Valentina's Lost Days Page 9

  Ishmael bites himself so hard that he feels the bone of his index finger crunch under the pressure of his fangs. But he does not feel pain. On the contrary, the taste of his blood comforts him.

  - "I have to meet Spring_Love -concludes-. I must make sure she does not know anything.

  Otherwise, Ishmael knows what he must do ...

  - I cannot leave loose ends.

  - (9.15 h.) Where do we see, Superrman? You are very quiet! You still there?

  - (9.15 h.) Yes. Here I am! How about Flamingos coffee? Do you know it?

  Ishmael hopes so. It is a trendy place among young people and sufficiently far away from the university campus; so, anyone can recognize him.

  - (9.13 h.) Yes!!!!!!!!! I like the Flamingos.

  Ismael breathes a little more relieved.

  - (9.13 h.) See you at 11? -He proposes. - Is it ok for you?

  - (9.14 h.) Ok ... But how do I recognize you? You have not told me how you are!

  - (9.14 h.) I'm dark skin ... and thin ... And you?

  - (9.14 h.) I have black hair and ... I'm a little plump.

  -6-

  Lazarus prepares himself. Open the closet and choose a casual white poplin shirt. It has elbow pads and is made of 100% cotton fabric. The collar is classic and has front buttons. Lazarus unbuttons the buttoned rounded of the long sleeves and exposes his forearms.

  Of trousers, he chooses jeans with the vintage effect. Finally, he puts on his untouched English leather shoes in brown suede.

  He sees him in the mirror. He always liked good clothes, but now it barely fit him. The shirt he has chosen is just skintight because of his new musculature.

  But he does not complain. Looks good. What's more, it looks very good. The only thing he does not just get used to is his tattoo. But he had to do it; It was necessary. In prison, that snake had a meaning: rejection of the police. And it is that the prison stay of a former Chief Inspector of the National Police is not easy. While killing a rapist was something well seen by his fellow prisoners, they could not stop seeing him as a policeman. So, to make it clear that it no longer belonged to the squad, that horrible serpent was tattooed where everyone could see it ...

  Lazarus goes down the stairs and goes to the garage. Start his old three-seat Corrado and press the automatic door opening button.

  He is nervous. He knows that the Francisco who hides behind Superrman (if that is his real name) is related to Valentina's suicide.

  - "It has too much interest in knowing Spring_Love" - he thinks, going out on the street-. - "And, besides, he got nervous. When I told him that my name was Valentina, she took several minutes to answer."

  Lazarus presses the auto-close button and steps on the accelerator.

  He knows he must be careful.

  -7-

  The Flamingos is crowded. It is lunchtime, and the workers of the surrounding establishments have made a brief break in their workday to recover their energy.

  The special lunch is the toast, in its many variations: tomato toast, toast with tomato and tuna, toast with fresh cheese, toast with potato omelet brochette and toast with ham, also known as "Catalanas."

  The Flamingos is a popular bar. It is spacious, bright, cheap and with good service. And that's not to mention the varied forms of entertainment it offers: arcade machines, table football, billiards and darts machines.

  Lazarus watches some boys who have made truant. For his short stature and hairless beards (and that without considering the backpacks that have been stacked in the corner of the bar), it is obvious that they should be in the Institute. But nobody seems to care. The boys do not bother. They are at the end of the bar, perfecting their bullseyes and drinking sodas.

  Lazarus consults the screen of his mobile: it is 10.30 h. He has arrived half an hour in advance. He wants to take the right place.

  He sits down at the bar, between a woman who looks like an executive and a man with a business sign engraved on his shirt: BROTHERS CORTÉS SHOES, S.L.

  Lazarus picks up the local newspaper and pretends to look at it. All around, everything seems in order. No one can call his attention, just workers finishing lunch.

  - "What does the Lord would like to drink?" -The waitress asks.

  - "Coffee with milk and saccharin."

  - "Anything else?"

  - "That's all." -Lazarus deposits a one-euro coin on the table. - "Cash it now, thanks."

