"OK It's like this A man (we can call him X)." "arrives in the middle of the night at some town in the boondocks We know he is there." "to do a boring job run of-the-mill and bureaucratic." "Meaning, he isn't a journalist or a detective or a writer or a scientist." "Nothing particularly exciting in the least." "We may imagine he is an inspector.." "or a land surveyor Something like that." "It doesn't really matter much yet." "All that matters about his work is this." "It takes him somewhere east town at seven the following morning Just a couple of hours later." "So time passes and X is in the middle of the road." "There are no signs of the place he was supposed to find." "X thinks "I got it wrong."" "There's no one around to tell him where to go." "He sees a tractor far away." "Before the tractor reaches him the episode takes place." "CHAPTER I WHAT HAPPENED BY THE TRACTOR" "Initially nothing happens." "It looks like he tractor driver." "is waiting impatiently for something." "He stops suddenly and hides something beneath a hay bale." "The tractor driver seems to be uneasy he heads for the tractor." "and does something we cannot see" "he removes something.." "from his pocket and hides it as well." "It may have been a weapon Then, he waits for something truck pulls up." "and two men get out." "They greet as though they know each other rather affectionately but showing little trust." "The fat one nods hello but is less friendly." "There is something amiss here, something vaguely disturbing." "The fat man seems to be a dangerous person." "So this is what is going to happen." "Somehow the situation is going to get tense." "Then, the fat one is going to reach the truck." "take out a shotgun.." "and shoot the driver." "There he goes." "The other one is surprised.." "and reproaches him." "They argue." "The tractor driver looks dead." "The two men leave They appear to be alarmed." "It seems like this wasn't planned." "They had not come here for this." "They leave." "X approaches the dead man." "He inspects the surroundings." "he grabs the shotgun.." "but then looks for what is hidden in the hay." "That thing the other two did not notice." "Things get tricky at this point." "X grabs the man's briefcase." "without knowing why and leaves." "The men from the truck return They are worried." "We have no way of knowing if they saw X." "But they do know someone else was there." "When the episode ends, X has killed a man." "He has witnessed a murder and is wanted by two killers." "He has an envelope they want." "and doesn't know what's inside it." "He doesn't know the killers or if they have seen him." "He knows nothing." "Second story." "The trigger." "A man ho arrives in a town.." "to take over someone's job." "That man, our mam character is going to be "Z" for us." "and all we know about him." "is it's his first time as a boss." "His first time in a high-ranking position." "The man who hired him tells him." ""Don't worry." "It's a quiet job"." "No decision making, nothing new you won't have any problems"." "It might be routine but you get used to it quickly"." "You should work there or a few months." "while you look for something better"." "Just don't get too comfortable." "The guy before you stayed there for over 20 years." "Be careful"" "I'm not like that." Z thinks to himself." ""I'm not like that"." "CHAPTER II THE INVISIBLE MAN" "The place is unremarkable." "It's a typical small town office." "It is used for some agricultural activity." "Farmyard birds or something." "Everyone calls it "The Federation."" "Although he's the new manager." "Z's not sure about what they do." "What kind of problems they solve." "What each employee does." "And what is he supposed to do." "He is shocked to discover that he is seen as an authority figure." "They meet him as though he's there to give orders." "He thinks, "Take it easy." "It's two months, three max"." "Amidst such confusion he gets some good news." "Every month he gets to make that they call a 'monthly regional inspection'." "Three or four days of driving around.." "visiting sites to sign documents." "The promise of travel calms Z." "You could almost say it excites him." "A few hours after arriving, Z asks about Cuevas his predecessor there for the last 20 years." "They won't give him many details." "He was shy solitary and methodical." "He was a doomed workaholic, not particularly interesting." "Single no friends he dropped dead." "at a gas station while filling his car." "two months ago." "No one came to claim his body." "It was as though he hadn't existed." "He didn't even have a home." "All the time he was there, he lived in a filing space.." "on the floor above the Federation office." "The same place Z will stay." "until he finds something better." "Some of Cuevas' things remain Z looks at them with curiosity." "Books on veterinary medicine." "Detective books in other languages." "Souvenirs and exotic objects." "as if Cuevas had lived many years abroad." "Finally he sees a big picture frame in which Cuevas like a teenage girl has put together photos of different times in his life." "When the day ends, Z wonders." ""What kind of character was this Cuevas guy?"" "Okay third and last story." "For this one imagine a river scene." "A river, which is not going to be named." "But it's the Salado River." "the one that crosses the entire province." "Typical river of the plains region, broad and calm." "In the middle of that river there is a man." "Due to a complicated series of events." "he must travel along the river." "The first of these events happened a few days before." "In a town 50 kilometers away at the end of the year meeting.." "of the "Sol de Mayo" Association." "CHAPTER III THE BET" "We can base the dredging plan on this feasibility study." "We'll use a motor that revs .." "between 1400 and 2000 horsepower." "Here is a map that is already marked up." "Yes, it's from the Town Hall, but I did some work on it." "The first stage takes three months, then the next nine months." "The "Sol de Mayo " Association has twelve members." "Yanez." "Fava, Factorovich, Bagnasco, Gardehni Raulim." "Zavatarelli, Mazzuchelh." "Laurmo Samoa." "Sorrento and Siri." "Agronomists, a civil engineer, a couple of veterinarians." "a manager." "and a machinery salesman." "What does the Association do?" "Nobody knows." "It's partly a village social club, partly a group of friends... given to technology and inventions nee a month they meet." "to eat, drink, and argue for hours." "They each present projects." "for developing the city or district." "The project must be both innovative and feasible." "Man, turn off that slide Turn it off!" "No." "I'm sa in that during he three months of drought..." "Here's the thing Yahez is relatively new in town." "This is his fourth meeting, and the first time he has submitted a project." "His proposal s to channel water." "from the river to transport goods on medium sized boats like he traditional cargo rafts of the Mississippi or the Danube." "Bagnasco (arrogant disparaging, and mocking)." "enjoys destroying and humiliating Yanez." "Three years ago one of Bagnasco's inventions." "won the first prize at an Australian fair." "That deed gave him license to poke at anyone and everyone." "It seems to me that we need to be." "a little more serious here." "Sure, we are eating and drinking." "Some people are even smoking." "But you can't even work with a projector." "How are you going to dredge a river?" "One two, three hours go by." "The situation grows tense due to alcohol and fatigue." "Bagnasco goes from open mockery to personal aggression." "Fava the most like a group leader tries to moderate people's moods." "But tonight nothing can stop Bagnasco." "Hey, stop cut it out." "Let's be serious." "You can't get anything done with this team." "Not even the pool at my house1." "Not even his pool, and you're saying 45-80." "Where'd you get 45-809 You have to slow down man." "Factorovich had been silent all night." "Known for his explosive temper, he has hated Bagnasco since childhood." "He has seen this scene many times." "Bagnasco enjoying himself for hours with a new victim." "Playing with him s though he were." "the Emperor of Rome at the Coliseum." "The Lavalle-Cobo commission.." "You don't know the Lavalle-Cobo commission?" "Just go on." "Kid you have to know the commission... that has been working for five years." "Factorovich tries to remain calm." "He knows this temperament." "Confronting him would be a mistake." "This has nothing to do with him." "At least, a 4500." "Maybe a 45-16 or a 45-26." "You need a little over one thousand horsepower to get something done." "But 1500 horses in the middle will do." "What?" "Factorovich thinks, "Keep cool, don't get ahead of yourself"." "He'll get the best of you he always does"." "Lavalle and Cobo held a commission." "to correct the river's drainage." "For five years they worked." "Five1." "He's got it wrong." "He's talking about old machines."" "With the new 327 you can do it easily and he knows it"." "He's tricking them as usual."" "Two thousand horse power won't work either." "You need at least 2600." "There's no machine here that can do that." "A half hour goes by, maybe more eventually the conversation." "returns to the technical aspect." "At some point Yanez attacks with his original argument." "Then, to fire things up, someone proposes a bet." "Maybe it was Bagnasco, maybe somebody else." "Wait." "When I bet, I bet for real." "What are you going to bet for real." "You know quarter 2, lot 6?" "You know where I sold that land he bet quickly turns." "into the sole topic of discussion." "Yanez was enjoying himself at one point." "Now he wants to disappear." "Bagnasco, emboldened insists" "I'm just saying this." "You get this project to work, I'll put this money on it." "At that precise moment, Factorovich makes a mistake." "et me see that paper." "Look who we have here." "Yeah, I'm up for it I'll bet you You got it?" "I bet you1 In one month." "Right here." "The bet is on." "Calm down" "I am calmed!" "You got it?" "The one who ain't gonna be calm is this guy1." "Let me go'" "I'm sick of him!" "Let me go1." "When he wakes up the next morning." "Factorovich doesn't remember a thing." "He isn't even sure of where he is." "He slowly begins to realize." "He's at his friend Fava's house, after a drunken night." "He quickly realizes that he's made an absurd bet." "He doesn't fully understand it but Fava comes to calm him down." "Don't worry I have good news!" "The La Plata River Company, with more than 15 years' involvement." "in the development of Argentina's rivers." "has begun a project of the future." "The Pampas River Canal1." "International in scale, it's the future of fluvial cargo transport." "An 800-kilometer project from the very heart of the humid Pam pa." "Today the river runs towards the sea." "with no regard of the future." "It will be transformed into a bridge." "for development and progress." "It's all thanks to a project of untold proportions... using materials for irrigation, canal building, and domestic development" "in short. 30 years ago." "a company started Yanez's same project." "Measurements had been taken, feasibility studies were made." "The course had been drawn up." "The first phase had concluded." "The company had gone bankrupt as Fava soon discovered." "One owner had killed himself, and the rest had left the country." "The project ad been left unfinished and no one had touched it since." "Nothing was left but the rums created by the land surveyors." "But that was enough to prove that Yahez was right." "You've got him with this, Fava told Factorovich" "I knew it was somewhere They had it at the barracks" "I asked Novoa and he sent it to me." "You can kill him with this"." "Factorovich thinks It's not enough" "I know him all too well He ll want hard evidence." "Recent proof This isn't enough"." "Connecting he most fertile lands." "of South America with the world." "The Pampas River Canal." "A straight line to development." "Listen do you have the taffeta?" "Take a look!" "A week later, a strange man calls H." "He wants to hire him for a very strange job." "To travel the river in search of forgotten monoliths, check on their condition, and take photographs." "Monoliths9 H doesn't fully understand." "The upset man who hired him says" "I don't understand either." "Just don't ask me questions, and don't cause trouble "." "He is on the river in an hour." "His journey has begun." "CHAPTER IV THE FEDERATION" "Second story." "Z is at work." "The 0-8 corresponds to the Leghorn and Rhode mix." "The 7-5 was suspended, and the 12-0-3 replaced it." "In the 24-32 circular Remember that." "No, but that was replaced by 12-03." "But remember that one of these forms is mixed." "You used it for the Leghorn as well as the Creole." "Z's first day at the Federation is overwhelming." "He is drowning in a sea of names forms, balance sheets." "certificates, finance checks and balances." "All the names seem the same." "the processes are indistinct." "ne certification procedure is indistinguishable from another." "The rules are incomprehensible, completely inaccessible." "He hears the explanations." "He repeats and writes down the differences between certifications." "But he can't help thinking," "This is a mistake I want out"." "Weren't we using this form for the Creoles as well." "However as days go by things become easier." "The indecipherable cosmos of rules." "mysteriously thins out." "All he has to do is sign what he is told to sign, check what he is told to check surrender control to his subordinates." "The strange science of the first day isn't necessary anymore." "The Federation s like a machine." "repeating the same motions each day." "He is nothing ut a small piece of that machine." "No one expects decisions." "ability, or wit from him." "When the first week of work ends is clear to him." "that apart from some signatures and phone calls he hardly has to do a thing." "As time goes and the days pass," "Z begins to get acquainted with his co-workers." "They each have." "an almost involuntary relationship with their work." "Nothing, not the smallest bit of their lives or interests." "has anything to do with what they did there." "They just work like students doing homework -detached." "They don't ask why they must do it." "They just do it." "Strangely like some of those students they all seem to like it there here's something about it.." "that reminds us of a home or a family." "Mrs Gavilan is methodical." "soft, and overly nice." "She has a hint of condescension in her voice, like a nurse or a teacher." "She is the kind of woman who remembers everyone's names their birthdays their boyfriend's and girlfriend's names, and the names of their grandchildren." "She appears to have no life outside the Federation." "but she doesn't seem to need one." "No one knows much about her, except that she sings in a choir on Thursdays and has grandkids living in some other city." "She is a widow." "She has never missed a workday never arrived late or been sick." "Then there are some more minor characters." "A girl that hardly talks and always gets calls from an older man." "An accountant who only comes a couple of times a week." "Z can never remember his name." "A gay couple around Z's age, Griffa and Carlos Dorado with whom he rarely speaks and can't quite make friends." "They are two minor;" "ore boring characters." "who don't matter at all." "Palomeque's story is different." "From the beginning Z notices that Palomeque is overly shy." "He's extremely quiet and respectful." "It saddens him." "He suspects he's timid and boring, a man of few words or interests." "For some reason, he feels the need to cheer him up." "He tries to become friends with him, cracks jokes." "and makes small talk." "He shows that he is interested in learning all about him." "After a short while, Z realizes he's made a huge mistake." "Palomeque becomes what he has always been an unstoppable chatter box." "After years of coexistence his fellow employees came to tame him." "They made him a silent type ho fears conversation the way an alcoholic fears the bottle." "Like Aladdin." "Z frees that locked up demon." "and must resign himself to being his slave." "What kind of ice is there?" "The interesting thing about ice... is that the winds keep making different kinds of ice." "Palomeque' memory seems infinite." "He's the kind of guy that loves asking unnecessary questions world capitals, scientific names of plants and animals... the dates of battles and historical figures." "He's capable of unerringly naming the rivers of Europe, the Egyptian dynasties constellations, dinosaur species." "He lives for lists and often hears him listing places.." "with the same dreaminess... of someone reciting a poem." "Crassula, Arrhenatherum, Parrotiopsis." "Slowly Zs routine begins to come together." "As soon as he discovers that the new job leaves him with plenty of free time Z takes walks around the town which is still new to him." "He imagines life of lon walks." "in the outskirts of the city looking for strange architectural features or turn-of the-century relics." "But the day of these grand excursions never comes must resign himself." "to the area near the Federation." "He spends the weekends wandering around the plaza reading the local newspaper.." "doing whatever there is to do at night in the town." "Rarely more than a movie or a circus." "He has no friends." "His only friend is Palomeque," "He meets him in the plaza at the comer store, at the restaurant at supper time." "Invariably, they get involved in long conversations." "realizes more than once... that these are not chance meetings." "He is Palomeque s only friend too." "It's a lonely but quite calm life." "Whenever he talks about how boring village life is." "Z knows that he isn't being honest." "He's not really bored." "At this point in the story." "Z isn't worried any more about Cuevas." "To Z, he is nothing else than a forgotten, sad and lonely person." "Nobody has ever noticed him." "Nobody ever speaks of him." "He is not an enigma." "not even a loose end." "If Z has not still removed Cuevas' things from his room it's because Cuevas s so invisible." "that he is not even a nuisance." "Around Z's third week on the job," "Cuevas' ghost begins to appear he day of the first "Monthly Regional Inspection" finally comes." "It's the day that Z has been waiting for." "For three days he must travel the province in a Federation vehicle." "signing up controls and certifications." "The same trip that Cuevas made monthly for almost 15 years." "Disciplined and obsessive, Cuevas planned this trip." "a year in advance." "The hotels, meals and car tune-up have been paid for." "The trip is organized with clockwork precision." "Z only needs to follow the plan." "The situation is somewhat creepy." "These are dead man's plans." "Here's the entire itinerary." "That man was like a calculator, so you won't have any problems." "It's all written out in detail, all the stops everything." "Let me help you with your bags." "Z begins to feel uneasy." "This trip he had been waiting for." "as if it were a gust of freedom and adventure in the middle of the monotony he Federation... began to get tinged with the shadow of Cuevas." "For the first time." "he feels he is living someone else's life he thinks about this man.." "that spent 15 years in that miserable room." "He thinks of all those books and photos." "For the first time he realizes, Something is wrong"." "But the first day passes Then the second." "Cuevas' name appears everywhere." "but without causing any problems." "He is barely an isolated obligatory reference." "Perhaps a Such is life" remark and nothing else." "Cuevas doesn't matter to anyone." "thinks Isn't someone.." "so invisible, something of a mystery?"" "But he also thinks." "What a tale I am spinning I must be bored"." "On the third day of his trip the story changes." "What's your car registration'?" "Z arrives at a hotel after a day on the road." "One of Cuevas' many hotels." "While looking for the registration," "Z goes through Cuevas' belongings." "He finds a notebook A red notebook." "It's a notebook with Cuevas' notes." "From then on, nothing will be the same." "Let's see." "What comes next is complex." "One must go slowly and pay close attention." "Z reads the small notebook." "Then reads it again." "He doesn't understand anything." "A series of names dates and words." "joined by no logical connection." "Looks like some type of code." "The 25th in the Ramona 7 Napoleons, 6 Mona Lisas." "40 Pharaohs. 1 Samurai." "The sixth, in the Noa Noa." "12 Marco Polos, 12 Cleopatras 3 Mona Lisas." "Carefull No Napoleons." "The list continues seeming to cover many months." "They quickly tend to get repeated." "Cleopatras Nefertitis, Napoleons, Marco Polos," "Mona Lisas Charlemagnes." "Every once in a while a Samurai appears." "sometimes a Nebuchadnezzar." "What were these names?" "The first ones.." "seem to match ships." "What about the rest?" "There's no way to know." "At one point things get even more complicated notices that one sign." "gets repeated more than the others." "It is strangely familiar." "In the notebook he finds a scrap of paper." "It has an old phone number and the same sign." "Z vaguely remembers the sign." "He seems to have seen it many times but never paid attention." "Then he has a hunch." "In the notebook there's also a map." "The old map of Cuevas' route." "Again, there's the sign with his initials, on a nowhere country road." "he suddenly finds.." "smaller crosses with other names." "He looks at the notebook and sees the names." "with others next to them." "Names of people." "What is going on?" "What are these inscriptions...?" "And what do they have to do with Cuevas?" "Z gets the feeling.." "he has stepped into another world." "A parallel and supernatural dimension." "He is confused and excited." "At 5 am, he finally closes the notebook." "He turns off the light." "but he can't sleep." "Kruooer^." "A blond man?" "He has not come round for quiet a while." "This is for Krugger, see?" "These are very old." "I don't know if" "I think I put them somewhere, since no one came to get them." "If you give me a moment, sir." "The result is 10 or 12 items addressed to a Krugger guy." "These are mostly letters of no importance, circulars, specials on real estate, mostly Paraguayan or from countries that Z cannot identify." "Of all these letters." "there is only one that draws Zs attention." "The letter is in English and from some African country." "As far as Z can tell it's from a bank employee." "It's about some routine movements.." "in Krugger's bank account." "Z sees the account balance 1200 000 Sterling pounds." "Back at the Federation." "Z searches the room or more information..." "On this Kruger." "Finally, he finds a box." "behind some tiles in the bathroom." "In the box there are some letters some family souvenirs a few wads of one hundred dollar bills, and an assortment of passports." "One of them is Paraguayan." "Christian Alberto Krugger" "Christian Alberto Krugger Krugger is Cuevas." "Back to the first story." "X in the middle of the road the tractor the truck the briefcase the murder the two strangers." "X's shot." "the escape to run and hide." "CHAPTER V A PLACE TO HIDE rom now on." "the story takes place in a hotel, in this hotel." "This is the night before the incident." "X arrives at the hotel." "He checks in and takes a room for five days Room 301." "The next morning he gets up early." "He has a shower." "Then he asks the concierge ow to get." "to where he needs to go." "He listens to directions, he doesn't fully understand and he leaves." "When he returns to the hotel has killed a man and is wanted by two murderers." "He returns almost running, making sure he's not being followed." "Once there he gives an excuse." "He says he must work or a few days.." "and must not be disturbed." "He announces he will stay much longer than planned." "He locks himself away in 301 like it's a bomb shelter that X doesn t know now." "is that this sight s all he will see." "for a very long time." "For weeks on end and even months." "Why does X lock himself up?" "At first because he thinks." "I can't go to the police." "My story is too implausible." "I am really the one that killed him." "The gun has my prints on it." "If train and bus stations are guarded." "I'm lost" "I have a reservation for five days" "I can't leave earlier" "I have an alibi in here." "I am safe"." "But after those five days why does he stay?" "He thinks." "The killers are at large." "Did they see me?" "Are they watching for me?" "What if this affair is more complex?" "Over time the reason or locking himself up becomes less clear." "There will be time to discuss that later." "For now we have a character hiding in his room, determined to stay put." "until he can understand what happened." "Like a castaway on a desert island." "X quickly finds ways to survive." "He has breakfast at the bar." "while his room is cleaned." "He sometimes has lunch there but he mostly eats in his room." "The laundry and cleaning are taken care of." "No one suspects a thing." "The employees are on rotation." "No one knows whether he is there." "The morning shift starts work." "he leaves in the afternoon." "The afternoon shift thinks he goes out at night." "The night shift never sees him." "No one thinks about him." "Nobody worries about him, and many don't know he exists." "He is simply room 301 he quickly realizes.." "there is no better hiding place than this one." "If he wanted he could remain here unnoticed." "for the rest of his life." "He returns to the crime scene over and over in his mind." "He tries to understand what happened." "he first concludes that the tractor driver was waiting... for something dangerous." "That's why he hid his briefcase." "That's why he kept looking from side to side all the time." "That's why he was armed." "He was afraid of something He was waiting for something." "But was he waiting for the two men in the truck?" "Maybe not." "The meeting didn't seem planned." "The tractor driver was tense." "Those guys were the last people he expected to meet." "Yet they did know each other." "Though the tractor driver was distant, they were no strangers." "What had they gone there for^ Why were they there?" "Did they want the briefcase he had hidden?" "Perhaps." "At least that's the only theory he has for the time being." "And then?" "What happened9 Something got out of hand." "They were nervous Something in the briefcase worried them." "They feared the other guy was carrying a gun." "In fact he was carrying a gun." "Then the fat guy freaked out, lost patience and made a mistake." "Clearly, they hadn't gone there to kill him." "Killing him ruined their plans." "They didn't expect he briefcase." "to be there either." "They didn't even look for it." "They didn't even search around." "There is no doubt they were clumsy." "They were amateurs." "They did nothing but make mistakes." "If X hadn't appeared, if they hadn't heard the shot, if they hadn't realized there was someone else there, they would have disappeared never to be heard from again." "X soon begins to learn things through the newspaper and TV." "The tractor driver s name was Orlando Rey." "He was a widower, no children." "He had lived in the village or less than four years and had no criminal record, ut he had been a jailer.." "for a long time, years before." "On the day of the murder t least two people broke into Rey's house." "They searched it from top to bottom." "A few days later, neighbour of the field where Rey was killed reports suspicious red truck... loitering around the area." "The next day." "The truck is found abandoned across town." "It's proven to have been stolen." "Then someone sneaks into the house.." "of one of Rey's old co-workers." "The guard dogs rip him apart and he dies immediately." "The dead man is Salvador Armas." "X recognizes him as the fat man that shot Rey first." "The police announce... the search to capture Salvador's brother Carlos." "From Carlos Armas' identikit." "X recognizes the other man involved in the incident vaguely, though." "The identikit is terrible." "So the situation is as follows." "an ex jailer Orlando Rey, dead." "Another ex jailer." "Salvador Armas the one that shot Rey also dead" "Carlos Armas Salvador's brother is at large, a dangerous man who looks for something X has." "There is only one loose thread the briefcase." "It is time to open the briefcase." ""Down to work." X