Chapter 34

As I stood, I lifted his crutch and handed it to him. I could feel Ranger watching me, making sure I was okay. So very slowly Aran and I walked toward the house and he actually let me help him to get up onto the veranda. There was so much food on the table I was surprised that it didn't buckle under the weight. As I motioned to a chair for Aran I could feel the curious looks both he and I were getting. I was hungry so needed to eat first before I dropped my latest bombshell on anyone.

"I'm starved so eat first and then I'll explain everything"
"Estefania why?"
"No Isai, eat first"

That the plates were empty didn't surprise me, I mean I knew the guys could eat a lot, but they seemed as if they hadn't eaten in days. As I sat back, I looked around, seeing the men who had come here for me. I really was a lucky person to have such good friends. I felt my hand being held by Ranger and looked up into his eyes. Yeah I was feeling really lucky.

"Okay I'd like to introduce you to someone, so be polite please"
I turned to Aran who was sat on my other side but kept tight hold of Ranger's hand, I wasn't too sure how this was going to go down.

"This gentleman, is Aran Fábrega"
I tried to watch the faces around me, though I wasn't too sure who knew all of the story that we were trying to piece together. It was Les's outburst that drew my attention.

"He's dead, he died in that mining accident"
"Estefania?"
"It's true, Aran was seriously hurt but it was your father who eventually found him and arranged for him to have medical treatment"

I watched as Isai turned to Aran, I wasn't too sure if he was pleased, annoyed or just curious.
"But why did you let people think you were dead?"
"I spent over a year in that hospital and well, looking like this I suppose I wanted to be dead"
"Where have you been?"

"I, err, hit rock bottom and stayed there"
"So why are you here now, why not tell me who you were?"

"I went to see Fertelli because my name was being used on the street as a new boss who was rising through the ranks"
"Did Fertelli know who he was?"
"He hadn't heard of him, the only Fábrega he knew of was Alejandra but she wasn't there. I discovered that you loved her, Isai. I couldn't find her, so came here hoping that she would eventually come to you"

I watched as Isai asked Aran his questions and decided that maybe they needed to spend some time alone, talking things through. As I stood up and started to collect the dishes the other men suddenly started to move. One visit by each of us had the table cleared and tidy, so I followed Ranger back into the lounge. I was amazed at the fact that Hector now had a screen that showed views of the compound and surrounding area. Ranger pulled me down onto his knee on the couch and held me there.

"How did you know"
"About Aran?"
"Yes"
"Well, I found out that he was part of a work team where gold ore was going missing and the area of the mine they were working in. That area was where men were trapped and their bodies were never discovered"
"So you think the explosion was set to trap them?"
"I don't know. I mean a lot of men died that day so what would anyone gain from doing that?"
"Maybe someone knew of another tunnel?"

"But to get out they had to use an adit"

"Maybe the explosion was bigger than they thought it would be"
"That could explain it. So what about Anna?"
"Maybe her brother died in the accident and she sees Isai's family as a way to get some sort of revenge"
"That's why I needed a list of those they didn't find"

"Any ideas on how to find it?"
"I'm not sure where it would be, other than maybe in the office at the main house"
"Let's go look then. I've asked Hector to do a deep search on Anna. It'll take time though, he needs to use some back doors so as not to set off an alert"
I wasn't too sure about going back into the house, but as the office had a separate door maybe it would be okay. I led the way around the house and let Ranger do his thing with the lock. As soon as we were inside, I started to look at the writing on the spines of the books on the shelves. It would be in a book that was one of the last written in, but I had no idea what title would have been used. I pointed out to Ranger where the books I'd read had come from and left him to look in that section then went and sat at the desk thinking. If that was the last entry I made where would I put it? Isai had said that his father's mental state had deteriorated to the point where he'd committed suicide, so would he have constantly looked at that entry, the entry that showed just how many people had died. The top of the desk was empty, so I looked down at the drawers that ran down on the right hand side. Of course, they were locked so I slid open a narrow drawer that was just underneath the desk. A set of keys were amongst the clutter of pens and paper. The third key I used opened the top drawer revealing three books. As I took them out Ranger came and squatted down next to me.

"Are they what you were looking for?"
"I think so, this one has each page devoted to one worker. Who they were, their family and an amount of money"
"He probably gave the survivors some sort of remuneration"

I picked up the next book and realized that the pages now contained injuries that each man had received, and the pay outs were substantially larger. I hesitated as Ranger started to open the last book, this probably gave the names of the men who had died. For some reason I started at the last entry, on the grounds that the men who were found would be at the beginning. I was right, there were eight pages with a name on each one. It gave their ages, where they were born and how long they had worked down the mines. I hadn't realized that different parts of the mine were seen as more dangerous than others, but the level of hazard was also recorded. The family members were written down, starting with a wife and children. Brothers and sisters and in some cases parents. For each man there was an amount of money that Edgar Falla had given to them. I suppose he'd taken into account their length of time working and how many people depended on their wages. On the page with Aran Fábrega written at the top was the name of Anaya and Alejandra. Aran had been working in the mines owned by Falla, or at least his family, for over twenty years, he'd started as a teenager and died at the age of forty. I couldn't even imagine doing that work every day for that long. It had been a hard, thankless job with poor pay and horrendous working conditions. I would also assume that most would be working away from home, not seeing family or friends for long periods of time. As I read down the page for Aran there was one last entry.

