Corruption's Price: A Spanish Deceit (34 page)

A taxi drew up. Salvador kissed her farewell, wishing her success before climbing in. As his taxi left another appeared, this time with Alfredo inside. He opened the door for her. Once inside he told the taxi driver to take them to the
Sala de lo Penal
by
calle
Génova.

Leaning back to inspect her, he said, "The same suit as when we had lunch some weeks back. Good choice. Pinstripes look fine on you and I do like those stockings. You should distract the
Juez
with your appearance alone. Plus you look consummately professional."

Accepting the flattery she didn't admit that she had worn the same suit the previous week. It was her most severe outfit, hence why she'd chosen to wear it again. After all, this was not a fashion event. She had given in on the stockings. They were the best pale silk, Salvador had said, when she put them on for him this morning, his eyes drinking in the spectacle.

"By the way, was that Salvador what's-his-name you were talking with before he entered a taxi? How do you know him?" Before Marta could think of an answer Alfredo continued: "I guess it's the world of Valencia. I still regard it an overlarge village, albeit with a small village mentality. I'm glad I escaped. How do you bear it? I didn't like to ask when Puri and I were with you there."

Marta, relieved of the need to talk about Salvador, agreed that Valencia could be small-minded. Yet it had made progress over the past decade.

Alfredo agreed, saying, "Yes, fuelled by that bout of crazy spending the Comunidad de Valencia could not afford: a magnificent opera house, Formula One, the America's Cup and more. What were the locals thinking?"

Again, Marta did not need to answer; their taxi was drawing up outside the
Sala de lo Penal
.

"Relax, Marta. You're prepared. This should pass swiftly."

Though not convinced by his own words, for he knew there were dangerous rapids to negotiate if
Juez
Garibey was alert, he knew he must try to persuade Marta to project an aura of confident innocence. Inside a café he ordered before sitting beside Marta and placing his briefcase on a third chair.

"Puri sends her love."

"Thank you, Alfredo. I know what you're trying to do. I hope it works. I'm more nervous today than I was last week. It's knowing what my abbreviated responses to his questions from last week embrace. It's not the errors. Those I can cover. It's afterwards."

"I understand," soothed Alfredo. "So tell me more about Salvador. Do you know him well? Do you see him socially? He doesn't enjoy a particularly pleasant reputation."

Actually, that was an understatement in Alfredo's view.

Marta knew Alfredo was trying to distract her. Yet it felt more like an inquisition, one made all the more unwelcome by her thinking she had escaped it earlier. She wasn't sure how to reply.

Looking at her, Alfredo suddenly made a connection: "I've put my foot in it, haven't I? He's the man that Puri's sure you have some form of relationship with, correct?"

She nodded. The distress on her face was precisely not what he wanted, especially now. It was too close to seeing the
Juez
. The question now was how he might rescue his error.

"I guess that if you have something going with him, he must be a better person than rumour describes. That's good to know. He has fingers in many places. How did you meet?"

At his patent concern Marta started to talk about Salvador and how they had shared differing miseries over the past weeks. She did not tell Alfredo how they had first met nor why. That might be for another day.

Astonishingly, sharing with Alfredo produced a feeling of calm within her. To their mutual amazement she switched from a bundle of nerves to something nearer the serenity that he'd sought. By the time she'd finished talking, only occasionally prompted by questions from Alfredo, Marta was ready to face anybody.

They walked in peace together to face the uncertainties of the court questioning to come.

Wednesday: Madrid

Marta and Alfredo entered the
Sala
of Juez Garibey where they found the lawyer from last week waiting. Alfredo had spoken with him previously to make sure that he would defer to himself. It was not an issue. Alfredo had originally retained him. All three sat and arranged their various mixes of papers, tablets and laptops, and switched their mobiles to silent.

They had to wait. Behind the scenes,
Juez
Garibey was finishing a rushed discussion with Pedro, bringing him up to date. He now had the details in hand about the payment to Cardarzob. He was looking forward to springing this on Márquez. He felt sure it would disorient.

"You have the Australians available in case we need corroboration?"

"Yes,
Señoría
. They are here and will be at the side of the
Sala
with me."

"Good. We might as well start. I'm running behind, but that's not unknown for the overworked and underpaid like us. You go join the good ladies. I'll be out in a couple of minutes."

Pedro departed. He found the Australians where he expected. Caterina was looking preoccupied. He didn't say anything.

Juez
Garibey entered the room.

As before, the initial proceedings were more about observing the formula of the law than anything of substance. This included some surprise when
Juez
Garibey saw Alfredo. Garibey did not think he had ever encountered in person the formidable, at least by reputation, Alfredo Gómez. Gossip said he'd retired from practising law; this clearly was not the case.

While
Juez
Garibey was resetting the scene for his questioning, Emilia was becoming curious about Caterina. She seemed unduly distracted.

When Emilia whispered to ask what was wrong, Caterina said, "See the man to the right of Márquez? The lawyer with the robe? See anything odd?"

Emilia inspected Alfredo "No, not really. What should I be seeing?"

"Look at his laptop."

"It looks like a silver laptop. Actually, it's like your old one."

"Exactly. The strange thing is, my old laptop was of a specific model type that was only ever sold back home. It had an odd graphics processor unit that wasn't sold anywhere else because it ran hot. I didn't know this when I bought it. By the time I found out it was too late to replace. I wonder if it has a dashed red line on the side."

"Why?"