thinks." "CHAPTER VI THE RIVER" "It 's around three in the afternoon." "He's been in the river for six hours." "Anything he could have worried about has disappeared." "Factorovich had given him all kinds of advice the current the whirlpools the wire fences the tree trunks, the water level." "Nothing's gone wrong." "He's seen them vanish one by one." "The river s as calm and still... as a path in the middle of a field thinks, "If this continues." "it will be the easiest money ever"." "And the most boring." "And the most ridiculous"." "Before he left, someone had said." "Don't expect much from the river." "It's not what you imagine." "It's not a fast flowing river like the ones in the south." "Nor an enigmatic and deep one like those of the north." "Don't expect adventures It's a river from the plains." "Just a body of warm brown water." "that runs slowly to the sea." "Its a deserted river, just a line on the map." "Just a puddle for loose cows to drink from, just that." "Don't expect surprises Maybe an occasional grove or a mill." "Maybe an old bridge a tram once passed over Nothing else." "You will feel like you're sleeping." "or sleepwalking." "You almost stop thinking like the cattle." "It's like an abandoned path nobody uses any longer." "No one uses the river either Why would they?" "Remember." "Don't expect anything big There's nothing in the river"." "That's the scene that awaits H." "A boring, silent indifferent scene." "Around 5 pm the first day H gets to a place known as." "the river bend"." "The river becomes narrow, deep." "surrounded by large ravines." "Factorovich had told him 100 meters before the first bridge you ll see the first monolith." "It is a cement monolith, about 15m tall, 10 meters from the shore You can't miss it"." "H doesn't lose his head." "He thinks, There must be a mistake." "It must be another bridge." "In any case, I can't be far."" "Two hours pass." "The river bend ends." "The ravines end There's no other bridge." "The next day he goes on hoping to find the place he was told about." "He fears he has missed it." "Finally he arrives at a place marked in the notebook." "as "Bagual Corner"." "The description is a perfect match." "There under some trees is supposed to be the second monolith." "Again, H finds nothing, except for some remains." "Remains of human presence." "pieces of destroyed cement." "The monolith." "What's going on?" "H begins to miss the moment just a few hours earlier when everything seemed easy and even monotonous." "CHAPTER VII" " THE MASSACRE OF THE SAN MARTIN MILL" "The briefcase contains a dossier." "It's an internal investigation of the Penitentiary Service." "It was ordered by a local judge, Saverio." "The report has two parts." "The first part is a summary of an incident." "that took place three years ago." "Saverio had investigated it." "Judging by the newspaper clippings." "included in the report, t was widely publicized." "and caught the public attention for some time." "The newspapers had dubbed it." "The Massacre of the San Martin Mill."" "Apparently the facts and details of the case." "had been as follows." "The main character was Chilean." "Victor Hugo Oyarzun, aka Nestor Oyarzo, aka Valentin Sepulveda, aka Monsignor' aka "Pancake", aka "Spark Maker"." "Oyarzun was famous nd respected throughout the penitentiary system." "A long-time resident of the country, he was serving a 10-year sentence." "He had robbed he five branches." "of the "Epecuen Cattle Ranch."" "The crime ad been a combination." "of audacity and shrewdness." "This time the plan was as follows." "Oyarzun had somehow found out about a big deal to be closed." "between the San Martin Mill and some gram importers an Arabian-funded company based in London." "The contract was." "for a 15 year exclusive grain supply." "It was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars." "Escorted by two Scotland Yard agents a corporate representative would carry a suitcase." "filled with 8 kg of pure gold as a permanent deposit." "But Oyarzun had some bonus data." "a man from the insurance company... must act as a witness to the transaction." "This man who would travel to the mill.." "to witness the gold delivery was Chilean." "Oyarzun's plan was." "to leave the jail for a couple hours." "having some of the guards as accomplices." "He would intercept the Chilean and take his place." "He d present himself at the mill.." "and take part in the transaction." "With or without violence." "he d steal the gold." "Later he would run away.." "and return to jail with the loot." "A perfect hiding place for the gold and himself." "No one in the world would look for the gold in a jail." "But everything goes wrong." "Oyarzun intercepts the Chilean." "but he finds out that he is traveling with his wife and her mother." "Oyarzun." "Who hadn't planned to kill anyone, has to murder three people." "He finally arrives at the mill and notices something strange." "The operation proceeds normally." "but the people there are acting a little funny." "A few minutes later, the whole local police force arrives at the mill" "yarzun reacts quickly... and kills the Scotland Yard agents." "He takes the rest hostage." "including the Arab." "They all hide in a storehouse." "Oyarzun's holed up there." "pinned down under gunfire." "or forty long minutes." "When the shoot out ends yarzun realizes he has lost sight of his hostages." "He knows he is lost." "When the police decide to get in." "Oyarzun shoots a fuel tank." "The flaming storehouse becomes a death trap." "in a matter of minutes." "As a result." "twenty-three people die, fifteen of them are cops." "There's also a Saudi noble." "his nephew." "He head of security two British police agents, he owner of the mill." "his wife and her sister and Oyarzun himself." "he newspapers call it.." "the worst massacre in the history of the district and one of the worst of the province."" "The gold, mysteriously, is never retrieved 7 he second part of the folder contains prison documents." "How did Oyarzun escape?" "Did he have accomplices?" "Was the prison staff involved?" "The prison management was dismissed." "All of the jailers were fired." "However, none was prosecuted." "The only person arrested in the case was an Ardiles guy also Chilean." "Ardiles was Oyarzun's relative-in-law who was caught at the border." "The report maintained Ardiles' innocence remanded his freedom.." "and recommended he investigation.." "and trial of the two prison guards suspected of having let Oyarzun out having guaranteed the logistics of the operation, and maybe even of having conspired in the murder of the Chilean insurer and his family." "These guards were the brothers Carlos and Salvador Armas." "The pieces begin to fall into place for X." "Clearly, the report had never been disclosed." "Perhaps the person in charge of doing that had died." "Maybe it had been replaced with another report." "For sure, Saverio had never seen this dossier." "The folder had ended up in the hands of Orlando Rey." "The Armas brothers knew about the folder." "They knew it could put them in jail, but they didn't know who had it." "Rey had kept the folder secret waiting for the commotion to subside." "But eventually." "Ot having heard from the Armas brothers or a long time... and in need of quick money, he had decided to sell it." "To whom?" "Who knows." "To an enemy of the Armas brothers or to some friend of Ardiles, the Chilean... unfairly imprisoned9 Nobody knows The point is, he was going to sell it." "for sure." "That's why he had it with him that day, and was armed and on guard." "The Armases had somehow found out about the sale." "They show up confront Rey and ask for the folder." "Rey denies having it and everything goes so wrong." "that they end up killing him." "And so they lose he only way they had." "to find the dossier." "The blunders get worse and worse." "They continue looking or the folder." "in places visited by Rey." "Then it is revealed that one dies in an absurd way." "and the other ends up s the most wanted fugitive in the province." "X is caught in the middle." "When X closes the folder he feels he's just read a long crime novel." "It's like he's emerged from a high fever or awoken from a nightmare." "Something doesn't yet make sense." "Why is Armas still looking for the file?" "Why does he risk his neck hen he knows.." "that having killed Rey is a much more serious crime." "than having helped Oyarzun?" "What is the dossier good for, now that he is wanted for murder?" "There is only one possible answer." "Armas no longer wants the folder." "He wants the buyer of the folder." "He doesn't want the information but the person." "Why?" "To get even?" "Because he has the gold?" "For some other reason?" "Who's the buyer?" "Man or woman?" ""This is as far as I go" thinks X." "He knows he can't do anything." "but wait for the paper or the radio to bring some news." "CHAPTER VII THE MAN IN THE RIVER" "Story three." "H has been on the river for several days." "He still hasn't seen ny of the monoliths... he is supposed to find." "Instead it's always the same a bunch of rubble signs of recent destruction" "Paraguayan tea leaves, tobacco." "He has made a decision." "If he doesn't find a monolith in the next few hours he will turn around.." "and tell the guy that hired him." "H wonders if maybe someone else is doing the same thing as he." "He suddenly realizes he has no idea." "what it is he is doing." "If someone asked him why he was traveling or what the monoliths are, who is Factorovich if what he is doing could bother someone, if it is right or wrong he wouldn't know what to say." "At about 6 pm he arrives at a place called "El gateado"." "The river loses its way there." "For two or three kilometers, it becomes a maze full of reeds and rushes." ""Well" H thinks, resigned "The story changes course."" "CHAPTER IX THE LIFE OF CUEVAS" "Second story." "The life of Cuevas." "Almost two months have gone by." "In this time, Z has been busy with one thing only assembling the puzzle pieces of Cuevas' life." "The pieces?" "A notebook, a map some fake passports, some letters, photos, bank notes, an African bank account.." "worth 1500 000 Sterling pounds, and some symbols Z is still unable to decipher." "That's it Nothing else." "This is Cuevas' treasure map." "First, Z unravels the system." "that Cuevas built to hide behind." "For three months he takes to he roads of the province." "meticulously repeating the diagrams drawn by Cuevas." "He goes to storehouses, hotels, gas stations canteens, and schools, always guided by Cuevas' map." "In each place, a certain name." "In each storehouse, another." "In each gas station." "yet another." "He never has problems No one ever mistrusts him." "No one asks questions." "The mechanism created by Cuevas." "is so precise it works without him." "What does he find?" "Letters." "Letters from Holland Belgium, South Africa, Senegal." "India." "Australia and Singapore." "Letters for ridiculous names Nelson Patrick Nelson Roberts" "Roberto Nelson, Benito Alvarez Garcia." "Alvaro Garcia Benitez." "Juan Giovanni, Santiago Jacques." "It is like a game and Z feels he understands some of the rules now." "If these letters and trips begin to reveal some details of Cuevas' life." "Cuevas' youth and childhood don't seem to be so special." "A boy born in the 50's, in some city suburb." "Nothing else." "At some point he begins to travel." "From age 30 on he lives mostly outside the country." "He travels the world." "He meets people." "He becomes a different person from the boy of his adolescence." "He lives a more bohemian life, almost an adventurer." "At middle age." "He moves to some African country." "He works in some activity concerning wild animals." "He is some kind of a manager.." "or a consultant with a foundation." "He lives there until he turns 45 or 50." "It is the most important part of his life." "Around the age of 25," "Cuevas meets a young German or Swiss man named Eric." "He's a geologist an oil engineer." "or something like that." "They live together for 30 years." "He is most likely, the reason why Cuevas moves to Africa" "Eric (who Cuevas refers to s Enrico or Pierrot." "in most of his letters) links him to his circle of friends." "They are mostly European diplomats and professionals." "This African Cuevas s quite a different person.." "from the Federation Cuevas that Z is used to." "He has many friends and is a sophisticated man." "Apparently, he is a happy man." "In the mid 80's, Eric gets sick." "For a year or so his letters are not so frequent." "He can't pinpoint when Eric dies, but from a certain point on letters from friends are filled with tragedy irreparable damage fate things like this." "In the same period, Cuevas returns having left Africa forever." "At first he is still in touch with his African friends." "Then Cuevas stops exchanging letters with them... and is eventually left on his own." "Dear Gege." "This is just to tell you that we all think of you." "all the time It's as if you had never left." "Each of us dedicates a song to you, according to his or her personality" " he first one is mine my dear." "Get ready to dance1." "Cuevas goes back to living with his mother." "and works for a federal entity that regulates." "the entry of wild foreign animals." "Something like an Animal Migration Service." "Maybe some activity similar to that developed in Africa." "There are few traces of this stage." "Official letters letterheads, old cards, some recorded tape." "Almost no photos, no images." "Eventually." "Cuevas gets involved.." "in the illegal traffic of wild animals." "The Mona Lisas And Marco Polos... are wild animals." "Cuevas apparently doesn't have to do anything." "Simply make introductions and phone calls, and receive commissions of thousands of dollars." "He doesn t meet his associates or know his clients." "He is just a link, a guarantor." "That same year he asks to be transferred to the Federation." "The mystery begins to clear up for Z." "Cuevas is smart." "The job at the Federation is a cover a hiding place." "At his last job he was a bull's eye for suspicion." "At the Federation a lost office in a lost town he is anonymous, a ghost." "He no longer needs the other job to keep his business running." "For years he remains hidden