All Yours (7 page)

Ernesto got home at two o’clock in the morning. Inés had left his dinner on the table. His dinner, a candle and a note: “Wake me up when you get back.” She had drawn a heart. Ernesto sensed that his wife wanted to make love and recoiled at the thought. He didn’t want sex with her. Not when he had just been with Charo.

He knew all too well how it would be; they had been together too many years. “Erni, are you asleep?” “No.” “Do you want to come over?” “OK.” He would roll on top of her, get going, finish off, then go to sleep. And while he was working away, Inés would every so often utter a sigh. Sighs that were all exactly the same, an act, fake.

Ernesto turned off the kitchen light and went upstairs. Outside Lali’s room, he stopped. He went in and stood watching her for a while. It grieved him to think that in a few days she would be going off on the leavers’ trip. He knew that it couldn’t be avoided, but it was painful all the same. It grieved him to think of all that had happened, things that she knew nothing about. He wished that she was little again, begging to be picked up, that he could lull her to sleep with a song. But his daughter was seventeen and he couldn’t pretend that it was possible to start again. Too many things had happened.

He went into his bedroom, straining to make no noise. On his pillow was another note – “wake me up” again, a chocolate and a video:
Psycho
. Ernesto lowered himself into bed with exaggerated care, selecting the places on which to put his weight with the least possible disruption to the mattress, until he had arrived at the desired position. He turned to face the wall, waited for a moment, then pulled the covers over him and closed his eyes. He thought he was home free, but he was wrong.

“Erni, are you asleep?” she said.

17

Summary of sentences and paragraphs found highlighted in fluorescent green pen in an article photocopied from a Mexican journal of legal medicine. The article in question is titled: “The problem of cadaveric rigidity in the procedure of necrodactylography, and other related matters”. In this case there were no marginal notes to be transcribed, but where paragraphs have been highlighted, this is indicated in parentheses.

During the twelve hours after death, the temperature of a corpse drops by one degree an hour.

During the next twelve hours, cooling is slower, occurring at almost half that rate. Of course, if the body has been submerged in water, it loses heat much faster.
(Highlighted paragraph)

Phenomena related to the body’s cooling, such as
Rigor mortis
or
Livor mortis
, are indicators of the date and time at which death occurred.

Rigor mortis
, that is the rigidity typical in someone who has died, is the result of a chemical process. The body’s internal chemistry switches from an acid to an alkaline state, causing the muscles to become tense. This process of stiffening begins in the eyelids, spreading to the rest of the face, the trunk and finally the legs.

Once the cycle of
Rigor mortis
is complete, the lifeless body becomes as rigid as a log
(the word “log” is highlighted)
. But the corpse does not remain in this state indefinitely. Twelve hours after the process which culminates in
Rigor mortis
is complete, more acid is produced and the corpse begins to relax. This new cycle follows the order of the previous one. First the eyelids soften, then the face, the trunk and finally the legs.

Livor mortis
is a much earlier process and very useful for determining the time of death. At the moment in which the heart stops, so halting the circulation of blood, the force of gravity causes the heavy red corpuscles to settle in the lowest parts of the body, closer to the ground (although not actually resting on it, for the capillaries in those areas are compressed). The purplish discoloration that occurs in these regions, about two hours after death, is produced by the pooling of red corpuscles in the surrounding tissue. If death has been caused by poisoning, the colour may often be very intense. If cyanide has been used, however, the colour is usually pink. And in deaths caused by carbon monoxide poisoning, the lower parts of the body appear bright red.

Of course these indications may be very different in a body that is not found for days or weeks after death occurred; in this case its state will be determined by the environment in which it has been during that time.
(Highlighted paragraph)

In warm, dry conditions, the tissues do not decompose, but dry out. Such is the case with bodies that have been placed beneath parquet floors or in wardrobes. Where air is able to move freely, the drying process is quick. The body appears to shrink – the so-called “raisin effect” – but the deceased’s features will still be clearly discernible, even if years have passed.

If the body is left outdoors or buried in a shallow grave, decomposition is swift. Bacteria thrive in warm and damp conditions. In deep graves, however, the lack of circulating air impedes the development of bacteria and the process of decomposition is much slower.

Young people, or those who are overweight, decompose more quickly, because of higher levels of fat in their bodies.

What happens to a corpse that is found submerged in water?
(Highlighted paragraph)

When examining a body that has been in water, no matter what the circumstances, the first job of the forensic pathologist is to determine whether the deceased drowned, died of hypothermia as a result of exposure to cold water or was already dead before falling, or being thrown, into the water. In the case of the person having drowned, his or her lungs will be full of water; not so in other cases.

The process of decomposition, as outlined in the preceding paragraphs, is in several respects quite different to that of corpses left in the open air or buried underground. For example, the cooling action is more violent in submerged corpses, taking place in a few hours. The usual characteristics of post mortem lividity are not present: the skin of the corpse is abnormally white and wrinkled with the appearance of “goose bumps” owing to the contraction of hair follicles.
Rigor mortis
, meanwhile, both starts and finishes later. A corpse may be submerged for ninety-six hours before all the signs of
Rigor mortis
are gone.

Six or seven days after a death underwater, another chemical process begins, causing the body’s abdomen to fill with gases. The quantity of gas in the abdomen tends to make the body float and thus rise to the surface.
(Highlighted paragraph)

However, if the body becomes entangled in weeds or is otherwise obstructed by a foreign element, it may remain for ever in the deep water.
(Highlighted paragraph)

18

“I’m going to miss you, sweetheart.”

“Yes, all right, Dad. Let me get on the bus before it leaves.”

