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carried out?”
    “Perhaps that will be sufficient.”
    The two men shook hands. Sancho felt that his Big Story was gaining momentum, becoming bigger and more relevant. He was now imagining himself even writing a book about his experiences: the big publishing houses in the USA were going to be fighting over it. Then he remembered two important elements, and decided that, for the moment at least, he would share one of them with the priests. He rummaged through his overnight bag, and handed to Padre Salas the books he had stolen from Valeria’s house.
    “I found these at the girl’s house. Perhaps they might have something to do with what happened to the mother.”
    Padre Salas analysed both volumes, somewhat astonished. Then, he spent a few minutes painstakingly leafing through the pages.
    “This good woman should have waited for us. Perhaps we’ve delayed things too long, and now we must not waste any more time.”
    “What do you think happened?” asked Padre Rincón, unable to suppress his curiosity.
    Padre Salas left the books on top of a table, and looked towards a high window, through which a strong ray of light was shining.
    “I believe that Valeria’s mother was very brave, and desperate to save her daughter in any way she could. And the truth is that she was successful, although evidently she had neither the adequate preparation nor the necessary protection. There is a phenomenon of which we should always be careful: the return crash . She expelled Beelzebub from her daughter’s body, but the demon then immediately entered into her, and exacted his revenge in the most abominable way.
    X. The Banks of Lake Chapala, State of Jalisco
    José Antonio had not told the priests everything he knew: he had to keep some information in reserve, so as to always carry something of an advantage. In spite of everything, however, he was very clear with himself that if he came across something that could help those poor girls leave their catatonic states, he would not hesitate to share it with them.
    Little Valeria had woken up before her father finally returned home, well into the night. During that time, he was able to talk to her, and even though the girl didn’t remember anything of what had happened whilst she had been possessed , she remembered very well what had happened just before falling into the trance. She remembered having gone to Chapala with her parents, to celebrate the Day of the Dead , where they were attending the Festival of Life and Death , which had risen quickly to fame throughout Jalisco, especially in the surrounding areas of Guadalajara, for its originality and colour. The little girl had immediately begun to make friends as soon as they had arrived on the street, and whilst their parents were focussed on enjoying the more than 80 impressive alters ready for the competition, and the delicious food of the city, she had separated off to go to the bank of the lake along with nine other girls her age. Together, they walked along the edge of the lake, until arriving at a separate area, and there, as a game, one of the girls, Gabriela, whom the journalist knew lived in El Salto, had proposed carrying out a ritual that she had seen one of her neighbours performing: a ritual whose objective was none other than to invoke the dead.
    Valeria confessed that they had been drawing circles and other things in the sand, and that with a few sticks they had constructed a sort of pyramid. Then, they had all held hands and, laughing, had been calling the dead to communicate with them. And, as is logical, nothing happened. They all went back to the centre of Chapala as if nothing had happened, and each returned to their respective towns and cities with their parents. It wasn’t until the night-time when Valeria had begun to feel bad, as if she had eaten a lot... and then she remembered nothing else after that.
    Sancho had gone to Chapala: he needed some proof that what the girl had told him was true. He parked the car