"Survived but severely injured. Transported to hospital in Bogota. All payments to be taken from my account. Lawyers have instructions. I know I am guilty for what happened"

"Babe"
I knew I had tears in my eyes but gave Ranger a small smile.

"I'm okay, it's just so sad that Falla took all the information and tried to give a monetary value to someone's life, yet he still couldn't live with what had happened"
I felt Ranger's hand as he reached out and gently laid it on my cheek.

"Sometimes doing it like that is the only way to cope"
"I know. Let's see who else wasn't found and then maybe we might have some leads"

As I closed the book and returned the others to the drawer, I heard the sound of a door opening. It wasn't the one we'd come in through though, it was the one that led into the house. Ranger had his gun in his hand, he'd heard it as well, and I was sure he was ready for anything. Except maybe an old lady stood there in a robe looking intently at us.

"Edgar what are you doing in here, it's late"

This must be Isai's mother and I think she thought Ranger was Edgar. I quickly whispered to Ranger, hoping not to frighten the old lady.

"She has dementia, she thinks you're her late husband"
"What's she called?"
Shit I couldn't remember if Isai had even told me and if he had I was struggling to remember.

"I have no idea"

Ranger stood forward from the desk so that he was facing her and started to talk to her.

"Just finishing some work"
"Edgar you can't undo what's done"
"I know but it's a heavy weight"
"You couldn't have known Edgar"
"What do you mean?"
"That the explosion would cause so much damage"
I suddenly had an awful feeling about what she was talking about and from the look that Ranger took on I think he was feeling it as well.

"It shouldn't have"
"I know Edgar, but they were stealing from us"
"That doesn't mean that it was right"
"Edgar, maybe he didn't do exactly what you asked of him, maybe you should blame him instead"
"How?"
"I know they're dead, but we gave them a good funeral and his wife has enough money to live on"
Okay I could see that Ranger was trying to get more information from her and was now stood patiently for her to talk again.

"She'll survive, she has enough money to give the child a good life. It's up to them how they use it. Please Edgar I feel tired now"
"You go to bed, as soon as I've finished here, I'll be there"

I watched amazed as she simply turned around and closed the door behind her. I had been waiting for her to notice me, but she just hadn't seen me, she was so focused on Ranger, on him being her husband Edgar. I reopened the drawer and picked up the second book. This gave the names of the men who had died and been found. We now knew that the man who might have been involved with Edgar Falla died and had a child.

"Ranger?"
"What's wrong?"
"Please. Don't tell Isai what we found out"
"You mean that his father may have instigated the disaster in the mine?"
I nodded my head, it could bring him down on so many levels and I wasn't sure whether he would be able to cope with the truth.

"Babe, he needs to know. It was his father I know, but it had nothing to do with Isai. This may give us another avenue to explore, we have a child who lost their father"
"We have lots of sons who lost their fathers and daughters"
"Okay, I suppose you're right"

"Why would this man set an explosion off that was so catastrophic that he killed himself?"

"I've seen it happen before Babe, people get complacent and make mistakes"

"Well I'm going to focus on those who may have got out. Maybe Aran could help with that"
I had the three books in my hand as we walked back to the house and went to find Hector as Ranger went to talk to Isai. I knew I couldn't be there when Ranger told him, I'd be there though to help pick up the pieces if he didn't take it well. Though maybe he might not be upset, he said he'd left home as soon as he could.

"Estefania, are you okay?"
"Hi Hector. Do have a laptop I could use?"

"Si"

He went to his rucksack and took out a laptop then placed it on the coffee table.

"Hector do we have internet?"
"Si, like a phone, we use satellite connection"

"So can I do some searches?"
"Si, program already there"

"Okay, thanks Hector"

I sat on the couch with the laptop sat next to me and got out the final book that we'd found. I opened up at the first name that was recorded and began to read it through. To be honest I wasn't sure what I'd be searching for, all of these men would be recorded as dead, if they even existed. I discounted young men who had no children or siblings, taking the number down to five. I wasn't surprised when the name of Tomás was there. Hell, he'd only been 20 years old and he'd started working there when he was 15. Was it normal for kids so young to be able to work? I suppose there weren't any laws governing child labor. His sister, Yohana, was four years younger and I knew that Hector was working on finding out more information on her. What surprised me though on the following page was that Tomás's father had also died. I sat back to think through what this could mean. The father and son had died leaving behind the mother and daughter. Could this be who Edgar's wife had been talking about? If Tomás had played here as a child did that mean Isai's parents knew them well? Well enough to talk the father into setting off the explosion. But surely, he'd try to make sure his son would be safe, wouldn't he?