  Lazarus lowers the newspaper. He has sat in front of the entrance door, at a discrete seven meters. From there he can control without being controlled.

  Everything goes smoothly and without incident until the executive-looking woman asks:

  - "Excuse me, could it be that we know each other?"

  Lazarus looks at her. The woman wears a black dress with white stripes that exposes her legs. She has her hair pulled back in a sober ponytail and wore black pasta glasses.

  - "I doubt it very much, ma'am." -Lazarus, finishing the conversation, turns his gaze to the newspaper.

  - "I'm not a ma'am; I'm a Miss." -The woman takes a drink of her coffee. To his bad luck, she still must eat half a tuna toast. And that is going to take time.

  - "Well, in that case, I doubt it very much, Miss." -Lazarus is unpleasant and says Miss with a sarcastic tone. But the young lady seems not to notice his scorn.

  - "Do you come here often?"

  Lazarus does not want to get up. On the one hand, if Superrman is watching from the outside, he could notice his presence and, on the other side, a man of his size sitting alone at a table would quickly call his attention. No, his place is in the bar.

  - "Miss, I do not want to be rude to you, but leave me alone, okay?" -Lazarus closes the newspaper and stares at her. - "It's not a good time, please."

  The woman notices the snake head that crawls down his neck.

  - "Excuse me, but from where I can remember your face? Are you famous or something?"

  Lazarus swallows. That cannot be happening to him. The woman keeps talking, but Lazarus looks at the front door. A young man has just entered. He will be about 20 years old. He is tall ... and dark skin ...

  - "I already know it! I already know who you are! -The woman with an executive look, as if she had just seen a ghost, has raised her voice so much that the rest of the diners at the bar look at her. And so, does the young man who has just entered. Lazarus thinks he has seen it before, but where?

  - "You are Lazarus del Río! The policeman who KILLED that RAPIST!

  The silence reigns in the Flamingos. Everyone looks at Lazarus, some directly, others sideways. They Know who he is, including the guy at the door. The young man watches him with his eyes wide open. And Lazarus watches him. For a few seconds, they hold their eyes, calculating their next movements. Finally, the young man runs.

  Lazarus jumps up and goes after him.

  -8-

  Superrman is more agile and faster than he estimated. He is skinny and moves his legs at such a speed that he seems to be flying. Lazarus, for his part, doubles his age and weight, but he is more resistant. It follows behind without fatigue, implacable.

  About twenty meters separate them. And Lazarus is approaching.

  The distance between both decreases. Lazarus listens to the young man's labored breathing. He knows he will not hold the pace much longer; sooner or later he will have to stop to recover his breath.

  But the boy has parked near the Flamingos and goes to his car: A Silver Seat Ibiza. Lazarus hurries the step and cuts the distance. His effort is not enough. The young man has already activated the button for opening the remote key, and the car makes its corresponding flickering of indicators, indicating that the doors are open.

  Lazarus comes closer, but the boy has already reached the vehicle. Quickly, opens the driver's door, access inside and close the doors. Lazarus reaches his height shortly before the engine starts.

  - "Don't run, you bastard!" -He says, hitting the driver's window. - "You cannot escape!"

  The young man looks at him one
last time from the security offered by the window glass. Is evident that he is on the verge to faint. Without a doubt, the final dash has left him exhausted. But even so, he dedicates a grimace to him. Then, step on the accelerator and disappear from the place.

  Lazarus watches the Seat Ibiza lose itself down the street. But first, memorize the license plate number.

  -9-

  Lazarus writes down the license plate number on his mini-pad, and he calls to mind from where he saw the boy's face. They have already coincided before.

  Everything was triggered too quickly to fall into the moment, but he already knows it:

  - "It's the same young man who spent that night in front of Marta's cottage."

  At the time, it seemed suspicious. Lazarus saw him driving his silver Seat Ibiza and briefly divert his gaze to Marta's house as if trying to prove something. But the young man noticed his presence and disappeared from the place.

  Now, standing in the middle of the street, Lazarus remembers it. The Flamingos is down the road, more than 200 meters away, and all the diners congregate at the door of the establishment. They observe him (some point it out) with a mixture of interest and fear.

