His chest heaved as he let out a deep groan, the sound of a deadweight finally being released. His tears, a mixture of sorrow and relief, fell on Antía’s shoulder. After a while, he dried his cheeks with the back of his hand, and looked into her eyes.
“Now you know who I am,” he said in a shaky voice. “You know what I’ve done.”
“You did what you had to do to survive,” she answered, holding his face between her hands. “Like we do on the island. Like I did. You’ve got nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I just want a quiet life, that’s all,” he mumbled. “I just want to be happy.”
“To be happy,” she echoed. “I’d settle for that.”
They fell silent. Nothing else existed, not the island, not the quarrels or the money or the murder. The only thing that mattered was the moment, the bubble of their emotions. But just then, the bedroom door burst open.
“Antía!” Diego stood on the threshold, panting. “You’re here! Thank God I found you!”
They both sat bolt upright on the bed, like a pair of teenagers caught in the act. Even so, the connection still flowed between them. Anyone else would have realized that something was going on, but Diego was too preoccupied ... and, anyway, he was Diego.
“What’s up?” Antía asked, blushing slightly as she composed herself. “What’s so urgent?”
“It’s Helena.” Diego swallowed, and they realized that he was really worried. “She’s disappeared. Nobody knows where she is.”
28
Helena
The boy’s rambling explanation wasn’t the easiest to follow, but in the end, they deduced that nobody had seen Helena for a number of hours.
“Mamma Rosalía’s very worried,” Diego concluded, frowning. “She’s afraid the Docampos have kidnapped her.”
“That’s all we needed,” said Antía. “Where the hell can that stupid girl have gotten to?”
“I think I have an idea,” said Roberto, standing up. “I’ll go and look for her.”
“Don’t be foolish.” She turned toward him. “I’ve just done a reduction on your dislocated shoulder. You’re not going anywhere. Anyway, how are you going to find her?”
Roberto bit his tongue. He had to tell Antía about the relationship between Helena and Tristán, but he didn’t want to say anything in front of Diego. He wasn’t sure the kid had much concept of keeping a secret.
“You have to trust me.” He took her hands in his. “If I’m right, I’ll bring her back soon.”
“And if the Docampos have her? What are you going to do all on your own?” She went pale as another possibility occurred to her. “And if she’s ...? Oh God ...”
“Don’t think about that. I’m sure she’s fine, but I have to go right now. I’ll explain later, I promise.”
They left the room and, as they passed the living room where the improvised arsenal was being prepared, Antía stopped.
“Wait a moment,” she said. She returned with something wrapped in a cloth. “Here, take this.” She handed him the package.
Roberto unwrapped it to reveal an old Walther P38, a pistol that had no doubt once belonged to a German officer—another souvenir from Orlando Freire’s little adventure eight decades earlier.
“I can’t take it.” He shook his head and handed it back. “I’m not using a gun.”
“Are you crazy?” She looked at him, horrified. “You need to be able to defend yourself!”
“I already told you; I’m not going to hurt anybody. Ever again. And that includes the Docampos, however cruel they may be. I’ve got out of worse scrapes, believe me,” Roberto replied, trying to convey a tranquility he didn’t feel. “Give me an hour.”
“Please be careful.” Antía squeezed his hand. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Roberto took his parka from the stand in the hallway and went back outside. It was no longer raining, and even the wind had died down a little. But the sky was still full of gloomy black clouds. The break in the weather wouldn’t last long.
He was almost certain that Helena had gone to meet Tristán in their secret hideaway, not just because that was what he would have done if he’d been a lovestruck teenager in the middle of such chaos but also because of his request to meet Tristán there. The girl, surely unaware of how dangerous the island paths had become, had unwittingly put herself in peril.