The next man I came across was Nicolas Sosa, he had been 33 years old and had left behind a son and a wife. The son would be 33 years old now, how ironic was that? The problem I had was understanding how a father could be alive yet never have contact with his family. I opened the computer and started up the search program then input Nicolas Sosa into the search. It didn't take long to run and as I expected it came back that he had died. I went to the son next, Danilo, finding that he was living in Bogota and working as a fitness instructor. His finances seemed to check out for a single guy though he did have a large amount in his savings account. A quick check back to the amount that the family had received from Falla showed that it was about two thirds of the amount.

By the time I'd gone through all of the children of the men who had never been found I had nothing. I got no sense from any search I'd done that there was anything hinkey. That left me with the unmarried men of which there were only two. A quick search on these brought up what I'd expected, that they'd died in a mining accident. One man would be 45 years old now and the other would be 37. For some reason I was sure I was missing something. I saved all of the searches and shut down the computer then went in search of Aran. He had to remember something, so it was time now for him to relive that awful day. I found him sat by the garden, dozing, but he soon came awake when I sat down next to him against the tree.

"You look tired"
"I've been working"
"Doing what?"
"Computer searches. I need your help Aran"
"How could I possibly help?"
"I need you to tell me about that day in the tunnels"
"Why?"
"Because there's someone out there selling drugs in America and probably hurting people. They also want Isai dead"
"I've spent the last 20 years trying to forget"
"I know, but sometimes you know, talking about it takes away some of the pain"
"I don't like who I was then"
"I'm not here to judge you Aran. I know you were swindling the company out of gold ore"
I watched as he turned and faced me, obviously surprised that I knew.

"Falla kept extensive records and I think he knew about it"
"Someone sure did"
"Go on"
"Most of the team knew what we were doing, hell they were all for trying to get their hands on some gold if they could. We worked long hours for a pittance, so we saw it as our right"

"Can you remember who got you out of the mine?"
"I have flashes of faces when I sleep. There were three of them, I'm not even sure why they saved my life"
"Can you remember their names"

"Varela and Rojas, they were part of the team but I see another face that doesn't fit"
"Why's that?"
"He wasn't part of the team, I must be wrong because he wasn't someone who would be down there with us"
"Who Aran?"
"I'm not sure of the name but I can see a face. You have to understand that I kept losing consciousness, things were blurred, and we were all dirty and covered in blood"

"Young or old?"
"Young I think, I don't know, I just can't remember"

Rojas was a name I'd read as being badly injured when he was found. He'd died from his injuries, and the search on him showed no wife or children, so I would have to see what had happened to Varela. The other man that Aran had mentioned just didn't make any sense, as far as I could understand from Edgar's records, he'd accounted for every man who worked down the mine. Did that mean that there was an interloper, someone who shouldn't have even been in the mine? Hell, if that was the case then I didn't stand a chance of finding out who that would be.

"Something is bothering you"
"Sorry Aran, I was just thinking. Something doesn't make sense but I'm not sure what it is"

"Say your thoughts out loud, maybe I can help"
"Josè Lorenzo"
"I didn't know him, but I didn't like what I heard about him. Word was that he'd worked his way out from the hard work. He was in charge of setting up the shift patterns and dictated who worked where. It was as if he was too good for the likes of the men who worked at the face"
"He and his son were killed in the blast"
"He could have been at the weigh station near the elevator or checking up on the wagons as they came through. I didn't know he had a son who died in there"
"How did you manage to remove gold ore when the quantity of ore was as it should have been?"
He smiled as I asked that question, because it was one of those things I just couldn't work out.

"We used gangue, which is the commercially worthless material that surrounds the ore, or is closely mixed with the ore deposit. Sometimes overburden, which is the waste rock or materials overlying the ore that are displaced during mining without being processed, and tailings, which is rock already stripped of valuable minerals"

"So it took a lot of work to get enough to make it worthwhile"
"We didn't get much gold, hell there probably wasn't enough to make jewelry"
Jewelry, that had me thinking about the gold locket that Ali had given to me. To make that locket it would have taken a lot of rocks then added to that there would need to be a way of extracting it. I suppose once you had the gold it would be easy to work the metal, but it would take time and skill to do it. Unless you had the skills or knew a jeweler of course.

"How did you get the gold from the ore?"

"Crushing and panning mainly. The company used to pulp the crushed ore and add cyanide solution. Nasty process. I'm sure nowadays there are better ways of doing it"

"I suppose there were a lot of people who knew what you were doing?"
"No. It was kept in the team that I worked with. Odd men wanted nothing to do with it, but they just turned a blind eye"
"Was there anything else mined for?"
"No, there was talk of emeralds, but I never came across any. They tend to be found in the central areas of the country"

I rested my head against the tree as I thought through what Aran had told me. I suppose if anyone knew that Aran had survived then using his name would throw people off the scent. There was still the whole issue of a contract out that was puzzling me. Had the contractor killed Ali thinking that because she was part of the Fábrega family and had turned up working for Fertelli she was the person who needed to be killed? I had no idea and to be honest my head was beginning to hurt just thinking about it.