  And there's that woman who looks like an executive. If she had kept his mouth shut ...

  But it's too late. Superrman is forewarned. And that is bad. An animal that feels threatened can be especially dangerous.

  And Superrman is cornered. If there was any chance that he would not have recognized him the first time they met, now he knows that former Chief Inspector Lazarus del Rio ("The policeman who KILLED that RAPIST!"), is following his steps.

  Lazarus begins to walk towards his Corrado. He does not want to continue being the focus of attention of that crowd.

  The Volkswagen parked a block away from the Flamingos, so he has time to walk a couple of minutes in silence. Take the journey to think ... but immediately go to his Corri. Open the door and, once inside the vehicle, removes the phone from the pocket of his jeans.

  He must make a call.

  -10-

  Lazarus calls Roccio, an old acquaintance who works at the DGT. Since his entry into prison, he has not heard from her again. Expect it to stay alive.

  Wait a few seconds until, on the other side of the line, he hears a female voice:

  - "Hello" -She says with a different voice than Lazarus remembers.

  - "Roccio, is that you?" -He must make sure it's her. There should be no intermediaries.

  - "Yes, who is it?"

  - I'm Lazarus del Rio.

  Roccio keeps a prolonged silence, so much that Lazarus looks at the screen of his cell phone to check that the call is still ongoing.

  - "God, Lazarus! How are you? It's been an eternity ..."

  - "Can you do to an old friend a favor?" -Lazarus knows that time is against him. He must act with haste. - "You see, I've had a mishap with another driver, and I need to identify him ... Can you check a license plate?"

  Roccio is silent again. She is aware of his situation. He is no longer Chief Inspector, in fact, he is not even a simple police officer. Roccio, as an official of the General Traffic Direction, must comply with a protocol: the application for an Enrollment Report. You cannot provide this information as well as the first to call her on the phone.

  - "Come on, Roccio, do it for the good old days. It will not take you more than a minute. And you know it."

  - "God! Lazarus, do you know what can happen if ...?"

  - "Nobody will know, do not worry.

  He is putting her in a tight spot. Roccio is a good woman, and he is taking advantage of that. It is not something noble, but Lazarus has no other alternative. He must find Superrman. And as soon as possible.

  - "All right, tell me the license plate. Quick."

  Lazarus reads the four numbers and three corresponding letters. Listen to Roccio type on the computer with a smile. You are accessing the registry of the Central Traffic Headquarters.

  - "Take note," -she says finally. - "The date of first registration is October 17, 2016. The holder is one Esteban Zamora Vivancos. The car is clean: it does not have domain reservations, nor claims of debts with the Treasury, nor incidents, nor ..."

  - "I'm interested in the headline information," -he interrupts. - "What else can you tell me about Esteban Zamora Vivancos?"

  - "Well ... "-Roccio doubts-. - "As I say, there is no claim or any vehicle tax pending payment."

  - "Where does he live? -he asks.

  - "I do not have the way of knowing. Hey, Lazarus ... is everything all, right? You're not getting into another mess, are you?"

  - "Do not worry," -he says, tearing off his old Corrado. Thank you so much for everything. You are a sun."

  -11-

  Ishmael enters to his room 2-18. He cannot be controlled. He beats up himself. He hits his knees again and again against the wall. He does it with strength, wanting to break the kneecaps. Then, when the pain impedes him from standing, he throws himself to the ground and begins to punch his ribs. He forces down his fists repeatedly into his abdomen, at the height of his floating ribs, but he is so cowardly that he does not fracture anything.

  Ishmael begins to cry. He has fallen into the trap. He has been so idiotic, so extremely stupid, as getting into the mouth of the wolf.

  Besides, at the time, he did not recognize him ... And he should have done it.

  - "Lazarus del Río." -The mere fact of thinking about the name of the former Chief Inspector of Police makes him shiver. – “He has seen my face. He knows who I am. He knows what I have done.”

