Читать книгу The Foreign Girls - Sergio Olguin - Страница 21

There wasn’t much more in the report Nick handed him in the McDonald’s on Avenida Caseros and Entre Ríos the next day, except for the names of several hotels, some of which 70were in the same town. Nick also gave him the subject of all the emails she had opened in the previous month, but without their contents, so what would have been most useful to him was missing. The strangest revelation in Nick’s report was that every so often Verónica visited a website where people posted pornographic stories, and another belonging to Club Atlético Atlanta. She must have a boyfriend or relation who was into soccer.

Three paid him what was still owing and Nick told him to keep in touch and to call if he needed any help while he was up north. They wouldn’t charge a peso more.

“It’s part of our customer service, Three.”

“That’s my name when I’m working for Doctor Zero. Now I’m working for myself. The name’s Danilo.”

And Danilo walked out of McDonald’s, leaving Nick and Bono to their burgers with fries and their Coke Zeros.

He couldn’t afford to lose time. Ideally, he would have flown to Tucumán, but it was impossible to travel by plane carrying a gun and ammunition and using his real name. He thought of getting a car, but driving more than eight hundred miles didn’t appeal, and there was always the possibility some provincial police officer would know about the arrest warrant surely hanging over his head. There was no option but to go by bus.

Three went back to the apartment and put everything he needed into a bag. He took out the thong and smelled it again. It reminded him of her. He felt like one of those dogs that are given an item of clothing to smell so they can follow the scent. He thought the thong could be a kind of amulet and threw it into the bag on top of his things. Its cheerful colours were like a scandalous stain on his dark clothes.

He went to the bus station in Retiro and tried to find the bus that took the least time to get to San Miguel de Tucumán. 71There was one that could do the journey in fourteen hours, between 8.30 at night and 10.30 in the morning. He could sleep in the bus and arrive refreshed. Then he would work out how to get to Yacanto del Valle on local transport. If he didn’t find Verónica in that town, he would travel on to Cafayate. He was confident of finding her quickly, but he knew patience would prove a necessary virtue in the coming days.