“Now, please explain to me
something that I don’t understand. The meeting at Pedroza’s house the night of
the incident was after Doris was fired, right? So, then, why was she there?”
asked Lorenzo.
Irma swallowed the bite in her
mouth, took another drink of water and passed the napkin across her lips.
“Imagine our surprise when Doris
showed up that night. We were all left feeling like,
what’s going on here?
It was really uncomfortable. She was noticeably… unstable… anxious. What most
attracted our attention at that moment was that she was holding the Distinguished
Executive trophy that she’d won only a few months ago. I think you were there that
night at the club.” Irma paused, picked up a napkin, and wiped her hands.
“Apparently, Pedroza didn’t want to create a scene in front of everyone, so he
invited her into his study so they could talk in private. A few minutes after
they went into the office, I couldn’t tell you how many minutes, maybe five,
Doris ran out crying and left the house. We wondered,
what could he have
said to her to make her leave like that?
After a few minutes, Jessica told
us she had to go. So, she went to Pedroza’s office to say goodbye. That’s when
she called us over and we saw him, sprawled on the floor next to a pool of
blood,” Irma stated in a quivering voice.
“You’re saying that Jessica went to
say goodbye and she was the one who found the body? Or, in other words, she was
not with you all for a moment?” Lorenzo asked, opening his eyes with interest.
“Yes, but it was very quick, I
don’t think that…” said Irma, trying to put Lorenzo’s unfounded suspicion to
rest.
“No, no, of course not, but you
have to look at everything,” clarified Lorenzo.
Irma remained silent and took a
drink of water. The memories were still very fresh in her mind. She thought she
could be strong enough to talk about the matter calmly, but her body and mind
automatically reacted in accordance with the impact of the experience. She felt
a strong impulse to cry. Her eyes turned red and her nose got stuffy.
“Sorry, but it hasn’t been easy,” she
apologized, taking a Kleenex from her purse. “In spite of his faults, Pedroza
always treated me well. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it weren’t for the
trust he had in me and the opportunities he gave me. And to die like that, so
violently and so close to us… besides, like I said, I thought highly of Doris
and that’s why I agreed to tell you what happened. I’m sure it hasn’t been easy
for you, either.”
“And I really appreciate it. You’re
being a great help,” he assured.
“Whatever you need, I’m at your
service,” she paused, “but I suggest that you be realistic with your
expectations. I really don’t see anything else to talk about. Sometimes we have
to accept the unacceptable in order to move forward,” she finished.
Lorenzo did not answer. He had
wanted to know more and that is what he had gotten. But the details that Irma
gave did little more than extinguish what little hope he had of discovering
something that could help Doris. Now he had to speak with Jessica Ronda. She
was the one who found the body and—who knew?—maybe she was the last person to
see Armando Pedroza alive.
Lorenzo saw their waiter on the
other side of the room and signaled to him to bring the check. The waiter answered
that he would be there in a minute. With all the grace he could muster, Lorenzo
took out his wallet and looked for the credit card with the lowest balance. He
squeezed his lips shut and forced a smile for Irma, who reminded him that they
still had not ordered dessert.
Chapter 6
Salsa, with its rhythmic and catchy tropical flavor, echoed
off every corner of the historic theater. On stage, a pair of dancers moved
with quick, agile steps. They turned, lifted their arms, and jumped
acrobatically, all with the grace and precision that only pure talent and
endless hours of rehearsal could achieve.
Lorenzo watched in amazement from a
seat at the back of the auditorium. Aside from the dancing, the other thing
that attracted his attention was the fabulous building. He had not had the
opportunity to visit the place since they finished the famous renovations it
had been under for so many years. Constructed at the beginning of the twentieth
century, it was considered an architectural gem. Lorenzo admired the balconies,
as well as the columns’ artistic features, the impressive dome of multi-colored
stained glass, and the magnificent hanging chandelier floating over the
auditorium. All of these details imparted splendor and grandeur to the
hundred-year-old structure.
Suddenly, the male salsa dancer
stopped in his tracks on the wood floor and gestured for the music to stop by
slicing his hand across his throat. He harshly scolded his dance partner in
forced
Spanglish
. She only nodded timidly. Then he, who by all
appearances was the one in charge, locked his eyes on Lorenzo.
“You can’t be in here.
‘Dis
is a
cloze
rehearsal. Out,
por favor.
Now!” he shouted, his voice
filling the room. Lorenzo stood up pressing his hands to his thighs and opening
his mouth, calculating the tenor he wanted to strike with his next words.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t come to
see the rehearsal. I just wanted to speak with her for a minute, if you would
allow me to,” said Lorenzo, motioning to the ballerina. “Jessica Ronda?”
“We’re
rehearzing
. You
can’t,” snarled the male dancer. Jessica moved toward him and, grasping him by
the arm, pulled him aside.
“Luiggi, please, let me talk to
him. It’s time for a break now, anyway, right?” said Jessica in a calm, low
voice. Luiggi twisted his lips while he considered the request.
“
We not
leaving here until
‘dis
is perfect,
okay
?” warned Luiggi, wiping the sweat from his face with a
towel.