unnoticed by all." "Obsessive, systematic, fearful, he manages to become invisible." "He invents new names and identities for himself." "He gets fake documents." "No one knows where he lives or where he is." "He uses remote places that hardly appear on maps as mail addresses." "He designs a labyrinth for those who want to find him." "The same labyrinth Z finds himself in right now." "When the investigation ends," "Z writes down his remaining questions." "Can Cuevas' money be recovered?" "Is it lost for good?" "It is impossible to know for now Too risky." "What was Cuevas saving up for?" "That whole operation what for?" "Was it possible he saved it all up." "without dreaming of how to spend it?" "Was he a miser?" "A slave to his own system?" "Was Cuevas' business still running?" "Is somebody still sending him money?" "Does anyone know he is dead?" "And still another enigma." "The symbol and the three letters." ""The Pyrenees Horse Farm" What is this about?" "Z can t bear the excitement any longer." ""Either something to do with the office or with Cuevas"" "he thinks "If it's the office it's nothing." "If it's about Cuevas, it's important"." "He thinks Palomeque I'll ask Palomeque." "first thing in the morning"." "And before turning he light off like a child.." "he thinks Only eight hours to go "." "Federation.." "Yes, speaking." "Hello, how are you'?" "What?" "But the next day Palomeque doesn't come to work." "His daughter calls very early d explains that her father.." "woke up the middle of the night with a strong chest pain and the doctor diagnosed it as the onset of a heart attack." "But has this ever happened before?" "Palomeque is okay His life is not at risk." "He just needs a week's rest and to quit smoking forever." "No please." "He shouldn't come in." "More to the right." "Back there Let's see." "No it's a bi er book an important book with a binding." "Good I see you found someone to work for you." "Are you still on about that book, Dad?" "It's gone!" "That book is here!" "It's been gone for at least a year and a half." "And last week he became obsessed that the book was." "My dear, that book is here1 It has been by my side." "Z spends the afternoon at Palomeque's house." "There is hardly any talk of history or geography." "Palomeque talks non stop." "but in a more relaxed and knowing way." "The topics are less solemn and more ordinary." "Outside the Federation." "Palomeque is a different person" "I am not serving you sugar!" "I'm serving him sugar1." "Strangely, Z finds he is having a good time." "At some point Palomeque says he has a headache escorts his daughter." "to the drugstore to buy medicine." "When they return Palomeque is asleep in bed hey both talk." "for a couple of hours while he sleeps." "When they part company." "Z realizes this afternoon as the best he's spent in months." "As he gets in bed that night." "in Cuevas' lousy little room.." "he tells himself he has been isolated." "for too long thinking about a dead man, living the life of a dead man and he finds he is sick and tired of Cuevas." "and doesn't want to think of him anymore." "One." "One." "Two Here you have it." "That is from last month The head, yes." "Four hundred and thirty-two with 53 cents, plus tax." "At first not thinking about Cuevas isn't hard." "His work at the Federation without Palomeque is not the same." "Z works like a slave two or three times harder than before." "He begins to feel differently." "to enjoy his work." "He decides he needs to get out more make friends, and meet other people" "ne morning he decides.." "it's time to stop living in that hole." "He asks Mrs. Gavilan... to help him find a place to rent." "If possible, something large and well lit far from the Federation." "He begins to visit Palomeque's house several times a week." "of by chance he thinks.." "of the mysteries that filled his head... just days earlier, he feels a little silly." "s if this whole time he had been playing like a child" "ut." "But." "But." "The certificates .. which ones?" "Last month s.." "Let's see." "Yes they were sent." "Yes, here it is.." "No, we don't include the date." "That very day someone phones, a Caceres or Casares guy." "He's demanding a certificate." "that should have been ready a week ago." "It was Palomeque's responsibility, but no one knew about it." "How it's an urgent matter.." "and there is no way to deal with it from there." "There's nothing to do but go to sign the document in person." "Look, this is what we can do." "Someone will bring a new certificate once we confirm they're missing." "Before leaving." "he finds the place he must go to on the map." ""It's fate" he thinks." "The spot s less than 30 km away from Cuevas' sign." "Less than 30 km from The Pyrenees"." "Z smiles and thinks Back in the game"." "Story three." "H has decided to follow the steps of the stranger." "He will inform the guy that hired him.." "of his situation the next day that Factorovich guy.." "is little more than an abstraction to H now." "The whole situation s all so illogical." "that he finds it hard to think he is there.." "for some tangible reason that he's actually being paid to be there." "The stranger kills time throwing stones into the river." "At one point he even puts can in the water to use it as a target." "H intends to stay up all night of necessary to figure out who this man is and what he's doing there." "In less than half an hour he falls asleep.." "and won t wake till morning, when a few meters rom where he sleeps." "another explosion occurs." "CHAPTER X CESAR" "Very well Back here again." "Surprise1." "Where do you come from?" "Looks like Zamudio's little trick.." "didn't turn up so well!" "Zamudio's trick, and yours." "Zamudio sent you." "He gets nothing!" "Clear enough?" "I!" "D say I won the game," "and when you see Zamudio with the remains of the boat, send him my regards" "He gets nothing!" "explains to the stranger." "that he has no idea who Zamudio is." "He explains who he is and what he is doing there." "He explains as best as he can about the monoliths." "The stranger goes on about Zamudio." "When he hears about the monoliths, he shuts up." "The stranger thinks for a moment." "He seems perplexed he finally ends up admitting.." "he had received identical instructions." "Many years ago." "He had worked for the La Plata River Company." "A couple of days ago, someone had contacted him rid hired him to destroy any evidence of the Company's project." "The stranger admits he received no explanations." "He doesn't know why he is doing what he is doing either." "They simply offered him a lot of money." "The stranger also describes the man that hired him." "Though neither one knows it it's clearly Bagnasco he is describing." "Bagnasco." "Once again was winning the match." "That was it." "That's why the stranger was destroying the monoliths." "Who Zamudio is H will never know nor will we." "All we know is that due to this Zamudio." "H is left without a boat" "cheer up1 Cesar." "Cesar and H take off together." "Even though they have opposing missions even though one's victory is the other one's defeat." "Cesar explains, They hire me to dynamite" "I dynamite of someone wants to take photos before then let him."" "Before H can reply, Cesar starts the engine." "He lets out a chuckle and announces, ", it's a deal"" "Cesar had been born in the Leeward Islands." "in the Atlantic." "He looked about 70 years old, but could be much older." "He was the son fa German merchant and a French woman who died when Cesar was a boy." "He had spent almost all of his youth traveling, accompanying his father on business around Venezuela and the Guayanas he said with pride... he had never set foot in a school or church." "At 18, he had married Venezuelan girl and had a son with her." "Soon after, he had set sail on an English tanker." "He never heard from them again." "He had worked at an oil plant on the Orinoco delta." "He had been a supervisor on the Panama Channel." "And though not an engineer;" "he had been Chief Engineer on a pipeline in Brazil." "He had lived in Arabia for a year where he had another son." "At 40 while working on dredging a river in Guyana he met a man, an Argentine, a Mr. Pehaflor or Penafort." "who took him south to work for the La Plata River Company." "He had made a good career for himself there." "He had been director or manager." "and even had his own office." "However, he returned to working on the river." "of his own free will." "In Argentina he had remarried, but had no children." "He said he didn't remember that last wife's name." "Susana or maybe Zulema." "The last project he had worked on." "had been precisely the Pampas River Canal." "Since then he had been dedicated to "investments and private projects"." "In any case" H thinks it's not like he looks particularly wealthy"." "When the day is over;" "H resigns himself to feeling... things are completely ut of his frame." "of logic and understanding." "Let's go on " he thinks God willing"." "Against all odds things improve the following day." "H can finally do the job he has been sent to do" "Cesar knows the exact location of each monolith." "With him, the trip is much quicker and easier." "Perhaps running into him wasn't so bad after all." "Yet H can't help wondering of they are really doing." "what they're expected to do." "Z is on the road again." "This time he is much farther from the paths he already knows." "These roads are different from his." "They are bigger." "There are more towns more traffic and activity." "Z realizes he world of the road is a kind of shelter for him, a landscape he must return to over and over again." "Every once in a while, half joking and half serious, he asks himself of the whole Cuevas thing.." "IS just a strange excuse to be there." "Having dealt with he bureaucratic problems that brought him there, Z studies the map." "To reach the farm, he must follow he domestic road." "for a few kilometers." "Then take the solitary provincial road.." "for 30 or 40 km to a dirt road." "Then just follow that until he reaches the farm." "There are no more explanations." ""Now what?" Z thinks." "He hadn't thought of it until now." "Here I am Now what do I do7 I can't leave or go in." "How could I?" "What if there are people?"" "He decides to hide and wait to see what happens." "Three hours later he thinks There's nobody here" ""I'm going in"." "Okay here's the deal." "Z's going onto private property, an unknown place." "He has no idea what he's really looking for." "Maybe it's time to go over the strange events." "that brought him there, he odd sequence of events." "which led him to that state of affairs." "The place he is entering is a loose end." "the last link on a map full of names that form a kind of code, secret system." "designed by a dead man." "whose life Z seems immersed in and can't escape." "A life that carries the promise of a large, mysterious sum of money no one knows nothing about no one but Z." "So what is he doing there?" "Looking for the money?" "Does he think it's there?" "Does he think he can recover?" "Or is he simply going without really understanding why?" "It's not clear" "ut it's good to know." "the series of events that led us here because what is about to happen s so weird and crazy we could easily get confused... and think that it's all random or mad." "So after walking for twenty minutes." "finds a row of sheds." "surrounded by a forest of cypresses and pines." "The Pyrenees Stud Farm at last." "There are no signs of recent activity." "Like it had been abandoned nastily as if the staff had to flee for some reason ut in one of the rooms.." "he finds signs of recent activity." "Syringes, chemical products, veterinarian implements and a box with the name Colonel' on it." "Z asks himself, "Who is this Colonel?"" "Are there still more characters in this story?"." "Z hesitates." "It must have been the wind he thinks." "For a few seconds there is no noise." "Then the whining continues." "It repeats, each time getting stronger." "like a call for help." "Z thinks "The Colonel!"." "The "Colonel" is a lion" "CHAPTER XI THE EPISODE OF THE LION" "First he freezes." "Then he realizes the lion is no threat to him." "It's old and sick and about to die" "Clearly the staff ad taken away all the other animals and left the lion" "He must have been too sick." "for such a fast and dangerous move" "They wanted to ensure a dignified death" "Z spends many hours sitting next to the lion." "Strangely since he arrived... the lion has stopped complaining." "His mere being there soothes the lion forgets he is next to a fierce wild beast and relaxes" "He reflects on his life." "and the absurdity of the last few months" "He lets his memories wash over him" "He thinks about his childhood, stuff he hadn't thought of for ages" "A passer by would take them or two old friends who don't need to talk" "Z feels so comfortable to full of friendly feelings.." "that he can't help thinking of the lion as a dog or even a person." "At some point this idyllic situation is cut short" "From far away he hears an engine." "It gets closer by the minute" "Hello, my friend1" "How are you7" "Soso?" "It's cold" "What's wrong7 You have a fever?" "Let's see" "Damn1" "Well, what can you do, comrade?" "What can you do, buddy7" "Everything in life has its end." "Am I wrong?" "Don't worry, old man" "It's almost over" "You can't complain." "You lived a long life" "You lived so many years" "I remember you were around before Popeye" "Yes, before Popeye's arrival." "I remember it too well" "Some beauty, that animal." "Popeye." "I hear they've got him in the north, in Brazil" "Colonel!" "What a treat!" "Colonel, my Colonel the lion" "My colonel, the lion a majestic warrior." "African by birth and Creole by adoption" "Today I sing you this farewell song." "I made for you on my own because as a good Creole.." "I know how to address a king in his dying hour" "A few minutes later, he lion devours." "the contents of the plate." "After that." "X witnesses the lion's long agony." "First there is total silence for a quarter of an hour." "Then the lion begins to breathe heavily as though he is agitated" "Suddenly this agitation becomes fury and the lion roars like thunder" "He roars for a while, ten minutes or more." "No one would think then