the call afterwards — he knew the deal was off.’
‘And what’s your reading of this development?’ asked Falcon.
‘I think she had him done,’ said Ramirez. ‘You might think this is an elaborate way of going about it, but that’s just the point. The wife has made a success out of paying attention to the details. She thinks things through from beginning to end. Nothing is left to chance, whether it’s making sure the kitchens are getting the right produce or planning her husband’s murder.’
‘You know what?’ said Falcon. ‘I agree. I think she’s capable.’
Ramirez’s chest expanded. He went to the window and looked out over the car park as if it had become his kingdom.
‘But there might be another dimension,’ added Falcon. ‘On the surface, she and I had a good, co-operative meeting this afternoon, except she told me very little. And when I asked for her husband’s records from his time on the Building Committee for Expo ‘92 she denied there were any such files and got the secretary to do the same.’
‘That’s crazy,’ said Perez. ‘There has to be something.’
‘Another thing: Raul Jimenez is a very successful businessman. He comes from Andalucian peasant stock and by his son’s account he was a ruthless operator. So ruthless that thirty-six years ago his youngest son was kidnapped as an act of revenge. He barely co-operated with the police. He moved his family out of the town. And then he systematically stamped out any memory of his child. He did this because he was faced with the choice of losing everything or losing everything except his wealth and status.’
‘I’m not sure of your point, Inspector Jefe,’ said Ramirez.
‘What stopped Raul Jimenez selling those restaurants?’ asked Falcon.
‘The wife.’
‘She didn’t murder him, did she?’ said Falcon. ‘But given Raul Jimenez’s reputation you’d have thought she’d have to.’
‘She threatened to expose him,’ said Perez.
‘Over a kidnapped child thirty-six years ago?’ said Ramirez.
‘She didn’t know that then. I only told her that after I’d spoken to Jose Manuel Jimenez.’
‘So what did she have on him?’
‘Something to do with Expo ‘92,’ said Falcon. ‘I think she must have found his papers and uncovered a level of corruption unsurpassed in Spanish commercial history.’
‘But why hide them now?’
‘Because she’s got what she wants. The restaurants,’ said Falcon. ‘All her husband’s papers can do now is jeopardize her position. If he was found to be corrupt it could have an effect on the business. She could lose the lot.’
‘Then his death was very convenient,’ said Ramirez.
‘Wouldn’t it have been more logical for Sr Jimenez to murder his wife?’ said Perez. ‘Then he could have sold his restaurants and avoided any scandal.’
‘Murder takes place when logic breaks down,’ said Ramirez, looking at Perez as if he was a traitor to the cause.
‘Let’s run a background check on Consuelo Jimenez … official and unofficial,’ said Falcon. ‘She talked about an art gallery she worked for in Madrid and an affair with the son of a duke which ended in an abortion back in 1984.’
‘She’s clean, according to the police computer,’ said Ramirez. ‘I have some contacts in Madrid who are checking her name out in a different way to see if there’s any connection with drugs or vice.’
‘What about the Building Committee?’ said Falcon, and Perez humped a box up on to his desk. He started lifting out sheaves of paper.
‘These are the names and addresses of all companies involved in any building project of any size leading up to the opening of Expo ‘92. This is a list of all companies involved in building projects outside the Expo site which were either wholly or partially funded by the state. Most of this is residential development in places like Santiponce and Camas. This is a list of all the companies who were responsible for projects within the pavilions: designers, lighting and sound people, air conditioning, flooring contractors …’
‘What are you telling me. Sub Inspector?’ asked Falcon.
‘This little book is a directory of all the people who were involved in working for or supplying the pavilions, restaurants, bars, shops …’
Ramirez loomed into frame, gripping the edge of his desk.
‘Look, Inspector Jefe, we know what went on. Everybody got fat from this. But it was ten years ago and we know how the layers of confusion pile up after a matter of days, hours even. And what are we looking for? The guy who didn’t make a fortune? Where’s he going to be? The guy who was ripped off? Where do we look for him? Is he even going to be in these lists of companies and people? And if he is, where do we start? Glass suppliers? Marble quarries? Tile factories? It would be a huge task for a specially designed anti-corruption squad, let alone the six of us in the Grupo de Homicidios. There has to be a hot lead to get us into doing this level of work.’
Falcon clicked his knuckles one by one. It was a good speech, but it didn’t sound like Ramirez. It was succinct for a start and Ramirez didn’t have that kind of objective brain. He was a subjective, reactive type. Pulling Consuelo Jimenez in and sweating her was more his approach.
‘So both of you think that we should develop this investigation by building a case against Consuelo Jimenez?’
Ramirez nodded. Perez shrugged.