“Whatever you want. It’ll only take
a minute,” Jessica promised, smiling.
“
Okay
, we take a quick break
people!” ordered Luiggi in a sharp voice, inundating the auditorium with the
sound of his repeated clapping.
Jessica got down from the stage and
met Lorenzo in the middle of the auditorium. She reached out a hand to say
hello while using her other hand to hold up a bottle of water to take a drink.
“You’re Lorenzo, Doris’ husband,
right?” asked Jessica, verifying what she had already suspected.
“Yes, pleased to meet you,” said
Lorenzo, impressed by the attractive presence emanating from her.
Ms. Ronda was in her early
thirties, but her figure was enviable even to women much younger. Her skin
glowed and she conducted herself with cheerfulness while at the same time
giving the impression of maturity and intelligence. What attracted Lorenzo’s
attention the most, though, was that she seemed strong as a tank but light as a
feather. She was definitely in her element. He could not imagine her in an
office, seated behind a desk working with numbers and figures while her talent
wasted away, never fully developed.
“I apologize for arranging to meet
you here, but we’re pressed for time before the premiere. That’s why Luiggi is
being so unpleasant. Please accept my apologies for him,” begged Jessica,
embarrassment registering in her voice because of her partner.
“No, don’t worry about it. It’s no
big deal. I was part of theater in high school. I remember how testy we were
during final rehearsals. I think Doris also dabbled in the world of art. She
sang in the choir in school. She was good but apparently not good enough for
her standards. She stopped as soon as she graduated,” shared Lorenzo, looking
for common ground where they could meet.
“Dance has always been my passion. Ever
since I was a little girl, it was the only thing that mattered to me. But life
can turn on a dime and there are things that can divert us from what’s closest
to our heart,” said Jessica, touching her chest and looking up at the theater’s
awe-inspiring ceiling, dwelling on her decisions and her past. “Now time is
passing me by and I wouldn’t dare leave my day job to dedicate myself to this
full-time. And I have offers. I’m scared, though, that something will happen
that I’ll regret later.”
“I guess we’re all scared of
something and that’s what holds us back. Those who really shine, though, are
the ones who don’t hold back and jump in head first,” Lorenzo thought out loud,
putting himself at her level. “That’s one of the qualities that attracted me to
Doris. She’s never scared,” said Lorenzo, remembering that the last time he saw
Doris was the first time he had ever seen her scared.
“How is she?” asked Jessica,
wrinkling her forehead in a sign of interest.
“Not good at all,” confided
Lorenzo, raising his eyebrows.
“Okay, yeah, I guess….um…I’m sorry.
It’s just that, wow, I don’t know how anyone could, you know, take someone’s
life. It must be atrocious. I don’t understand,” she said with an expression of
disgust.
Lorenzo closed his eyes with a
sigh. Then he opened them and looked her squarely in the face.
“She’s innocent,” he clarified
categorically.
“Well, yeah, of course, it’s just
that…,” said Jessica, trying to take back her statement.
“It looks like an open-and-shut
case,” conceded Lorenzo with another sigh.
“Well, yes. I’m really sorry to say
so, but that’s the way it is. I was there and I don’t think anyone else in the
house was as surprised as I was. Doris isn’t like that. I’m sure. I’ve gotten
to know her well enough to testify to that. But we all have our limits. I’m
sorry for saying it, but it looks like Doris reached hers,” said Jessica sadly.
“That’s why I’m here. Actually, you
were the one who found the body. Isn’t that right? How much time did you spend
out of everyone else’s view?” asked Lorenzo, making Jessica uncomfortable.
“You wouldn’t be insinuating
that…no, no. You couldn’t…” said Jessica, annoyed at the direction Lorenzo was
headed with his question.
“I just want to know the truth,”
interrupted Lorenzo.
“Which truth? The one that’s most
convenient to you?” asked Jessica, offended by the insinuation.
“Don’t misunderstand me. It’s that
I need to be sure of what really happened. Nothing more, I promise you,”
Lorenzo said with a plea.
Jessica noted his desperation. She
also noted that Luiggi’s eyes were fixed on them. He was very perceptive and
could read his partner’s body language like the back of his hand. If he sensed
that something was making her lose focus, he would immediately put an end to
the conversation. She shot a glance back at Luiggi, communicating that she
wanted privacy. He understood her and turned his head. Jessica then proceeded
to humor Lorenzo.
“Well, it’s very simple. Doris
arrived at Pedroza’s house very worked up and anxious. It was a surprise to
everyone, even Pedroza, which is what really shocked me. No one was expecting
her,” recounted Jessica, losing some of her sparkle.
“What do you mean? Why were you
particularly shocked that Pedroza would be surprised by Doris’ arrival?”
inquired Lorenzo, interested in a possible new angle.
“Doris had an invitation in her
hand just like the one the rest of us received. I saw it,” assured Jessica,
opening her eyes and shaking her head for emphasis.
“An invitation?” he asked,
intrigued.
“It was a simple card with a note
indicating the place and time. We had to show it to the guard at the entrance
of the house in order to be allowed in. It was Pedroza’s custom.”