he is about to die" "He acts like a lion in the prime of his life." "majestic and imposing." "He's quiet for a while like a statue." "He remains that way." "Immobile." "Then he begins to deteriorate and emits a long loud groan" "An almost human moan that lasts for several minutes." "Maybe half an hour" "Finally he stops." "You only hear his breathing" "It is more and more quiet, until it is almost inaudible" "The lion curls up as though preparing to sleep" "His body is still except for some slight movements." "On the head." "the belly and the tail." "He lets out a last roar that seems to defy everything loud and hair raising roar." "that resonates for various minutes" "Then there is silence." "That silence means the lion is dead." "After the lion dies things happen rapidly" "Z can no longer see clearly what is happening." "The situation becomes confusing" "Z's memories become chaotic." "He remembers a horrible feeling of drowsiness" "He remembers fighting to stay awake awakening in the midst of a fire... not having the strength to stand," "walking through the flames." "being outside he storage shed and not knowing how he fled the place" "He remembers hearing the shed collapse behind him" "He remembers running aimlessly for hours in the open field." "He remembers." "and this is strange." "a vague sense of euphoria, due perhaps to the chemicals he inhaled in the fire." "He remembers lying down in the middle of the field and waking to an odd noise and light like that of a tank or tram." "Then he remembers nothing else." "Come and eat as much as you can1" "This winter, in Mundo Universo everybody went crazy!" "Come and check our winter sales'" "Gloves, scarves." "turtleneck sweaters!" "Everything for your home heating!" "CHAPTER XII THE LOLA GALLO AFFAIR" "FM Etoile star in the lonely night..." "X has lost count of the days.." "he has been locked up in the hotel" "The room is now his world" "Like a zoo animal, all he can do is watch the bit of earth that fate gave him" "This is X's life: the window that looks out on the village square." "the bathroom window that looks onto the back of the hotel, and the wall that he shares with the next room over" "This is now his home." "his kingdom" "He does little more than look out of the window, all day long." "He finds out that the life of the town.." "is a clockwork precise mechanism." "A man crosses the square every day at 9" "He wears either a blue or a grey suit" "Each day, X waits or him to go by and bets on which he will wear." "Along the back wall he notices the light in two rooms is identical." "He guesses rooms 308 and 415 are watching the same TV channel" "These sill things amuse him and fill up his hours" "One day he sees a man with a girl who works in a bar on the square." "He talks a lot" "But nothing happens They remain distant." "The same thing happens a few times" "One day X sees the man hiding behind the fountain." "He's waiting to see if she comes along" "X realizes the man is trying to force an encounter" "When she sees him he resumes his performance and they keep walking." "A few days later X sees... how she discovers his trick and avoids him." "X feels for this man He wants to advise him" "He wants to tell him, Not yet1 Patience!"" "For a few days they don't show" "X looks for them but they do not come by" "A week later they appear again together, and seem relaxed" "They sit and talk happily." "He puts his hand on her leg and she doesn't remove it" "Then his arm round her shoulder and she lets him." "For a couple of days." "they do not show" "A week later" "X sees them on the square." "hugging, in love" "This is X's love life, watching women with other men." "arguing with other men, ailing in and out of love... with other men, making love to other men." "Once, he finds a more lasting love." "She stays one of the back rooms where only traveling merchants or old married couples usually stay." "Like him." "She seems to spend all day at the hotel spies on her all the time." "and quickly memorizes her routine." "She never has breakfast She gets up around noon." "She sunbathes from her window" "Around lunchtime she leaves." "She comes back at dusk" "She chain smokes until it is night." "Around 8 she usually gets a call." "She talks for about half an hour" "She talks and argues violently." "After the call she takes a bath." "She takes an hour long bath" "She throws herself on the bed." "For a fairly long time, X barely sees her." "Then she writes for hours." "He goes to bed before she is done" "What does she do?" "Why does she live in a hotel?" "Where does she go when she goes out?" "Who does she argue with" "What is she writing?" "X somehow feels that he knows her" "He knows when she is in a good mood.." "and when she is not" "He knows when something worries her... and what kind of things make her laugh" "In some ways he feels they are alike" "One day she goes out at noon and doesn't return till late" "When she finally shows up." "X finds he is jealous." "She has become a kind of companion for him, someone who shares his life" "She doesn't even know he is alive." "nor has she even seen him." "Yet she makes his days go by easier." "and makes him feel less lonely" "One day at breakfast" "X notices his neighbour is there too" "It's the first time he has had breakfast since X has known her" "For half an hour X watches her write read the newspaper and sip her coffee" "When she is done she passes nearby, but their eyes never meet." "X does not like this change He feels it is a bad omen" "By nightfall the neighbour is gone" "the news on the Armas' case." "begin to subside in the newspapers" "The reporters forget about him" "Only X follows his trail through sporadic news." "and anonymous crimes" "A stolen car someone ho breaks into a house and takes nothing, someone reporting intimidating calls" "X sees Armas' shadow in each of these cases." "Each new incident is an excuse to stay in the hotel." "It's not time yet" he thinks." "He's still out there"" "What is really going on is that he likes this life he doesn't want it to end." "Everyday he listens to the news." "and reads the paper as a ritual" "He asks himself over and over What does he want?" "Why does he want the file?" "What is he really looking for?"" "One day something the newspaper catches his eye" "The article says "Mysterious disappearance of a woman."" "X has a hunch and starts reading it" "He reads it over and over the next days." "He becomes an expert." "He analysis it" "He doesn't rest until he believes." "he finally has an answer" "The case is as follows." "Lola Gallo 28 years old." "married to a farm machine salesman." "no children, disappeared leaving no trace" "She was last seen leaving home in her car, carrying a sports bag." "The car was found abandoned by the roadside." "50 km from the town" "There were no signs of violence." "Declaring their relationship was perfect the husband was desperate." "Different theories emerge but the same facts remain" "Lola Gallo disappeared... as if earth had swallowed her" "Some days later." "the announcement is made." "that renowned inspector Raul Sera in takes the case" "His credentials are impressive." "era in quickly shows... that he is good at what he does" "It's enough for him to question the husband... to give the case a whole new dimension" "The photos after the interrogation." "show him looking triumphant" "In an impromptu press conference, he reveals his findings" "First Lola Gallo nd her husband were not legally married" "Apparently she never wanted to" "Second." "The husband knows nothing.." "about Lola's past... aside from a few childhood and youth memories." "about which he didn't know much either" "Third The man ad never met her parents." "or anyone that knew her" "He had never asked questions He had simply fallen in love." "Fourth." "There were no photos of Lola" "Not a single one." "According to her husband she hated photos." "A couple of times He took a photo of her." "without her realizing, and when she found them." "she burned them" "Fifth (and here is where Sera in outdid himself) the husband couldn't be sure he had ever seen her ID" "He didn't know her name." "Lola is not a name."" "Sera in told him" "The husband didn't know how to answer" "There wasn't any Miss Gallo that matched her description." "Sera in's final words We don't know who she is, where she is what she looks like." "why she left." "what her story is or her name." "We know nothing"" "X closes the newspaper." "He spends days trying to solve the case" "He is sure the Gallo and Armas cases are related" "He doesn't know why but he believes this." "He goes through the the folder." "through the clippings on Armas and on Lola Gallo and draws and writes on them" "He comes up with a long list of questions and hypotheses" "The correct theory ill be the one filling all the gaps," he thinks" "Three days later he comes up with a theory" "First the facts Oyarzun dies in the Massacre of the San Martin Mill" "However." "the gold never appears." "Ardiles." "Oyarzun's relative." "is unfairly sent to prison." "They never find the gold" "The Armases, who do participate in the robbery, are free." "However, a confidential dossier can send them to prison." "Orlando Rey, who for some reason has kept the dossier receives the news that someone wants to buy it." "and he contacts this person" "Who wants to buy it9" "Who profits from the Armases1 going to jail?" "Someone who wants Ardiles free?" "Someone who has the gold from the Massacre of the San Martin Mill... and fears the Armas will find it?" "In which case Armas knows... there was someone else at the massacre" "Armas knows that person has the gold" "Armas wants the gold." "and that's why He has to find this person" "Armas knows that finding the person who wanted to buy the dossier will mean he finds the gold." "In short * This person needs the Armases to be in jail." "This person lives hidden away." "under a false identity.." "til he finds the dossier... that will put the Armases in jail" "This person reads bout the Rey's death and concludes that Armas already has the file." "This person knows he has lost his last chance." "that he is unprotected." "and the only thing he can do is run." "That person is Lola Gallo" "Lola Gallo, or whatever her real name is participates without the Armases' knowing in the Massacre of the San Martin Mill." "Perhaps she is Oyarzun's lover or daughter or an accomplice" "In any case Lola manages to escape with the gold.." "and disappears." "She invents a new identity, gets a poor fool to fall in love with her and hides away for years" "But Lola knows the Armases don't stay put forever.." "and knows she won't be safe while they are on the loose" "She finds out about a file that Orlando Rey is hiding." "Lola contacts him and offers to buy it" "She reads about Rey's death... and worries he gave the Armases the little data he had on her" "They are close." she thinks." "She stops being Lola Gallo and disappears without a trace." "A few days later a newspaper publishes a story" "Lola Gallo's case is closed" "The husband has decided to withdraw the missing report" "He says she called and was fine" "She was visiting some relatives broad and said she would stay there for a while" "The story was absurd, obviously a lie fabricated... by the husband's poor imagination et he insisted.." "on withdrawing the missing report." "A furious Inspector Sera in declared" "Someone's been pulling my leg"" "Thrilled, X thinks" "She's done it he managed to escape"" "The case is closed She fooled them all"" "Then adds with some pride, "All but me"" "But this isn't really the case" "X is wrong about everything." "He will never know it but his entire theory is wrong" "Lola's case has nothing to do with the Armas case" "The Armases know nothing about Lola and vice versa except in X's imagination." "The truth is far different." "Meanwhile hundreds of kilometers away the real Lola Gallo calmly finishes breakfast" "breathes in the morning air gets in her car and drives on." "1." "THE HUSBAND" "It's true he had never asked or known anything about her" "The way she came into his life was so strange... that he had wanted to avoid asking about her life, making any decisions, demanding anything of her" "He didn't want to do anything alarm her." "or to make her leave as suddenly as she had arrived" "Deep down, he had always known things could end this way" "But as long as he could avoid that or put it off he would do anything necessary" "Within the week of their first date, they were living together" "He always felt she was hiding." "that he was a piece of wood he used to stay afloat." "after a shipwreck" "This somehow assured him leveled things out and gave him a way to handle things" "To him she had always been." "a luxurious gift given to him by mistake a creature of another world, an undeserved blessing" "There was an unspoken pact floating between them" "They didn't fool themselves" "She stayed with him." "but was always distant." "enigmatic like a cat" "That was the best she could do." "It was more than he had ever had" "It was the happiest time in their lives" "Everything she did amazed him" "The way she spoke." "how she looked at him in the morning always awake before him the way she listened to his news every day like a mother touched by her son" "That's why hen she finally left.." "and he made such a fuss." "he almost felt like a traitor." "Those were the rules." he kept telling himself" "It was always dear this would happen." "However, he couldn't just let her go.." "and return meekly to his world of men, tractors, earth and mud." "It was too much to ask, Lola" "Will she think about me again?" "Or have I just been a part of her disguise?" "Did I ever exist to her?"" "He clung to this question as though it were sacred" "Because he knew is time with her was the only time in his life when he had been somebody when he had really existed" "Then she called Drop this whole scandal."" "she told him like a mother talking to her child" "Calm down Come to a certain place... at a certain time on a certain day.." "and I will explain it all."" "Then she hung up and disappeared once again" "2 THE OLD MAN" "When the old man saw her for the first time, she wasn't even 15" "He thought "I won't do this there must be a limit" "I