The Good Suicides by Antonio Hill

Author:Antonio Hill [Hill, Antonio]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Published: 2014-06-17T04:00:00+00:00

22

As he ran along a dark, solitary maritime promenade Héctor hoped that the tension in his body would evaporate through sweat and fatigue, but the cool night air was making it rather difficult. An invisible sea, present only in the form of an agitated, almost furious murmur, didn’t help much either. So he speeded up, seeking the relief that only muscle exhaustion can bring, when the brain dilutes worries to concentrate on withstanding the race. But for the moment there was no way of achieving this and the day’s images, unpleasant for the most part, kept floating back into his mind, rebellious and disorganized like starving piranhas.

The scolding from Savall, which he’d tried to fight off with expert irony, had been no surprise. Only the delivery had taken him aback. The superintendent had listened to him, of course, and had agreed that Bellver could be, putting it bluntly, a first-class idiot, but at the same time he’d refused to believe that Héctor knew nothing about the removal of Ruth’s file from the missing persons archives. And he’d adopted a tone somewhere between solemn and offended to make it clear he “felt deeply disappointed.” After all he’d done for him, after having supported him when he put his foot in it and taken advantage of the force, Savall had made it clear that he expected, if not thanks, then at least a little loyalty. And honesty.

There’s nothing worse than the truth that seems to be a lie, thought Héctor. However much he argued, the super had been unwavering, and he’d also accused him of using Sergeant Andreu to carry out “what you don’t have the balls to do yourself.” Héctor, who’d called Martina Andreu twice since the night before without getting an answer, reiterated his ignorance, although he was hurt that Savall didn’t believe him. At least this will be cleared up soon, he thought as he started to notice the heat of the exertion: Martina will be back on Monday from Madrid and everyone will have the chance to talk. In fact, he also found it strange that the sergeant had done something that in other circumstances wouldn’t be that important. In these, however, Ruth on one side and Bellver on the other, she must have realized that the result could be catastrophic. The superintendent’s final words, expressed in that tone of paternal anger that Héctor hated above all other things, left no room for doubt: “You’re making too many enemies, Héctor. And you can’t permit yourself that luxury. Not now. And the time will come when even I can’t defend you.”

If the gossip had pointed out the possibility that he’d smash Dídac Bellver’s face in, the superintendent had reason to worry. It had been a long time since he experienced that blind fury, the physical need to hit someone, and only Agent Fort’s appearance had stopped that from happening. Bellver’s face, when he made conjectures about Ruth’s emotional instability and Héctor’s humiliation on being left for another woman, was crying out for a punch that would dislocate the jaw with a dry, painful crack.

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