“You mean to say that if Doris had
one of those cards, it was because Pedroza invited her to attend that night? Is
that right?” analyzed Lorenzo. “But if that were the case, why would Pedroza be
surprised to see her there?”
“That’s what I’m saying. Maybe it
was her attitude when she arrived that surprised him. I don’t know. She even
brought her award! I thought she was going to return it to him because they’d
fired her,” said Jessica, referring to the crystal trophy that was now the
alleged murder weapon.
“Do you have your invitation with
you? Could I take a quick look at it?” asked Lorenzo.
“I don’t have it, but I can get it
for you. It’s got to be somewhere in my house.”
“None of this makes sense to me.
What did Pedroza do then?”
“Pedroza invited her into his
study, which was next to the room where we were tasting the wine. After two or
three minutes she left, running toward the hallway, and I saw her go all the
way to the foyer and leave. After waiting for a little bit, I think maybe five
minutes or so, I decided to go in and say goodbye to Pedroza. I couldn’t stay
long because I had a rehearsal the next day and I was exhausted.”
“You waited five minutes? Why didn’t
you go in sooner if you were in a hurry?”
“I assumed Pedroza was taking his
time because he was on the phone or something. I knocked on the door and
nothing. I opened it and that’s when I saw him on the floor with his head
covered in blood,” explained Jessica with a repulsed grimace.
“What did you think at that moment?”
asked Lorenzo.
“I’m really sorry, but what I
thought was that Doris had gone crazy. The trophy was next to Pedroza’s body
and was stained with blood. It wasn’t hard for me to come to a conclusion,”
Jessica said avoiding eye contact with Lorenzo. She let out a slight sob that
Lorenzo could hear.
“Jessica, how did you feel?”
“How do you think?” she asked,
swallowing and wiping the tears from her eyes. “Horrible. In shock.”
“Did you cry?”
“What?”
“Did you cry when you saw Pedroza
and realized what had happened?”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember. But
I don’t know what that has to do with anything.”
“You’re right. Just curious, sorry.
What’d you do next?”
“Then I called everyone else in. I
hadn’t even gone into the room. I couldn’t take a step. I was paralyzed by
shock. It was the last thing I expected to see,” expressed Jessica, breathing
faster at the unpleasant memory.
“You didn’t enter the room? Are you
sure?” asked Lorenzo with caution. He knew it was a question that could
potentially put an end to the interview. Plus, he still had other people to
talk to. If it got out after this that he was asking ill-advised questions to
the witnesses, doors would close. But he gauged that he should push a little further
to observe reactions, find possible contradictions and whatnot.
“Yes, I’m sure. Actually, the maid
saw me from the hallway. You can ask her. I didn’t move. I called out from the
door,” she said, emphasizing her words with gestures.
“What’d the maid do?”
“
She
did let out a cry that
was heard throughout the whole house and took off running to look for Pedroza’s
wife. Everyone was shaken up and crying by that time. Then the police arrived. We
made our preliminary statements and they let us go. I don’t ever want to go
through something like that again,” she said dejectedly.
Lorenzo was emboldened to see that
she had answered all of his other questions without any negative consequences.
“At least it seems like it hasn’t
affected you very much. You’re here,” commented Lorenzo in reference to the
rehearsal. He thought it would be interesting for her to explain the apparent
contradiction of participating in a dance spectacle after witnessing such a
horrible event.
“The show must go on,” she said
before pausing. “Look, I’m not going to deny that I have mixed feelings. On the
one hand, I deeply regret the loss of a partner who appreciated us enough to
invite us into his house to share and enjoy wine for a little while. But on the
other hand, I feel relieved that our job will be much easier from here on out. Everyone
knows that Pedroza was not easygoing in the office. I hate thinking and feeling
this way. I don’t like it. Certainly the others will feel something similar,
especially Javier.”
“Javier Estrada?” asked Lorenzo,
looking at his note sheet. “Why do you say that?”
“He’s one of the vice-presidents.
Now he’s heralded as the favorite to be named as the new president. Actually,
he’s acting as interim president as we speak. It looks like his dream has come
true. Certainly not in the way he imagined, though.”
“Another happy mourner?” said
Lorenzo with a measure of poorly directed sarcasm that clearly did not sit well
with Jessica.
“Don’t say that, please. Don’t say
it,” pleaded Jessica, shaking her head.
Luiggi interrupted the break with
applause.
“
Okay
, time
iz
up
guyz
!
We continue or
we be
late. Jessica! Come up here!”
“Excuse me, but I should get back
to rehearsal. Anyway, that’s all I know. Frankly, I don’t think there’s any
other way to look at it. I’m sorry,” ended Jessica, getting up from the bench,
leaving Lorenzo sitting there, silent.
From there he could see how Jessica
climbed up on stage and firmly grasped Luiggi’s hands. As soon as the music
started, her face was transformed with radiant joy and her body broke out in
energetic movements to the salsa’s rhythm.
“The show must go on,” murmured
Lorenzo, sinking down in his seat.