Carlos was gaunt, the white T-shirt he was wearing was stained with dirt, his pants too. Elisa asked him, with a knot in her throat, why he was dirty like that. He stood up, made as if to hug her but two officers twisted one of his arms so he was rendered immobile. Don’t imagine anything, he told Elisa, almost shouting. He hadn’t killed anyone, he’d just gone out that morning to return Violeta’s letter. He rang the doorbell but nobody answered. He realized that he’d been a fool to go in through the unlocked gate. His idea had been to slip the letter under the door but, as soon as he leaned against it, it opened without resistance. Inside the curtains were drawn, so he took a few steps before tripping over a shape on the floor. A body covered in blood. And he didn’t know it was a corpse, he told Elisa, like he was talking to the officers. She came close and took his hand, which had started to tremble in the moment that he asked her again not to imagine anything, when he told her that everyone was confused and they all needed someone to blame.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Carlos Labbé, one of Granta’s “Best Young Spanish-Language Novelists,” was born in Chile and is the author of five novels — including Navidad & Matanza, also available from Open Letter — and a collection of short stories. In addition to his writings, he is a musician and has released four albums. He is a co-editor at Sangría, a publishing house based in Santiago and Brooklyn. He also writes literary essays, the most notable ones on Juan Carlos Onetti, Diamela Eltit, and Roberto Bolaño.
Will Vanderhyden is a translator of Spanish and Latin American fiction. He graduated from the MALTS (Master of Arts in Literary Translation Studies) program at the University of Rochester. In addition to Carlos Labbé, he has translated fiction by Edgardo Cozarinsky, Alfredo Bryce Echenique, Juan Marsé, Rafael Sánchez Ferlosio, and Elvio Gandolfo.