'But what was Carvajal doing out of custody on his own?'
'That was part of the deal negotiated with his lawyer. He was going to pull all the different cells together and we were going to scoop the lot in a series of raids.'
'Did you find out how he was procuring?'
'Not that it did us much good,' said Montes, nodding.
'It was something that was just starting then. The Russian mafia involvement in people trafficking. Prostitution became a big thing for them because they could control the supply. To control the drugs trade they had to fight for territory because they didn't have home-grown heroin or cocaine, but with prostitution they had the goods from the word go. And what's more they found that it was less dangerous and just as lucrative. There was a Romanian girl in here last week who'd been bought and sold seven times. Believe me, Inspector Jefe, we've come full circle and we're back in the slave-trade era.'
'Do you mind just giving me a little resume about that?'
'The ex-Soviet states are full of people. A lot of them are able and intelligent – university lecturers, technical college instructors, builders, public servants – but hardly any of them can make a living in the post Soviet era. They're trying to live off fifteen to twenty euros a month. We in Europe, and especially in countries like Italy and Spain, don't have
'You need a visa to get into Europe. I've heard a lot of Ukrainians cross the border into Poland and get their visas from the embassies in Warsaw. Portugal offers visas quite easily. Spain, because of our Moroccan problem, is more difficult, but it's easy enough to enrol in a language school or something like that. Of course, you need help to do this. This is where the mafia steps in. They will facilitate your journey. They will get you a visa. They will arrange transport. They will charge you a minimum of a thousand dollars per head… I can see you're thinking, Inspector Jefe.'
'Fifty people on a bus, less a few thousand in expenses,' said Falcon. 'It's not difficult to see how well that works.'
'They're taking at least forty-five thousand dollars a busload,' said Montes. 'But it doesn't stop there because with a bit of intimidation these are people who can also be put to work for you when they reach their destination. The mafia gangs pick them off. The women and children go into prostitution and the men go into forced labour. It's happening everywhere – London, Paris, Berlin, Prague. A friend of mine was on holiday outside Barcelona last month and on the road going into Roses there was a line of beautiful girls waving him down… and they weren't hitchhikers.'
'What sort of work do the men get put into?'
'Factory work, sweatshops, building sites, warehouses, driving jobs – anything menial. They're even in the greenhouses in the flatlands out towards Huelva. There are girls out there, too.
'Four or five years ago prostitution was something you came across only if you wanted to, or if you took a wrong turn in the city. The red-light districts were confined. Now you can go to a garage in the middle of nowhere and find a girl 'working'.'
Montes lit another cigarette while crushing out the one he'd been smoking.
'Now I know that I'm too old for this work. It's not a challenge any more. It's something that's become overwhelming, something that's got the better of me,' said Montes. 'You said you had another question, Inspector Jefe. Hurry up before I lose myself in despair and throw myself into the car park.'
Falcon faltered over that because he could see the man's weariness, feel his ingrained fatigue and colossal disappointment.
'Just kidding, Inspector Jefe,' said Montes. 'I'm too close to the end. I feel sorry for the mid-career guys. They've got a long haul.'
'I was going to ask you about Sebastian Ortega, but it can wait for another time.'
'No, no… it's no problem, really, Inspector Jefe. I just need my annual holiday,' said Montes. 'Sebastian Ortega – what about him?'
'Pablo Ortega is Rafael Vega's next-door neighbour. The Juez de Instruccion on the case is Esteban Calderon.'
'Aha, yes, well, I shouldn't bring those two together in the same room.'
'What happened? It sounds like a strange case.'
'Which version did you hear?'
'I see… it's that complicated,' said Falcon. 'I heard that he kidnapped the boy, sexually abused him over a number of days and released him. He then waited for the police to come and arrest him.'
'That's what they pinned on him in court – abduction and sexual assault, which was why Juez Calderon and the fiscal managed to get him put away for twelve years,' said Montes. 'I didn't work the case, so this is only what I heard, but I know it's true. Having said that, the only video statement you'll see in the file is the official one used in court,' said Montes. 'First of all, Sebastian Ortega did not make life easy for himself. He said nothing about what he'd done. He never put his own version of events out there. So, when there's nothing to contradict, people feel they have an imaginative licence.
'Question number one: why did he abduct the boy? Question number two: why did he have a specially prepared room in which to keep his prisoner? Question number three: why did he tie the boy up? And the answer to all those questions, in the minds of the investigators and prosecutors, was that Sebastian Ortega planned and carried out his action in order to give himself the opportunity to sexually abuse this boy at will. Except… he didn't.'
'He didn't what?'
'He didn't sexually abuse him… or rather there was no evidence of it, and the boy also said that Sebastian Ortega didn't touch him in that way,' said Montes. 'Then, I think, the judge had a word with the investigators, who spoke to the boy's parents. And in the subsequent video the victim's statement became more persuasive or imaginative, whichever you prefer.'
'So what was the purpose of the abduction?'
'They knew each other. They were from the same barrio. I hesitate to call them friends because of the age difference, but that is more or less what they were. So Sebastian Ortega didn't exactly have to abduct him. He invited him to his flat. Then things got a bit strange, as far as I can make out. He kept him in this closed- off room he had already built and tied him up. But in the initial interview the boy said that, although he was frightened by Ortega's strangeness, he was not hurt or touched in a sexual manner.'
'I don't get it,' said Falcon. 'So what did Sebastian do?'
'He read children's stories to him. He sang songs… he wasn't a bad guitarist, apparently. He made him meals, let him drink as much Coca Cola as he wanted.'
'Why did he tie him up?'
'Because the boy said he had to go home or his father would be angry.'
'And this went on for some days?'
'Everybody outside was going crazy looking for the boy. The parents even called Sebastian, who said he was sorry but he hadn't seen the boy… Manolo was his name, I think. Then one day he just gave up… He let the boy go, sat on the bed and waited for retribution.'
'And none of this came out in court?'
'Some of it did, but obviously the prosecution's emphasis was not the same as mine. They made Sebastian out to be more aggressive and predatory.'
'What do you make of it?'
'I think Sebastian Ortega is a disturbed young man who should probably not be in prison. He did something wrong, but not twelve years' worth of wrong.'
'And your investigators?'
'The real story was too strange. If you were experienced you could possibly handle it in such a way as to bring the truth to light, but it was summer, the two investigators were young and they were uncertain and that made them malleable. The media interest in the case because of Pablo Ortega introduced some pressure. They didn't want to appear stupid and, like Juez Calderon, they were excited by a high-profile conviction.'
'What do you think of the Juez's role in this case?'