“Take care, Lali. Wrap up and eat well.”

“…”

“And Mummy’s going to pray that everything goes well for you.”

“Since when have you prayed?”

“…”

“If there’s any problem, ring us straight away. At home or at my office, whichever you like.”

“OK, bye.”

“Wait, aren’t you going to give me a kiss, darling?”

“…”

“Goodbye, Mummy loves you, you know?”

“Look after yourself, please, sweetheart. Be very careful.”

“What do you mean by ‘very careful’, Dad?”

“He just means behave sensibly…”

“I wasn’t asking you.”

“I don’t know, love, I suppose I mean don’t do anything silly or take risks. I don’t know, I don’t know what I meant, really.”

“Well then next time don’t say anything.”

“…”

“…”

“How about one last kiss for your old dad, eh?”

“…”

“Bye, Lali.”

“Bye, my darling.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“My God, she’s hateful!”

“She’s nervous, Inés, that’s all.”

“She’s so bitter. I don’t know how I could have given birth to such an angry child.”

“Wave her off, come on, and see if we can put a smile on that face.”

“Goodbye, darling, have a lovely time.”

“Goodbye, my love, take care.”

19

FIVE MONTHS LATER

Things were going well enough. Truelove’s body still hadn’t turned up, and that made all the difference. Without a body, there was no death. No murder, nor murderer. Not even an accident. Only questions surrounding Alicia’s disappearance, and the absurd conjectures which Ernesto and I found ourselves trotting out in front of third parties, as if we were as dumbfounded in this matter as everyone else was. Nearly twenty-four hours a day we were acting. We couldn’t allow ourselves to slip up in front of anyone. I was so into my role that I kept in character even when I was on my own. Once, when I was having a shower, I caught myself thinking anxiously, “Whatever could have happened to poor Alicia?” And I realized then that I must be doing well. Because, if anyone knew what had happened to Truelove, I was that person. But there had been so many months now of feigning ignorance, of acting in front of the others, of answering their questions. It does your head in! You get into the skin of your character and begin to believe in her. Like when I was learning English and Mrs Curtis used to say to me “Think in English”, in other words, “Don’t think in Spanish then translate your thoughts, but
think
in English”. Whenever anyone asked me about Alicia’s disappearance, I didn’t think about what I needed to answer. I simply
was
the wife of Ernesto, whose secretary had disappeared and about whom we had absolutely no news.

The police had nothing concrete. It was nearly six months since the accident and they still had no suspects, no leads, not even hunches. Nothing! It was a long time since they had last questioned Ernesto. It seemed as though the only people who had not forgotten about the matter were Alicia’s parents, who appeared every so often on television shows, clearly with the intention of making sure their daughter’s plight would not be forgotten.

Things could have gone on the same way for ever, but one day Ernesto came looking for me and said, “Inés, I think we need to resume everyday life, as if the accident had never happened.” I didn’t know what he meant exactly, but I agreed. I guessed that he was proposing a new start. A return to normal family life – complete with all the usual problems – but essentially normal. I was delighted by the idea. My eyes even filled with tears. In time I saw how these words signalled a 180-degree turn in our relationship. If I had told Mummy about it, she would certainly have seen what was coming. She would have caught it mid-flight. Mummy always had a sixth sense for these things. She was rather pessimistic, mind you, but intuitive with it. I was a bit of a soft touch, always thinking well of people, forever trusting them. I had not suffered the misfortunes that befell my mother. Pain makes you harder and teaches you to be tougher. I’m a different person nowadays, but back then, when Ernesto said he wanted a return to how things were, I was overjoyed. I’ve always been one to look forwards. You can’t go through life beating your chest and chanting “
mea culpa, mea maxima culpa
”. All right, something really awful had happened to us, something I wouldn’t wish on anyone. But what more could we do? All religions share the concept of forgiveness for those who truly repent of their sins. We were repentant. Truly. And when God forgives, man has no business to take a different view.

The following week, Ernesto had to travel to Brazil for work. “How many days will you be gone, Erni?” I asked.

“The conference is on Thursday and Friday, but they’ve arranged two meetings for me on Monday, so I’m stuck there over the weekend.”

“And in Brazil of all places, when you hate hot weather!”

“Work is work, Inés. You can’t pick and choose.”

The day before his trip, I packed his things in a small case and a carry-on bag. I always packed his bags when he went away. Two suits, five pairs of pants, two casual pairs of trousers, two pairs of swimming trunks in case he had any free time, three T-shirts, three collar neck shirts, two ties – or rather three, because sometimes he fusses about them not matching his shirts – two pairs of shoes, one smart and the other casual, a pair of trainers, two belts, four pairs of socks. In the bag I placed those things that Ernesto likes to keep handy: vitamins for energy, a razor, shaving cream, toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss – Ernesto can’t live without dental floss – deodorant, a photo of the three of us. The photo was my own idea. I prayed I hadn’t left anything out, not wanting to endure one of Ernesto’s bad moods later on.

That night I had a special dinner waiting for him. Veal loin in a pepper sauce with creamed potatoes. It’s Ernesto’s favourite dish. I put out candles, good wine; I lit a floral oil guaranteed, or so I’d been told, to awaken the baser instincts. I wanted to give him a good send-off, with all the trimmings. I put on some new lingerie and I had even bought myself a babydoll. I hadn’t worn a babydoll in years! I needed to get Lali off to bed early. Otherwise Ernesto pays more attention to her than to anyone or anything else. That wasn’t easy. I wouldn’t be surprised if she deliberately stayed up simply because she had realized that I wanted her to go away. I mean she didn’t even contribute to the conversation, just kept glaring at me as if I had done something to her.