have made many mistakes but I won't make this one."" "A week later they had traveled together all the roads.." "from one end to the other and the old man hardly remembered... what it had been like to be without her" "These things happened with Lola" "Once she arrived, it was like she had always been there" "The old man liked to think of himself as a gambler, even a strategist" "He didn't work to make money nor did he want t he rich." "or prosperous, or settle down" "He enjoyed gambling, inventing goals enemies and battles." "He always gave advice like a teacher" "The key not to settle down.." "and never need anything from anyone." "You must know when to leave You must always be ready to go" "When they blink you are already gone" "The key." "Babe is to be always ready to lose it all... in one strike" "Never forget it because that's what will happen to you."" "They traveled from one side of the province to the other over a hundred times" "There were days hey didn't have a cent." "and days when they were rich." "They loved each other dearly." "but acted cold towards each other" "What did they want to prove?" "Could they live without each other?" "The old man thought" "Nobody makes her laugh Like I do." "and no one ever will."" "And he was right about that after all that happened and all the paths er life followed" "Lola never laughed again like she had back then." "When the old man left why'd he go?" "One day perhaps he thought I can't live without her"" "The next day, she had already left." "He realized he hadn't been alone for years" "He felt vertigo" "For the first time in his life he felt old." "But one of his mottos made him feel better" "My friend, once again, he road is all ours."" "For months he avoided ny chance." "of crossing paths with her" "Then hopeless." "he searched for her" "He looked all across the province." "He who knew her better han anyone was about to give up" ""She really is good She's better than me " he thought." "When she finally appeared married to some poor fool who sold tractors in a town out west the old man realized He was nervous as though before a first date." "What would he say?" "Might she not want to see him 9" "He left her a small note on the front door" "I missed you a lot," without a signature" "Why9 The old man realized he felt like a 15 year old boy" "But she didn't show up." "He waited for her for hours and at night he went to find her" "But she had already gone" "When she finally was in touch with him and gave him a place, a day and a time to meet her he found he was scared" "I'm too old for these games"" "He looked at his watch and found he still had time" "Hello How are you?" "Did you introduce yourselves?" "Sort of No" "3 THE MEETING" "When she finally had them together she couldn't help laughing." "The situation was dramatic ut when she saw the two standing together next to the door he thought of two boys waiting for the teacher to arrive." "There they were." "The two men of her life." "The fool and the know-it all" "The one who had shown her He world and the one who had saved her life." "And she explained to them how her life had been telling it as if it were a story" "First to one." "Then to the other" "This is the man that came before you."" "This is the man who was with me when you left"" "The old man, of course dealt with the situation better" "He was more mature and made her laugh but for the first time she saw that he was artificial." "even ridiculous." "Years have passed" she thought" "For him as well."" "The other was more childish and clumsy." "but also more sincere" "Lola found she had missed him a lot, and she adored him." "She realized then and there, when it was too late" "Time to let bygones be bygones To move on to a new life" "She knew she would get up and they would be left.." "watching her go like two dogs in the ram" "Well, she thought. "It's time or them to become men"" "I'm leaving..." "Go." "Babe" "Which one of us will you go with?" "Certainly not with you" "Bye" "From this point on the end begins" "The stories become more vague, but also head towards some sort of conclusion" "However, there are still events waiting to happen" "There's still a long way to go" "X has to leave the hotel and come across Salamone" "Z has to meet two sisters and spend some time in the old man's farm." "H and Cesar must lose their way and get arrested at a military base" "The end is beginning, but there's still some more road ahead" "CHAPTER XIII GOING ADRIFT" "At this point in the trip, H can hardly stand Cesar." "Cesar is arrogant a compulsive liar in love with himself, annoying." "complete chatterbox." "and a non-stop joker." "Nothing no tiny event, escapes his comments or irony." "Any little thing triggers an anecdote in him." "It seems like he's lived all possible lives and.." "each of his stories he talks about himself as a hero, as some author.." "of admirable deeds." "However each time is finally.." "on the verge of denouncing his insanity or idiocy, when he is reaching his breaking point," "Cesar surprises him" "He always has an ace up his sleeve." "He says something funny or smart or exhibits a new ability or trick." "Ironically these small moments of triumph are the most annoying to H. They are the worst" "Suddenly." "Cesar begins to act strangely" "He is worried and silent like never before." "He stares at the horizon for a long moment" "Then he begins speaking in German which H can't understand." "There's no time for monoliths." "We have to get out of here now, because it's going to pour ram" "We need to find shelter, now1" "Let's go now*" "H doesn't understand" "It's a sunny day not a cloud in the sky." "There's no breeze." "But there's something in Cesar's attitude... that commands him not to protest" "Strangely, H believes him" "Cesar doesn't talk all day" "He is silent, concentrating." "He doesn't tell jokes anecdotes nothing" "They pass by several monoliths." "Cesar doesn't even look at them" "He watches the sky and worries" "Around five in the afternoon, clouds begin to gather on the horizon" "At sunset, when the first lashes of lightning.." "can be seen." "Cesar decides to pull the boat over" "The spot looks like any other but he seems so confident that H obeys" "They walk through the field for a few minutes" "Suddenly a little wood house appears out of nowhere" "Cesar kicks the door in without hesitating and enters." "From some sort of a big annoying child" "Cesar has become the authority figure" "H trusts everything he says and does" "Now he is the child." "H has a tough night." "It rams outside like never before" "He dreams of storms." "He dreams someone hires him to guard a fort on the edge of the desert" "There's going to be an invasion and he must watch the horizon" "The fortress is hard to define, but some of its turrets remind him of the river monoliths" "He hears explosions from afar." "He thinks. "The invasion"" "but then it's a hurricane." "not an invasion he awaits" "He finds the rest have left him alone at the fortress and fled" "He begins to explore and realizes." "He is only familiar.." "with the side facing the desert." "but the other side faces the sea" "He sits next to Cesar." "who is suddenly in the dream too.." "and they both contemplate the sea" "The last image of his dream of the two of them.." "watching the horizon over the sea" "Then he wakes up" "It is sunny outside" "The storm has passed There's not a cloud in the sky." "But the river is not there anymore" "An hour later." "Cesar and H are off traveling again" "H is sure he knows the way but after yesterday" "Cesar's authority is hard to refute" "An hour later what Cesar predicted hasn't happened." "The river bed is lost completely... under an immense mass of water." "Two hours later; it's clear they are going the wrong way." "But Cesar isn't talked out of it and goes on" "Three hours later, Cesar's argument begins to show the first signs of weakness" "He won't admit it yet ut it's clear." "he's not as sure as before" "Four hours later almost sunset it's clear Cesar is wrong." "Eight hours later, their propeller gets stuck in a wire fence and the engine goes out" "They walk in the dark through rushes in water." "up to their necks until they reach dry land." "For two hours, they walk without seeing anything." "guided by a fence in the middle of a cloud of fog" "At midnight they find a locked cabin." "Though H doesn't like the idea." "Cesar kicks the padlock open" "While Cesar sleeps soundly" "H thinks. 'Something strange is going on'." "There's something don 11 ike.." "Something wrong..."" "All clear." "Cleared shotgun" "Remington brand shotgun Used" "Case without false bottom" "Fishing gear" "A detonating device" "Defused." "Some kind of distinctive marking" "Male, arrested or carrying weapons" "Ten hours later and Cesar are arrested." "for entering a military base without authorization... in the middle of the night, carrying explosives and arms and forcing entry into a storage unit where war weapons are usually stored" "As they are being taken to their cell," "Cesar stealthily gets lose to H and whispers in his ear" "Don't worry It's okay They ll let us go right away" "Trust me"" "Back to Z's story." "Finally" "Z wakes up with no idea of where he is." "He's on a farm two or three plots away from the Pyrenees Horse Farm" "Z will live there for a while." "Saponara the farm owner also Z's savior and he will play a key role the events that befall Z upon leaving the farm." "But let's not get ahead of ourselves" "For now, the only necessary information is that after his adventure." "Z wakes up at Saponara's farm" "Saponara is a half Italian man ho lives with his nephew.." "and two daughters" "CHAPTER XIV THE TWO SISTERS" "In a few minutes Saponara explains to Z.." "how events had unfold" "Saponara was working on his tractor in the middle of the fields on the night of the fire" "First, he says he saw ow the fire spread to all the buildings of the horse farm" "Then he saw a truck leave." "He assumed why he wouldn't say) the fire was intentional." "He decided not to get involved and continue working" "At one point, he said He found a big long animal.." "strewn out in the middle of the grove" "It was Z, who had passed out smelling of smoke and chlorine" "Saponara manages to revive him a little." "helps him walk to the tractor and hides him." "in a storage shed on the other side of the farm." "where no one in his family ever went" "Saponara says, I know about these things." "I don't ask questions" "I don't get involved where I am not invited" "I never wanted to know that happened." "at the horse farm It wasn't my business" "They were always good people to me and that is enough." "Here I am when I'm needed." "That's how I am"" "The next day the police had shown up asking questions" "But, he had known how to scare them off" "He kept repeating the same phrase" "No one's gonna teach me about this" "I know all the tricks"" "Intrigued he had looked around the horse farm" "In one of the old entrances that no one used anymore, he had found Z's car with the keys inside." "He had waited until the night fell... and had hidden it" "He didn't even want to tell Z where it was." "Saponara insists on playing the wise one" "He insists in making it clear to Z." "that it's not the first time." "he deals with this kind of situation." "One thing is clear he is ecstatic bout the situation... and happy to intervene" "Z wonders." "Who must he think I am?" "What must he think is going on?" "Look, I don't want to know anything" "The less I know, the better." "If anything, I'm discreet." "But if you ask me, he best thing you can do." "is stay here for a couple of days" "That car was outside or a long time." "and they may arrive when you are trying to leave" "No one will look for you here." "I already spoke to the girls." "I told them you were the son of a buddy of mine, that you had had an accident, that you had to get better" "Who knows what I told them1" "I don't know if they believed me, but they won't ask questions" "They're like me that way." "Neither will my nephew" "Nobody else needs to know what you and I know" "That stays between us" "Incredibly, Z discovers that the old man is right" "Who knows what he thinks of me?" he says." "But if he thinks it." "anyone could" "The police, the people from the horse farm, anyone"" "They did ask me your name." "Since I didn't know," "I told them your name was "Raul"" "It was the first that came to mind." "So if they ask you, remember your name is "Raul"" "What a name to think of:" "Raul!" "Aside from Saponara's imagination the idea of spending few days on the farm isn't an unpleasant one." "In any case " he thinks if I tell him the truth" "He ll never believe me."" "So he resigns himself to being Raul for a few days" "Raul'" "Raul'" "Z fits into the life on the farm immediately" "A repetitive and methodical life like a play in a theater." "Chicho!" "Time to get up, Chicho." "Each person plays his or her role" "Each one does what they have to do.." "and what is expected of them" "Chicho, prepare the liquid!" "Chicho, did you load up the boxes7" "When are you going to Cangallo's?" "Right now." "I have to leave now." "That gives me no time to do anything else, does it?" "To finish this." "Maria Luisa, the younger sister." "cares for the house the orchard the birds and the dogs, makes the marmalade... and the butter and does the cooking" "She is patient, methodical, and nothing seems to ever upset her" "Did you tie the crates to the truck9" "I have to leave right now Do it now." "How are you Chicho?" "How many jars are you taking?" "What are you doing?" "I'm tying the crates'" "Alicia, the other sister." "takes the place of the older brother." "She leaves early in the truck to do the deliveries.." "and pick up supplies." "he mends broken fences and does all the carpentry and mechanical repairs" "Do you want to finish it now?" "No." "I will take it to them during the week." "She is the only one in the house.." "that gets around on horseback" "There is a lot of complicity between the two girls." "It's as if they knew that they ran the house, not the men" "Pepa remember the route First, Pedahno." "Then." "Cangallo Last the lady." "Please write the route down." "Pedahno, Cangallo." "and the lady." "Pepa!" "Pepa Pepa" "Did you