  Ishmael has no doubts. The person hidden behind Spring_Love is no any friend of Valentina. On that, he was right: that obese had no friends. But, what he could never imagine is that Spring_Love was Lazarus del Río.

  He should have recognized him that night. The man he found on the sidewalk right in front of Valentina's house, the man who, for some reason, caused him deep mistrust, was him.

  Ishmael hits his ribs like a maniac, but his fists, on impact, slow down. He knows he has no courage to fracture any bone. And that infuriates him more.

  - "I should have recognized him ... I should have recognized him ..."

  But he has changed a lot. In fact, if that woman of the Flamingos had not shouted to the four winds that it was Lazarus del Rio, "the policeman who KILLED that RAPIST," he would not have identified him.

  And, suddenly, Ishmael falls into the account: Lazarus del Río is after him. It is only a matter of hours (if not minutes) that appears through the door of room 2-18. He does not want to imagine what he can do to him.

  Ishmael remembers how he killed that rapist with bullets and ...

  He swallows saliva. He cannot hide anymore. And he does not intend to enter the prison without making a little more noise.

  - "A last work of art," -he tells himself. - "I will say goodbye with my masterpiece. The biggest one that has been seen."

  -12-

  Lazarus goes up to the second floor of his duplex and locks himself in his office. It has the name and surname of the owner of the silver Seat Ibiza, but no idea of ​​his whereabouts.

  He must find him, and he does not have time to go to the Land Registry and present a property locating sheet. He must do it now.

  Lazarus types in Google "Esteban Zamora Vivancos", cross his fingers and press Enter.

  The search engine yields several results but, among them, the headline of newspaper stands out. The news was published more than two years ago. Lazarus clicks on it and reads:

  INDUSTRIES SUZA EXPANDS

  With the incorporation of KIRT, SUZA, a company founded in 1997 by Esteban Zamora Vivancos, is already present in 9 countries of the continent (France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Portugal) thanks to its logistics platforms of distribution.

  The current situation derives from a process that started ...

  The rest does not interest him. Lazarus looks at the name of the newspaper: Zaragoza In Times.


  That does not make sense. If the owner of Seat Ibiza is the same Esteban who founded SUZA, what does this car do in Madrid?

  Lazarus goes down to the end of the news and looks at the picture. In it appears Esteban Zamora. He knows this because the text at the bottom of the image makes it known:

  Esteban, owner of SUZA (left) and Patrick, owner of KIRT (right) after the merger of the two companies.

  Lazarus enlarges the screen. The two men shake hands, smiling, while a crowd applauds. But Lazarus notices the boy next to Esteban. He is tall, thin and dark. His resemblance to Esteban Zamora is more than remarkable. The young man applauds the agreement, but, unlike the others, he does not smile. Lazarus recognizes it. In the photo, he is younger, but he has the same face. It's his Superman.

  -13-

  Lazarus enters the website of SUZA. It is a company dedicated to the distribution of accessories for motorcycles and bicycles. Find the contact phone at the bottom of the web and call.

  After almost a minute of waiting, a receptionist answered.

  - "Good morning, my name is Judith, how can I help you?"

  - "I am the former Chief Inspector of the National Police Corps Lazarus del Río, plate number 18963-C. I need to speak immediately with Esteban Zamora Vivancos."

  Lazarus knows that his credentials have been too long to notice the "ex" that precede them.

  - "Sir, I'm afraid it's not possible for me ..."

  - "Pass me with the owner of SUZA, Judith. I must to speak directly with Esteban Zamora Vivancos. I do not want any herald in between. Do you understand?"

  The receptionist hesitates for a moment but ends up giving in.

  - "All right, sir, I give you his private phone number."

  -14-

  Ishmael leaves room 2-18. With so much commotion, he had forgotten: today, June 5th, at 12:00 noon, he has a Concurrent and Distributed Programming exam, one of the subjects he planned to suspend. If it were not for the sheet that he printed with the examinations of the Degree in Computer Science, now he would not be addressing the lecture hall of the faculty and, most importantly, he would have left the opportunity to carry out his masterpiece.