just to warn someone like you,' Rodríguez scoffed. He saw her expression and gave her a curt smile. ‘By which I mean a lowly
forense
like you. '

‘It could have been a warning to someone else.' Galíndez twisted the tendril of hair again. ‘Perhaps they decided to kill me after I asked Karlsson to put me in touch with Calderón. Maybe they realised the investigation was closing in on them?'

Del Rio was writing in his notebook. ‘That's an interesting idea, Ana. Thanks.'

‘So can I go now?'

Del Rio looked up, surprised. ‘We're not done yet. I said before you're not a suspect for the killings,' he glanced at Rodriguez, ‘even if it might have sounded that way. There's another matter we want to discuss.'

‘Fine.' Galíndez sat back in her chair. ‘So what is it?'

He picked up an envelope from the table and took out a colour photograph. ‘I'm about to show you a photograph retrieved from Inés Fuentes's iPhone. Sargento Mendez, as Dr Galíndez's union representative, will you describe the photograph for the recording?'

‘Certainly not,' Mendez said, angrily. ‘That's your job. I know what it shows and I object to you asking me to do it. I'd like that protest placed on record,
Comandante
.'

‘So noted.' Del Rio scribbled on his pad.

‘What photo?' Galíndez looked at Mendez then Del Rio. Neither seemed to want to meet her eye. She leaned across the table and snatched the photograph. As she stared at it, she pressed her knuckles to her mouth. She was shaking.

The two men waited in silence.

Mendez looked down at her papers. ‘For fuck's sake, one of you two do it.'

Rodriguez reached over and picked up the photo, embarrassed. ‘The photo shows Ana María Galíndez, aged twenty-six, a resident of Madrid. The picture was taken at the house of Capitán Luis Fuentes in the guest bedroom. The location has been confirmed by witnesses.'

Galíndez twisted a lock of hair tight, as if that might make the image go away.

Rodriguez continued. ‘The subject of the photograph is naked. She's kneeling on a small divan in front of a window, one arm outstretched towards a pile of what appear to be white towels. Her body is slightly twisted at the waist, exposing her—'

‘That's enough,' Mendez cut in. ‘You already said she's naked.'

‘The point is,' Del Rio said, ‘the photograph seems to be a glamour-type shot, with Dr Galíndez kneeling on the divan and displaying her... herself.'

‘Don't...' Galíndez whispered.

‘I agree. Let's stop there.' Mendez was raising her voice now.

Galíndez sank back in her seat, suddenly unbearably hot.

Del Rio took the photo from Rodriguez and slid it back into the envelope. ‘I'm sorry, but we had to make clear the basis of the charge.'

‘I want to place on record a request for this photograph to be marked with a unique identifier to prevent anyone making unauthorised copies,' Mendez said. ‘Because if this appears on the net or in any other public domain or is used to harass Dr Galíndez in any way, the union will immediately instigate legal proceedings against the
guardia
and both the Internal Affairs officers present. Are we clear?'