grab the pots of honey for Pedalmo7" "Please, take the pots" "Gerardo only takes care of the bees" "He's a bit of a clown and a little ridiculous, and the solemnity He wears his uniform with." "reminds you of a child playing make-believe" "Here, sharpen this for me" "He is just as old as the sisters but no one takes him seriously" "The only one who takes him seriously is himself" "Pepa, when are you going to mend this?" "I mended it this morning." "Can you go outside to do that?" "You have to check it again OK." "Father Bye" "Pepa are you not carrying this with you?" "Did you see where my gardening scissors are9" "They were over here" "Pepa." "Look what you are forgetting" "Was she forgetting the eggs?" "Saponara acts like a king ho wanders around from one end of his domain to another." "without having too much to do." "Each day he sets out to do a new activity, but he quickly gets tired." "The rest of the time he drinks Paraguayan tea reads, listens to the radio and watches from his chair how everyone else does their work and gives them orders." "Throughout time, He has realized that he must exercise his authority gently eventually letting people laugh at him or ignore him." "He is an aristocrat A good, peaceful and harmless king." "The two sisters are very different." "Alicia, the elder, is hard and defiant with a sharp, cutting gaze like that of a Soviet or of a Partisan" "She stares for long moments asks many questions is opinionated, stares off into space thinking, thinking and smoking" "However, she is not masculine" "She is full of energy but not the rough violent energy of a man" "She is simply strong" "Sometimes she seems like a bird of prey like an expectant eagle, poised to attack" "She becomes beautiful and stunning then" "Maria Luisa is the opposite." "She is silent" "It is hard for her to look people in the eye" "She is awkward with people." "naive and she blushes easily" "However." "after the first impression she slowly shows to be witty and perceptive." "She is amusing." "with a sense of humor.." "that she advances slowly... but ends up captivating everyone" "Behind the shyness, she hides an unsettling and surprising grace" "She has a secret kind of beauty, elusive belated and sudden." "With Z's arrival, this closed." "autonomous world." "begins to change" "Z rediscovers he is a sociable guy capable of starting a conversation, even able to be interesting, and able to make people laugh." "During the first meals," "Saponara dominates over everyone else." "Z's arrival is something like a party to him." "Finally he can retell is stories as though for the first time" "He can speak with impunity for hours exaggerate and invent knowing that they won't deny what he says or shut him up." "At one point Z's revelation occurs" "Z somehow interrupts Saponara and says something funny" "He makes them all laugh for a lon time." "At the next meal" "Z notices everyone expect him to do it again" "The situation is new to him too but he finds he can pull it through effortlessly that the character hey expect from him is.." "as amusing to him as it is to them" "Z understands that living with a man their age.." "is completely new to them" "Their world has changed with his arrival" "The first times they have lunch together" "Maria Luisa practically doesn't look at him as though he didn't exist" "Alicia, on the other hand." "makes advances on him." "She advances in a carefree manner like a tank" "As Z becomes the center of every meal." "he begins to discover that Alicia's invulnerability... disappears in any funny situation." "When he says something funny, Alicia who seems stone cold, turns into a little girl" "She drops her defenses." "Z discovers he is flattered by this reaction" "He feels like it is a triumph he likes to make her laugh" "Maria Luisa, on the other hand hardly says a word." "When Z starts joking she laughs a lot but looks down timidly, barely looking at him." "The next day while he is talking." "she interrupts him with a witty remark" "She blushes immediately" "There's a brief silence." "Then, everyone bursts out laughing" "As days pass, this duel between them goes on" "Clearly she likes it" "She anxiously waits for that moment of the day" "Z begins to note signs of flirtation in her a vague but evident change in how she cares for her looks" "She also begins to act strangely and unpredictably" "Every once in a while, she acts cold and offended." "Sometimes she doesn't speak to him for the whole meal." "Suddenly, the storm louds clear and she becomes fun again." "and looks for his complicity" "To the man who has lived a long time without them the mere proximity of women is a blessing" "Z resigns himself to their eccentricities... and enjoys them" "Then there is Gerardo, who distrusts Z from the beginning." "Upon saying his name (his assumed name., 'Raul')." "Z notices Gerardo repeats it strangely." "uttering each letter oddly." "During the meal when Z makes them all laugh." "Gerardo laughs as well." "But Z notices he laughs in spite of himself, that he would prefer not to laugh" "For him laughing is in a way a sign of weakness a capitulation." "Z notes Gerardo's hostility towards him is growing." "He feels he is under continual observation" "After each funny comment Z makes," "Gerardo glances at Maria Luisa." "as though he wanted to crack the code of her reactions." "If the funny one is Maria Luisa, he looks at Z or at both of them." "Z also notices Gerardo hangs... on Maria Luisa's smallest gesture that he passes the time secretly surrounding her... looking after anything ny unnecessary activity." "just to be near her and see her." "Once the relationships are set things go along calmly." "without too much novelty" "One day Z accompanies Alicia on the afternoon deliveries" "He doesn't stop telling jokes and she laughs all the time.." "and she even falls asleep on his shoulder." "on the way home." "Z has a restless night." "ut by the next day everything has gone back to normal.." "and it's as if that afternoon had never happened" "One day Z offers to help Gerardo with the wood" "At first he refuses and tries to show how superior he is... and how good he does things" "Z realizes he is taking revenge on him" "However, when they finish Gerardo begins to talk" "They talk for hours" "They talk." "without volunteering names.." "of their experience with women life, destiny" "They philosophize" "Z implicitly understands that he has conquered him, that they are friends now" "One rainy afternoon, while they all take a nap," "Z spends time in the kitchen with Maria Luisa." "They don't joke as much as usual, they barely speak." "Z simply watches her knead and fry" "Z sees a subtle craftswoman in her" "A meticulous and delicate person." "He finds he also kind of likes her" "Another day, Z finds he sisters walking together at dusk below the evergreens deep in a long conversation, laughing and playful." "What could they be talking about?" "'Me?" "'." "Z asks himself." "Z soon finds himself thinking of the sisters all the time." "trying to escape Gerardo and his jealousy and fleeing from Saponara his stories and his favors." "He finds that the world and those people." "who he didn't even know a little over a week ago." "re becoming natural to him." "as though this had always been his life." "Listen to me for a second." "I want to tell you something." "It's nothing bad.." "Every five months." "I have to go to the hospital for a check-up" "Don't worry, it's no big deal, a hospital near Bertran, about 200 km from here" "And the thing is.." "You know" "I'm fine now, but the doctors insist on my check-up," "The thing is I don't want to tell the girls." "They won't understand." "There's no need to go telling them these things" "And I always go alone, for years I have been going alone." "without a problem." "But." "Do you understand?" "If you would" "It will be two nights, ne night at the hospital and one night to sleep" "I always stay at this little hotel... at the joint of route 74" "It's not expensive, it's calm, and you'll like it." "Can't be much worse than here" "Anyway." "we'll talk it over later." "doesn't say anything." "but inwardly he accepts immediately." "On the road again " he thinks." "That night, or the first time in weeks he opens Cuevas' map again" "When he sees he name of the hotel." "where he will stay with Saponara he finds out that place has a cross, one of Cuevas' crosses" "Next to it is the name Axel Andres Alexanders" "That was one of the places on the map he hadn't visited, one of the loose ends on Cuevas' route" "Axel Andres Alexanders." Z thinks with a smile" "I had forgotten about Cuevas' sense of humor"" "CHAPTER XV THE SON OF THE DEVIL" "Francisco Salamone is born in Catania." "Sicily... at the end of the 19th Century." "Before turning 10, his family moves to Cordoba Argentina" "He begins college at 18 and at 20 has already graduated as an architect.." "and as a civil engineer." "The same year, he submits couple of projects at the Milan and Barcelona trade fairs, and wins a gold medal at both" "Since childhood Salamone as been aware." "he is cut to construct buildings" "In his brief time at college, he begins to realize" "At 24 he clearly understands that he is a genius, someone for whom action and invention has no limits." "During the same period, he becomes interested in astrology." "An astrologist at some point, tells him" "You are meant for big things" "You are the greatest at what you do." "You will change history" "You will be a turning point in your business" "Don't worry." "Glory awaits you"" "He asks, "What must I do9"" "Nothing Just wait When the time comes you will realize."" "He waits for almost ten years He doesn't build a thing." "He just studies, designs, ends designs.." "under fake names to trade fairs around the world" "He observes the work of others." "listens to the praise hey receive.." "and sees the prizes they win" "They will soon hear from me." "They will know who I am"" "Finally the time comes." "The governor of the province of Buenos Aires calls on various architects." "to modernize the public buildings in the province" "The most famous architect chooses to devote himself." "to the monuments of the Argentine resort towns." "In Mar del Plata, he builds He immense 'Casino'.." "and 'Provincial' buildings" "Too easy, too predictable, too many people, too much activity," thinks Salamone" "He asks to be in charge of the projects rejected by the others" "The smaller forgotten towns in the province scattered throughout the map lingering on the infinite plains" "I like this," thinks Salamone, like a wolf sniffing its prey" "For two years, he works restlessly" "He hardly sleeps he works on Saturdays, on Sundays, on holidays and even at Christmas" "He plans, draws, personally supervises the building sites" "He doesn't hesitate." "He thinks." "Here in these miserable villages." "lost at the end of the world" "I will plant the most amazing buildings ever built." "These towers and porticos will be famous as famous as the Chartres cathedral" "They will come from all over, they will cross the deserted grasslands to see them" "In each one of them." "will tell them." "Here I am This is Salamone" "He designs cemeteries, public offices slaughterhouses, town halls." "town squares and dock towers" "He designs the benches the furniture, the streetlamps." "and the sidewalks." "He always asks for more." "bigger, taller, even taller." "more display of resources, more excess more fury, more violence" "More glory1" he once screamed." "More glory1"" "The projects are done in practically no time." "In May they finish the Gonzalez Chavez Town Hall the Guammi slaughterhouse and the Salhquelo cemetery" "In June they finish the Balcarce slaughterhouse the town square and the schoolhouse, as well as the Rauch / own Hall." "In August the Guammi and the Carhue Town Hall's towers the Tres Lomas and the Azul slaughterhouses, and the Azul and the Coronet Pringles town squares" "In September the Laprida Town Hall and the slaughterhouse, the Tornquist." "Pellegrini," "Puan." "Pirovano and Urdampilleta Town Halls were all finished" "In October one of the masterpieces the giant wheel that served as a portico to the Saldungaray cemetery above the Sauce Grande stream" "In January." "the second masterpiece." "the giant cross in the Laprida cemetery" "A few months later in November, the ultimate masterpiece." "the massive portico in the Azul municipal cemetery." "Legend has it that Salamone and the mayor of the town spoke on the day of the opening" "It seems to be something bad and dark,"" "the mayor had told him horrified as the rest of the town people was like something built by the devil."" "Don't be naive, doctor." Salamone is said.." "to have replied with a satanic cackle." "The devil would never have gone so far"" "At some point, however." "Salamone's trail dries up" "His projects are canceled, their architects take on his unfinished work." "and the towns resume their dull slow rhythm." "Time goes by and no one remembers him" "There's no testimony to his volcanic journey through there except for his excessive towers." "rising up alone in the middle of the horizontal landscape" "Slowly, the townspeople." "ho used to look at them in astonishment and even with hatred." "end up becoming accustomed to those eccentric skyscrapers." "which erupt violently into the scenery.." "of those turn-of the-century low houses and buildings" "Ten forty, seventy years pass Salamone's name is forgotten" "At some point during some dark rehab project for the province a bureaucrat notices Salamone's name all over the blueprints or more than 200 buildings... in over twenty districts." "This bureaucrat asks the deputy's consultant who asks the planning consultant who asks the undersecretary of cultural heritage." "They hesitate They are afraid" "Demolition is put off for an uncertain period of time" "They decide to retain he services of a surveyor to write up an expert's report on the condition of the buildings.." "to go along with the submission of the project" "The company retained to draft the report which has had a long history.." "with the provincial government decides to act cautiously and to avoid associating heir name... with any kind of project with the remodeling of public works, and