A Maze of Murders Read Online Free PDF

family is.’
    Twenty minutes later, Alvarez brought the conversation round to work. ‘Not heard any more about the Englishman who’s missing from a boat, I suppose?’
    â€˜I’d have been in touch if the body had turned up. It’s early days. Remember Manuel Coix?’
    â€˜Can’t say I do.’
    â€˜Awkward, bad-tempered bastard, but a real fisherman. When I was a kid there was a bad time when the other boats came in with hardly enough fish even to feed the families of the crews, but he’d tie up with the gunwale all but awash because of his catch. There were some who claimed he’d sold his soul and the devil drove the fish into his nets and on to his hooks, but my dad laughed at that – why would the devil pay so much for his soul when it wasn’t worth a single céntimo? No, Manuel was a seaman as well as a fisherman; he’d look up at the sky and study the clouds, feel the wind against his cheeks, note the way the water was moving, and he’d know where the fish were. Never shared the news, of course; if he ever gave as much as a crust of dried bread to a starving child, no one heard about it.’ He half turned to look through the window. ‘There’s not a single seaman amongst the owners of the boats out there. Take away the radios, position-finders, radars, and navigation computers, and there’s not one could steer a straight course from here to Menorca or splice a good dog’s cock.’
    â€˜But even though Manuel was such a good seaman, he drowned?’
    â€˜Died in his bed, cursing his woman for a puta and his son for a spineless waster. What are you on about?’
    â€˜From the way you were talking, I thought he must have drowned.’
    â€˜It was the youngster he took with him. There was talk he must be Manuel’s by-blow otherwise he’d never have been taken into the boat, seeing he was so square-fisted he’d tangle a line as he picked it up. Anyway, this kid insisted on wearing thigh-length sea boots, so when he fell over the side – which, being so clumsy, was inevitable – he went straight down. There wasn’t sight of him for a month until what remained of him was found by one of the boats … So it’ll likely be a time before the Englishman turns up.’
    â€˜Palma says a body will float after five to eight days in normal water, half that time if it’s really warm.’
    â€˜It’ll be the sea what decides, not Palma.’
    â€˜Assuming he fell over the side and drowned…’
    â€˜What d’you mean, assuming?’
    â€˜It’s still not certain what happened. Would you expect the body to be taken out to sea?’
    â€˜Sometimes there’s a current, sometimes there ain’t; sometimes it’ll sweep things round and round the bay, sometimes it’ll take ’em straight out to sea.’
    â€˜Would you know what the current’s been doing since Thursday night?’
    â€˜Not so as I could pinpoint where it could’ve taken the body.’
    â€˜What’s the name of the boat?’
    â€˜ Aventura. Half the boats are called that. Give ’em an adventure at sea and they’d need to change their pants.’
    â€˜Who owns it?’
    â€˜Are you that ignorant? A boat’s a she.’
    â€˜I’ve always wondered why.’
    â€˜Because you never know what the bitch is going to do next.’
    â€˜So who owns her?’
    â€˜Gomila y Hijos. The company’s head office is in Barcelona so when it comes to the pesetas, they’re as sharp as a skinning knife. They charter boats – they’ve two more here and several around the south coast.’
    â€˜Has the company got a local office?’
    â€˜Along the front, past the new restaurant that’s opened.’
    â€˜What’s their food like?’
    â€˜Good enough for the tourist who thinks a few bits of scrag chicken, a couple of rings of