The Invisible Guardian. Dolores Redondo

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СКАЧАТЬ didn’t put up a fight, with the exception of Anne, who resisted at the end, at the moment he attacked her. There are two possibilities: either he stalks them and carries out surprise attacks somewhere he might be seen, which doesn’t really fit his modus operandi in my opinion, or he persuades them to go somewhere, or even better, takes them there himself, which implies that he has a car, a large car, because he has to transport the body afterwards … I prefer the latter theory,’ said Amaia.

      ‘And, bearing in mind what’s going on, do you think girls would get into just anyone’s car?’ asked Jonan.

      ‘They might not in Pamplona,’ explained Iriarte, ‘but in a small town it’s normal. You’re waiting for the bus and some neighbour or other stops and asks where you’re heading; if it suits them they’ll give you a lift. It’s not at all unusual, and would confirm the fact that it’s someone from the town who’s known them since they were little and who they trust enough to get into his car.’

      ‘OK, a white man, aged between thirty and forty-five, perhaps slightly older. It’s likely he lives with his mother or elderly parents. It’s possible he had a very strict upbringing, or entirely the opposite, that he ran wild as a child and he created his own moral code which he now applies to the world. It’s also possible that he suffered abuse as a child or that he lost his childhood in some way. Perhaps his parents died. I want you to look for any man who has a history of harassment, indecent exposure, loitering … Ask the couples who hang out around there whether they know of any incidents or have heard about any. Remember, these delinquents don’t just appear, they come from somewhere. Look for men who lost their families as a result of violence, orphans, victims of abuse, loners. Question every man in the Baztán Valley with a history of abuse or harassment. I want everything added to Jonan’s database and, while we haven’t got anything else to go on, we’ll continue questioning the families, friends and closest acquaintances. Anne’s funeral and burial are taking place on Monday. We’ll carry out the same process we did for Ainhoa’s and at least we’ll have some material to compare. Make a list of all the men who attended both funerals and match the profile. Montes, it would be interesting to speak to Carla’s friends to find out whether anyone recorded the funeral or burial on a mobile phone or took photos. It occurred to me when Jonan said that Ainhoa’s friends didn’t stop crying or talking on their mobiles; teenagers don’t go anywhere without their phones, so check it out,’ she said, leaving out the ‘please’ on purpose. ‘Zabalza, I’d like to speak to someone from the Guardia Civil’s Nature Protection Service or the forest rangers. Jonan, I want all the information you can find about bears in the valley, sightings … I know they’ve got a few GPS tagged, let’s see what they can tell us. And I want to know immediately if anyone finds anything, no matter what time it is. This monster is out there and it’s our job to catch him.’

      Iriarte came over as the other officers left.

      ‘Inspector, go along to my office. You’ve got a phone call from the General Commissioner in Pamplona.’ Amaia picked up the phone.

      ‘I’m afraid I can’t give you any good news, Commissioner. The investigation’s moving forward as fast as possible, although I’m afraid the killer is quicker than we are.’

      ‘It’s alright, Inspector, I think I’ve put the investigation in the best possible hands. I received a phone call an hour ago from a friend, someone connected to the Diario de Navarra. They’ll be publishing an interview with Miguel Ángel de Andrés, Carla Huarte’s boyfriend who was in prison accused of her murder, tomorrow. As you know, he’s been released. There’s no need to tell you where that leaves us; in any case, that’s not the problem: in the course of the interview, the journalist insinuates that there’s a serial killer on the loose in the Baztán Valley, that Miguel Ángel de Andrés was freed after it was discovered that the murders of Carla and Ainhoa are linked, and, on top of all this, the murder of the latest girl, Anne—’ it sounded like he was reading from notes, ‘—Urbizu, will be made public tomorrow.’

      ‘Arbizu,’ Amaia corrected him.

      ‘I’ll fax you a copy of the articles exactly as they’re going to appear tomorrow. I warn you that you’re not going to like them, they’re revolting.’

      Zabalza came back with two printed sheets on which several sentences appeared to have been underlined.

       Miguel Ángel de Andrés, who spent a month in Pamplona prison accused of the murder of Carla Huarte, confirms that the officers are linking the case with the recent murders of young girls in the Baztán Valley. The killer slashes their clothes and hairs of non-human origin have been found on the bodies. A terrible lord of the woods who kills within his domains. A bloodthirsty basajaun.

      The article about Anne’s murder was headed ‘Has the Basajaun Struck Again?’

       11

      The enormous Baztán forest, which before its transformation by man consisted of beech woods up in the mountains, oak woodland on the low ground and chestnut, ash and hazel trees in between, now seemed to be almost entirely covered in beech trees, which reigned despotically over all the rest. Meadows and scrubland comprising furze or gorse, heather and ferns made up the carpet on which generation after generation of baztaneses walked, a truly magical place comparable only to the forest at Irati but now stained by the horror of murder.

      The wood always gave Amaia a secret feeling of proud belonging, although its immense size also gave her a sense of fear and vertigo. She knew that she loved it, but hers was a reverent and chaste love based upon silence and distance. When she was fifteen she had briefly joined a hiking group. Walking in their boisterous company hadn’t been as pleasant as she’d expected and she quit after three outings. She only returned to the woodland paths once she’d learnt to drive, attracted once again by the forest’s magnetic pull. She had been amazed to discover that being alone on the mountain provoked in her a terrifying anxiety, the sensation of being watched, of being in a forbidden place or of committing an act of sacrilege. Amaia had gone back down to her car and returned home, excited and unnerved by the experience, and conscious of her atavistic fear, which seemed ridiculous and childish in Aunt Engrasi’s living room.

      But the investigation had to continue, and Amaia returned to the thick undergrowth of the Baztán forest. Winter’s death throes were more noticeable in the forest than anywhere else. The rain that had been falling all night was taking a break now, leaving the air cold and heavy, weighed down by humidity that penetrated both her clothes and her bones, so that she shivered, in spite of the heavy blue anorak James had made her wear. Darkened by the excess water, the tree trunks shone like the skin of an ancient reptile in the tentative February sun. The trees that hadn’t lost their leaves gleamed with a green worn by the winter, the gentle breeze revealing silvery reflections on the underside of their leaves. The presence of the river could be detected further down in the valley, flowing through the woods and acting as a mute witness to the horror with which the killer had adorned its banks.

      Zipping up his jacket, Jonan increased his pace until he reached her side.

      ‘There they are,’ he said, pointing out the Land Rover with the Forest Rangers’ emblem on it.

      The two uniformed men watched them approach from some distance away and Amaia guessed that they were making some kind of jokey remark because she saw them look away and laugh.

      ‘Here we go, the typical yokel comments about girls,’ murmured Jonan.

      ‘Easy tiger, it’s not a big deal,’ she muttered as they approached the men.

      ‘Good СКАЧАТЬ