Killing the Shadows. Val McDermid

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      The medieval stronghold of Toledo was built on a rocky outcropping almost completely enclosed by an ox-bow gorge in the River Tagus. The deep river and the steep cliffs provided natural defences for most of the city, leaving only a narrow neck of land to fortify against the enemy. Now a scenic road ran round the far bank of the Tagus, providing panoramic views of a tumble of buildings the colour of honey in the sun, descending precipitously from the ornate cathedral and the severe lines of the Alcazar. This much Fiona remembered from a hot dusty day thirteen years before when she’d explored the city with three friends.

      They’d been celebrating the completion of their doctorates by touring Spain in a battered Volkswagen camper, ticking off the major sights and cities as they went. Toledo had meant El Greco, Fernando and Isabella, shop windows filled with armour and swords, and a particularly delicious way of serving quail, she recalled. If anyone had suggested to that young academic psychologist that she’d be returning one day as a consultant to the Spanish police, she’d have wondered what hallucinogenics they’d been on.

      The first body had been found in a deep wooded gorge running down to the River Tagus about a mile from the city gates. According to local custom, the gorge boasted the revolting name of La Degollada—the woman with her throat slit, according to Fiona’s Spanish dictionary. The original corpse in La Degollada was said to have been a gypsy woman who seduced one of the guard, allowing a sneak attack to take place on the city. Her punishment for losing her head over a soldier was literally to lose her head. Her throat was cut so severely that she was virtually decapitated. Fiona noted with weary lack of surprise that Major Berrocal’s brief did not record the fate of the soldier.

      The contemporary victim was a twenty-five-year-old German citizen, Martina Albrecht. Martina worked as a freelance tour guide, leading organized German-speaking parties round Toledo. According to friends and neighbours, she had a married lover, a junior officer in the Spanish Army who was attached to the Ministry of Defence in Madrid. He had been at an official dinner in the capital forty-odd miles away on the night of the murder. They were still drinking coffee and brandy at the time Martina’s body had been discovered, so there was no question of him coming under suspicion. Besides, Martina’s friends reported that she was perfectly happy with the part-time nature of their relationship and had said nothing to indicate there were any problems between them.

      The body had been found just before midnight by a teenage courting couple who had parked their motorbike by the road and climbed down into the gorge to escape from prying eyes. There was also no question of any suspicion attaching to them, although the girl’s father had reportedly accused the boyfriend of being perfectly capable of murder on the grounds that he was planning to debauch an innocent young girl.

      According to the crime-scene reports, Martina had been sprawled on her back in the moonlight, arms thrown wide, legs spread. The pathologist revealed that her throat had been cut from left to right, probably from behind, by a long and very sharp blade, possibly a bayonet. It was hard to be precise, however, and since Toledo is famous for its steel, the purchase of razor-edged knives was an everyday occurrence in each of the dozens of tourist shops that lined the main streets. Death had been swift, blood pumping forwards from the severed carotid arteries in a pair of gushing fountains. Her clothing was drenched in blood, indicating that she had been standing rather than lying when the wound had been inflicted.

      Further examination revealed that a broken wine bottle had been thrust repeatedly into her vagina, shredding the tissue. The relative absence of blood at the site indicated that Martina had been mercifully dead by then. The bottle had once contained a cheap Manchegan red wine, available in almost any local shop. The only other item of interest at the scene was a bloodstained guide to Toledo in German. Martina’s name, address and phone number were scribbled on the inside cover in her own handwriting.

      There were no significant forensic traces, nor any indication of how Martina had been brought to La Degollada. It was not a difficult place to access; the panoramic route round the Tagus actually crossed the gorge, and there were plenty of places nearby where a car could be tucked off the road. According to the woman with whom she shared an apartment near the station, Martina had come in from work around seven. They’d eaten a snack of bread, cheese and salad together, then the flatmate had left to meet a group of friends. Martina had had no firm plans, saying only that she might go out for a drink later. Officers had canvassed the cafés and bars she usually visited, but nobody had admitted seeing her that evening. The members of the tour she had led the previous day had been questioned when they’d arrived in Aranjuez the following day, but none of them had been aware of any of their fellow tourists taking any particular notice of their young guide. Besides, they’d all spent the evening together at a flamenco fiesta. Everyone was vouched for by at least three other members of the party.

      In the absence of any firm leads, the investigation had ground to a halt. It was, Fiona thought, the sort of frustrating inquiry typically provoked by the first crime in a series where the offender was intelligent enough to know how to cover СКАЧАТЬ