decides to turn once again to some expert." "to handle the work and the on-site check-up." "granting him total freedom of time, order, priority and work methodology." "This independent expert precisely the man who arrives at the hotel early one winter morning with a four night reservation and whose stay is prolonged mysteriously for more than five months" "One morning, believe it or not the phone rings" "The caller is an employee of the company.." "that has retained X." "The reason for the call purely bureaucratic" "(his license number as to be included." "in some pre-report or something like that) but the employee hints at the effort it has taken to find him saying he tried to track him down at over ten hotels before finding him" "Considering the list of places X had to visit;" "he says he expected to find him.." "at a more advanced stage of the trip" "He says, jokingly, that at one point." "he was about to report him missing and notify the police" "X makes up an excuse." "but when he hangs up the phone he realizes how sensitive absurd and inconvenient his situation is." "He suddenly understands that irregular and abnormal situations are suspicious." "On the other hand that which is in place... and works as expected is actually invisible." "He has to leave." "There is no better disguise than doing what is expected of him" "Finishing his work, being where he should be returning to his routine." "Two hours later five months later than scheduled he crosses the town square in the opposite direction." "However the routine doesn't come back to him" "Something has changed" "X arrives at some town, stays at some hotel as he has done hundreds of times before." "but now things feel charged with a different energy." "as though in each of those grey, everyday places wonderful things could he in store for him" "X understands, after several months of confinement that the province will never be the same" "He can't help feeling like a sailor." "moving from one miracle to the next." "from one fabulous city to the other" "He visits cemeteries, porticos, abandoned slaughterhouses.." "minarets which seem to have cropped up from diabolical mosques" "His journey becomes almost an allegory, almost a mystic experience." "He rarely thinks about what happened at the hotel" "Every once in a while." "while reading local newspaper.." "he runs into one of the many names he found during his investigation" "The Armases." "Oyarzun he Mill Massacre... the complicated gallery of characters he lived with... for such a long time" "One morning he wakes up thinking about Ardiles the Chilean unjustly accused of the crime at the mill." "and he tells himself that." "like himself" "Ardiles must be living in some dream-like state not understanding the path his life has taken" "I must do something for him," he thinks" "A few days later, he goes into some little post office." "looks for the address of a court of law and says goodbye to the dossier." "like someone who throws a bottle out to the sea" "CHAPTER XVI THE TREASURE" "Z's trip with Saponara ends up lasting three or four days" "The day they are supposed to arrive" "Maria Luisa makes sure to finish her work before noon" "She is nervous and distracted" "In the meantime Gerardo has asked her an inordinate number of questions" "He watches her every movement and cracks jokes" "I wonder what's wrong with you." "Do you miss someone?" "Are you in love?" "'1 and that kind of things" "Alicia tries to be the head of the family but looks somehow weak" "Neither her nor her sister says it." "but it's clear they both miss the men of the house" "For long periods, Alicia feels melancholic, thinking about things she never did before" "She constantly tells herself, How silly1 How silly!" "'1" "When the sun begins to set hey walk to the gate and stand watching the path for a long time" "They talk about anything" "They somehow try not to appear impatient" "They arrive late after twelve." "The two sisters have had a bath and are well dressed." "So is Alicia." "Saponara spends he whole night.." "telling each detail of every little thing they did" "He tells every event of the trip." "Z is surprisingly quiet, and hardly speaks" "Finally, Saponara says hes tired.." "and the after dinner chat is over" "Only Z and Maria Luisa are still in the kitchen." "It's odd, you went to eat at the Fishing Club!" "That place is very old1" "I don't know.." "from the Stone Age1" "And that German waiter there, or Russian.." "all he's missing is the club... anyway." "I wonder" "There must have been something special in the food." "because somebody I know is acting different" "By the next morning Z's gone." "What happened why did he leave so suddenly9" "The truth is Z knew All night long... that by the next morning he'd be gone." "it was something.." "he had decided several days earlier." "For some reason, on the trip with Saponara" "Z has a strange impulse to share his story with him." "While he was alone." "I was easy to keep his adventures a secret ike something that was his." "and nobody else could understand." "But now he has travel companion and he knows that at some point.." "Cuevas awaits him" "He feels disloyal if he doesn't talk, an imposter" "Who knows what he thinks" "He spends hours explaining every detail to Saponara, the complicated search or the treasure in which he has been involved for months" "But something happens here" "Z tells the story with shame, as if to say" "Look at the stupid situation got myself into.."" "as though he fears Saponara will think he is crazy" "Saponara, on the other hand, listens to him seriously, asks questions and requests clarifications" "He is fascinated by the story." "When Z is done Saponara is thrilled" "He interrogates him for miles asks questions he has already asked." "speaks with satisfaction" "For a long stretch, however, Saponara is silent." "Finally, very seriously." "he says." "listen to me carefully." "That money will be ours."" "When they finally get to the hotel." "Saponara can't stand the anxiety." "He is crazy, like a little boy ho wants to know.." "the end of the story" "What does Z find?" "Four or five letters from an African country, written in English." "The usual Letters of no interest except for one" "There's no need to worry about what the letter says" "Besides, Zs translation is not to be trusted" "His English can't be that great what is important is that... he sender, a Cassidy guy.." "seems to know Cuevas and his business more than anyone else in the course of the story" "The tone of the letter is relaxed and confident, even affectionate" "They seem to have known each other.." "for many years." "and although the letter talks mostly about money it is clear that they are partners and old friends." "As he reads it Z finally discovers something new" "Cassidy is the missing link in Cuevas1 story, the only one who understands it all, the other half of the treasure map" "Listen carefully." "You have to go to Ensenada in three days." "Ask for this person, who already knows everything" "He will tell you whom you need to speak with" "There won't be any problems." "The "Sugar Loaf leaves this week." "Otherwise there are other boats" "It won't be longer than this week" "In twenty days you will be there" "Z interrupts Saponara" "He says he doesn't know what he is talking about and that in any case, it's a crazy stunt" "That he's not willing to waste more time on Cuevas' story" "That thanks, but Saponara's proposition is insane." "That he's sick and tired of walking around the world... and getting involved where he doesn't belong to" "That is enough there is always a limit" "It's over." "A week later" "Z boards the merchant ship 'Sugar Loaf.'" "It flies a Peruvian flag and the final destination is Bombay, stopping at Cape Town, Durban, Mombasa, and Karachi" "A few weeks later, the ship reaches destination." "However, once there Z finds out Cassidy has died.." "of a rare illness a month or two earlier." "He can't find much information." "Apparently Cassidy as retired.." "and had worked or the government... his whole life, in customs." "His daughter had never heard of Cuevas." "Z as she tells him, was the first South American." "she had ever seen." "and it was hard for her to believe.." "that he was not European" "Finally, she suddenly remembers something" "She runs inside and comes back with an envelope." "This came days before his death" "I think it is from South America."" "The return address no the envelope." "reads "Axel Andres Alexanders"" "Inside Z finally finds Cuevas" "Dear Derek." "You don't know ow sorry I am that your health is not improving" "It's hard to imagine you sick." "There are people we tend to think of as invulnerable, as though nothing could ever happen to them" "When you are a child, you think of your parents that way." "I have always thought of you that way" "I remember seeing ne of the films" "I loved as a child, so long ago" "A woman wanted to avenge her husband's murder, and she looked for the criminals to kill them" "All of them even the strongest and smartest, ended up dying by her gun." "The same is happening to us, Derek." "Even the strongest and the smartest" "Even you Derek, even me" "You know what7" "A few days ago something strange happened" "I turned sixty." "When I woke up, surprised," "I felt as I had never felt before, that nothing bad could happen to me" "I don't know if you will understand, but I felt I had won the game" "I felt I had dealt my cards so well that I was completely safe" "Safe from any harm and any problem" "I had won the game You know7" "That night I cried myself asleep." "I haven't done anything but think ever since" "I don't want this to be my life anymore." "Derek" "Is it too late to start over?" "I remember a story someone told me once." "A man is born into an enormous fortune." "He is handsome, seductive, and athletic" "He lives on the fast lane." "He gets married over and over to beautiful women but he cheats on them His marriages fall apart" "His debts build up, he swindles." "and gives in to drink and gambling" "One day he finds he is alone and unlucky and decides to kill himself" "As he is about to jump, God speaks to him." "What is wrong with you?" "What a waste" "I gave you everything and you threw it away" "It's a shame." "You will begin again." "and you will do things right this time.'!" "The man comes back to life, but this time he's thrifty and prudent." "He makes a lot of money but he is careful with it" "He avoids surrounding himself." "with people that can lead him astray." "He is cautious in love and lets no one deter him from his path." "He never makes a mistake, never does anything wrong" "But one day he finds.." "he's as lonely and unlucky as before, or even more" "When he is about to jump, he hears God's voice again." "Jump1" God tells him" "You are hopeless." "You are an idiot"" "What about me." "Derek9" "I hope your health improves soon." "I will write again about business" "Affectionately, Eugenio" "So that was Cuevas " Z thinks after he finishes reading" "And for the first time, he feels his journey is over" "Third story H and Cesar, the third day locked up at the military base" "Now, I remember a really good story" "It's really good" "Hey, grumpy" "Don't you want to hear \P" "It's really good." "You don't know what you're missing" "Don't you want to hear \P" "I'll tell it anyway1" "CHAPTER XVII THE "JOLLY GOODFELLOWS" "For hours, while H sleeps," "Cesar sets out in what seems to be." "the story of his childhood." "during the war" "He speaks of his father for the first time" "He describes his life as a child in detail." "Going from one place to the next arrested once and again." "Hund, can you read that map or not?" "Chief, I told you I am not good at reading maps." "We have already walked this path" "Let's walk on." "What do you make of it?" "Too risky" "You go first." "Do you see anything?" "Something moving." "But I'm not sure" "Let's go, Vayan." "This changes the whole situation" "Jolly Goodfellows." "It's late." "We have to carry on." "Let's go on Walk on!" "Do not fall behind." "We must walk on" "Just like this?" "Grab his gun." "Chicken!" "David Smile," "Johnnie Short," "Jack "The Pakh"," "Blind Pew" Moran" "Charlie London." "Cesars story ends with the improbable image... of himself alongside the Englishmen happily singing that magic song" "If H had listened to or understood the story he might think it was another of Cesar's fables" "But Cesar's world, here English soldiers." "laugh and sing, where victory is celebrated.." "with heroic songs, it's much more than H or anyone, can tolerate at this point" "In any case when H awakes Cesar is already gone" "CHAPTER XVIII THE LUCKY SONG" "And now, more music on FM Etoile" "A possible end for Xs story" "X reads in the newspaper, at one of the many gas stations" "on one of his trips about the latest news on the Mill incident" "t's too loud..." "You can't smoke in here, but who cares" "There's no one here anyway." "There's never anybody" "The same people always come by truckers." "Then the five o'clock bus" "Be careful" "How long have you not smoked?" "A long time." "Smoking does you good" "You're on a trip, right7" "Always on the road." "Always on the road." "Nice" "According to the newspaper, the Chilean had returned to his country." "and had refused to comment" "However a court clerk said" "We cannot give the details of his release from jail" "The only thing we can say is that this man was lucky" "You could almost say He had a God of his own"" "So it seems X's dossier.." "had fallen into the right hands" "The whole adventure had served a purpose in the end" "Days, or perhaps weeks later;" "after some light paperwork" "H is freed." "The petty officer charge of taking him... to the nearest road tells him." "It took a while for you." "Things got complicated." "There was no way around it" "Your roommate, instead, he got out at once, and he was a foreigner" "So you see, it's all about luck"" "Meanwhile on another road, fairly close to or far... from the other an old foreigner returning who knows where to, remembers a song he learned when he was a child" "It's a song that's meant to be sung after accomplishing some great feat after surviving danger and arriving safe and sound." "Or after returning from a long journey"