"I normally mark the exterior of my laptops somewhere. I try to make it look innocuous. If it was there on the side and the machine had that particular GPU it would be like a 99.9 per cent indicator that it's mine. But how could he have it?"

"That's simple. He stole it."

"But he's a lawyer. Lawyers don't steal. No self-respecting lawyer would turn up in court with stolen goods. It doesn't make sense. It must be a coincidence. Oh well, we'll never know."

Caterina returned her attention to
Juez
Garibey who was clearly coming off worst with Señora Márquez over some of the transaction entries. Marta finished explaining how at least a third of what she had looked at had been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of both parties, with suitable repayments or netting off of credit notes.

Disconcerted,
Juez
Garibey asked about the other two-thirds and what had happened to the various monies. Pressed vigorously by
Juez
Garibey, Marta was becoming visibly distressed.

Alfredo decided he had to step in before she crumbled in the face of a
Juez de Instrucción
who was annoyed by how successfully they had overturned his initial questioning. Unfortunately their strategy – his strategy – to defenestrate questions via double invoices and credit notes that had been resolved, was having the opposite effect to what he had intended. Rather than dissuading Garibey it was as if they had offered him a new lease of life. He was in danger of smelling prey. That must not happen.

"Señoría
, if I may interrupt?"

Juez
Garibey nodded to Alfredo, though felt irritated.

"My client is uncertain why you are asking questions about what happened to any monies that MMH, CE and ServiArquitectos failed to reclaim. Surely this is of no relevance to you if it was the three companies who did not follow up. That this is due to their, how shall I put it, lack of competence is not for Señora Márquez."

Juez
Garibey glared bleakly at Alfredo, "Señor Gómez, you would be correct if your working assumption was accurate. But what if it's not?"

"I don't understand,
Señoría
. The reason that you gave for citing my client to appear before you was couched in terms of CE, MMH and ServiArquitectos. Her first appearance dealt only with those companies."

Juez
Garibey paused to consider. He decided that it was time to open up, otherwise Gómez was going to inhibit progress.

"You are correct, Señor. But these are but an entry point to a larger set of issues that I'm investigating. This is why I wish to know more from Señora Márquez."

Alfredo metaphorically took a big step backwards. This wasn't what he was expecting. In essence
Juez
Garibey had chosen to say there was more to his questioning than related to CE, MMH and ServiArquitectos. This was a shock, a blow.

"Señoría
, may we request a brief break?"

"You may, Señor Gómez. I hope half an hour will be sufficient. Let's re-assemble at noon."

While Alfredo conferred with Marta, who was looking ever nearer to panic, Emilia turned to Pedro. "Did you hear what Caterina was saying?"

Pedro had been too intent on watching the interplay between
Juez
Garibey and Señora Márquez to have heard. Emilia filled him in before addressing Caterina: "Is this true?"

"Yes."

"Let me double check. If Gómez's silver laptop has a tiny dashed red stripe on the right hand side and uses some special form of – what did you call it, Caterina? A GPU?"

"Graphics Processor Unit. Think of it like a CPU but for pictures and images."

"If it has the stripe and this special GPU that would mean it was almost certainly the one stolen from the ORS offices. It sounds beyond belief. He's a very well-known lawyer."

Wednesday: Madrid

"Come in Pedro, Señora Certaldo. What can I do for you?"

Pedro explained about the missing laptop. Juez Garibey listened without expression.

When finished, he addressed Pedro: "Why are you telling me this? What can I do about it? Why may it be relevant?"

"Even with my police powers,
Señoría,
you know I cannot approach Señor Gómez and ask to look at his laptop. Like his documents, it's covered by legal privilege. In your
Sala
, you may ask two questions, possibly a third. The first is about the red stripe. The second, if there is such a stripe, is to identify what Emilia calls the GPU. If this is of the type only sold in Australia, question number three would be how Señor Gómez acquired the laptop.

"If he can't provide a convincing answer I suggest,
Señoría
, quarantining the laptop, pending examination by my people. This would also put Señor Gómez in a difficult position. Remember his firm was one that repaid what ORS demanded."

"I hadn't forgotten. I wondered if you were making the same connection. We think alike. What next?"

"I envision two approaches. The first is to ask him openly about the red stripe, which he could deny being there. If so, what should we do? You could hardly accuse him of lying without cause."

"True. So?"

There was a knock on the door. Emilia slipped in, looking exceedingly pleased. "My apologies,
Señoría.
The laptop, Pedro, has a red stripe."

"How d'you know?" asked
Juez
Garibey and Pedro together.

Facing Pedro, she said, "While you and Caterina came here, Márquez and the lawyers left. I overheard them saying they were going to grab a coffee outside the building. Once they'd left, I had a look. By chance the offending stripe was visible without me having to touch anything, though I must say it's not that easy to see. It's almost like it's been partially scraped off."

"That was me," said Caterina. "I didn't mention before that I scraped off all but four dashes from that machine. On my new one it's all but five dashes. I try to make it look as accidental as practical."

Pedro said, "It seems we are halfway there, Señora Certaldo. The stripe's confirmed. How did you find out about this DPU?"

"GPU," corrected Caterina without thinking. "Easy. Just ask him to tell you."

"Forgive me, Señora Certaldo, I am an elderly
Juez de Instrucción
, not a computer whizz kid. I don't understand."

"My apologies,
Señoría
. There are two possible routes, depending if he's done anything to the laptop. They are –"