‘Yes, but that’s all. They don’t have a photograph of you on record, and when Gomez asked Senor Blackstone for one, he refused him.’ He paused. ‘Do you have your passport on you?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then give it to me, and your credit cards; you won’t be able to use them anyway, and you don’t want to be found with anything that identifies you.’ He grinned. ‘I like the new hair, by the way.’
‘I don’t,’ I growled. I dug my passport and cards out of my haversack and handed them over. ‘Alex has pictures of me,’ I told him, ‘taken after Marte’s christening.’
He nodded. ‘And Gloria told him what would happen if he gave one to Gomez. . or rather what wouldn’t happen, for the foreseeable future.’
That gave me my first laugh of the day. ‘How did they handle Mac?’ I asked.
‘Politely. He told them that he hadn’t seen you since last night.’
‘What about Tom?’ I asked him, anxiously. ‘Did they question Tom?’
‘We wouldn’t let them, his grandfather and me. They were content for Mac to ask him when he had seen you last, then tell them. He said that you’d given him his breakfast, and that everything had been as usual.’
‘You said Mac and you. They questioned you?’
‘Of course they did. . or at least Gomez did; I think he now feels that Alex is too close.’
‘You mean he’s kicking him off the investigation?’
‘No. But he’s doing all the interviews himself.’
‘What did you say to him, Gerard?’
‘I told him that we’d had a very public argument on Wednesday morning and that I hadn’t seen you since.’
I stared at him. ‘You lied for me?’
He nodded. ‘Yes, shocking, isn’t it?’ And then he chuckled. ‘Come on, what was I going to say? That the last time I saw you, you were pedalling towards Puig Sec? Primavera, my dear, if I thought for one second that you killed Planas and Dolores Fumado, I would have handed you over to Gomez this morning, but I know you didn’t. So I’ll protect you, and I can square that with my conscience. If, eventually, others take a different view, I’ll deal with that.’
‘You’re a darlin’ man,’ I told him. ‘One thing I must ask you though: the police have my DNA all over the chair that Planas was hit with, and Dolores was found in my shed, so how do you know, for sure, that I didn’t do it?’
‘Simple,’ he replied. ‘I believe in you, in the same way that I believe in God. I have faith in you. What’s the definition of faith? Belief, devotion and trust despite the absence of any logical proof.’
I felt my heart melt, and my eyes mist over. ‘And I believe in you too,’ I told him. ‘But I have plenty of proof. You give it to me simply by being here. I wish I could just stay with you, and let you protect me.’ I grinned up at him. ‘You couldn’t give me sanctuary in the church, could you?’
‘I wish I could, but the sanitary arrangements are pretty basic; you’d give yourself up to Gomez within a couple of days, just for a shower. Plus, it would provoke the sort of confrontation between church and state that each of those institutions is desperate to avoid.’
I knew that was true, and as I thought about it, I realised something else, the gravity of Gerard’s own situation, and what he was risking personally, for me. Defrocking, disgrace, arrest; they were all possibilities, and I had put him in harm’s way. ‘Go,’ I said, suddenly and earnestly. ‘Get out of here. You’re crazy to have anything to do with me, and I’m wicked to have asked you for help.’
‘No. I’m proud that you did. I’ll go all right, but only when you’re safely on your way. When you’re gone, we’ll keep in touch and I’ll let you know what’s happening here.’
‘Do you know what the police thinking is, Gerard? What connection do they see between the two deaths? Or do they see any? Do they think I’ve just been picking off people I don’t like?’
‘They believe there is a link, but I don’t think they know what it is. Alex has to be careful what he says to me now, but he told me when Gomez was out of earshot that they’re not reaching any conclusions until they’ve got the results of an autopsy and, he said, of other forensic tests.’
‘There’s one big hole in their case, isn’t there? Why the hell would I kidnap Dolores? Why would I want to harm her? Why would I burn her car? Justine spoke to her mother on Sunday, after Planas’s body had been found. If the two deaths are linked, why would I snatch her so much later, after I’d killed Planas?’
‘I asked Alex those same questions. Justine spoke to her mother by telephone; the thinking is that you had her by then and that she was forced to make that call, to give you time to decide what to do with her. They assume that you burned her car to destroy any evidence that you’d been in it, after you’d taken it where you thought it wouldn’t be found, for a while at least. When it was, they believe you went back home and killed her; you were seen to leave the reception just after they did.’
‘But why would I have done it?’
‘That, they don’t know. . or if they have a theory, Alex hasn’t told me.’
‘But even if I had a reason, how would I have done all this? Dolores was a sturdy woman.’
‘Gomez found your taser weapon in your open safe; he reckons you threatened her with it. Anyone who didn’t know the difference would take it for a real firearm, and someone who did wouldn’t want to be shot by it. Or, he thinks, maybe you did shoot her with it, to subdue her.’
I whistled. ‘If you were talking about someone else, I’d believe she did it. I’m helpless, Gerard.’
‘No, you’re not; you have me on your side, and I suspect that you also have Alex.’
That alarmed me. ‘Please make sure he doesn’t risk anything for me; it’s bad enough having one of you in jeopardy. Two, I couldn’t take.’
‘Don’t worry; he’s being professional. What I have to make sure is that Gomez isn’t using him, having him feed me information in the hope that I’ll pass it to you and flush you out.’
‘Then don’t; don’t pass anything to me. That would be as big a risk for you as me. . bigger, for I’m done already.’
He put his hands on my shoulders. ‘Primavera, I’m not going to abandon you. I have this all thought out.’ He reached into his bag, produced two mobile phones, one red, one blue, handed the red one to me, and put the other in his pocket. ‘These are new, pay as you go; untraceable. I bought them this afternoon, in Figueras where nobody knows me, in two different shops. I was dressed like this, so no one will remember a priest. Your charger’s in the bag. There’s a car parked outside with a full tank. Nobody will spot that either; it’s my spare, an old banger of a Suzuki that I keep in a garage in case my Fiat should give up on me.’
‘But where do I go?’
‘You go to Granada, by a route that I’ve planned for you, one that doesn’t involve autopistas where you might be recognised at the toll booths.’ He held up the bag. ‘There’s an address written down in here, a road map, a street map to get you there, and a key to get you in. It’s my old family home, my private bolthole, and nobody will follow you there. You’ll be safe; it’s in the Albacin, and there you’ll be anonymous, just another tourist.’
‘For how long?’ I whispered.
‘For as long as it takes. Don’t worry, Mac will look after Tom; I’ve already made sure of that. His wife will come here, if necessary. You didn’t kill these people, Primavera, but somebody did. I’m not going to rest until that person’s been found, and you’re in the clear.’
His certainty made me feel stronger, but I couldn’t shake all my doubts, all my fears. ‘But what if that person can’t be found, Gerard? What if it’s somebody from Planas’s past, or Dolores’s, someone you and I have never heard of, and they’re gone already?’
He drew me to him and pressed his forehead against mine. ‘Return my faith as you say you do, Primavera; I’ll make you safe, and I will keep you safe. That’s my most solemn promise, and I won’t break it. And there’s something else; we are not alone. Now, you really must get on the road.’
It was nice to know that God was with us, but at that time I could only deal with the immediate practicalities. ‘How can I be sure I won’t be stopped at the first roundabout?’ I asked.