Lex talionis
Chapter 14. Truths and lies


"All right," said Darío. "And if it's not what you say," he was referring to Jubal, "what's going on here? Did Adriana kill her sister and nephew for reasons we don't know? Then she paid Yáñez, and probably also Caldera, to swap the bodies for others and manipulate the investigation so that the evidence would not point to her, right?

They discussed the issue as they drove to the Safi Tower Hotel in San Pedro Garza Garcia's Metropolitan Center, where BaluarTec's head office was located.

Regardless of her motivation, it was quite likely that Adriana's life was in danger as well. If Yáñez prepared the forensic report and knew that the bodies were not of the people they were supposed to be, those responsible for his death now possibly knew it as well, and also that Adriana Fresneda had paid him a large sum of money fir do it. It would not be surprising for them to go after her.

Isobel, Darío and Jubal, had called her back immediately. In doing so, they avoided saying that the matter could be life or death because, if they weren't wrong and she was behind all this, she could put her foot down and disappear forever. They did mention that the issue was of extreme importance, however, trying to be taken seriously. And again they hit the wall of people working for Adriana. Once again, it was impossible to contact for them.

They decided then that they should go talk to her in person.

"Could be," Isobel replied and watched Jubal shake his head in the rearview mirror.

What he had stated was that Adriana had paid Yáñez and Caldera to simulate the death of Sofía and Carlos, so that no one would look for them, to hide them and protect them from Vargas' enemies.

"I don't think so," Jubal argued. If we manage to talk to Adriana, the best we can do is try to draw her out to find Carlos and Sofía.

For her part, Isobel tried to let herself be carried away by his optimism, but to no avail. She was gravely concerned about how Vargas would react to this hypothesis of which Jubal was such an enthusiastic supporter. Besides...

"As much as I agree with you that it would be preferable, Jubal," Isobel replied despondently, "we can't just dismiss the other option."

She was mentally preparing herself to have to hand Adriana over to Vargas, if she had to in the end. The memory of how Kyle lost his integrity haunted her, tormenting her.

"And we could also be wrong and what happened is another possibility that hasn't even occurred to us," Jubal admitted. Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's see what Adriana has to say.

·~·~·

When they got to the stylized skyscraper, they decided that Jubal would stay in the car, watching for Adriana Fresneda's arrival, while Darío and Isobel, who did speak the language, would go to the office to press for an interview with her.

Jubal followed them both with his eyes as they crossed the street. Isobel today was wearing severe dark pants with a comfortable green short-sleeved top, and practical ankle boots. It was an outfit that suited her, more casual than she usually wore, but part of Jubal felt a little disappointed; he missed seeing her in a summer dress. Another part found it very sensible to wear something more formal to pay a visit to a possible suspect. Besides, Isobel was again wearing the pendant he and the others had given her for her birthday. Apparently she had gotten into the habit of wearing it every day. Jubal had to admit that he particularly liked that.

During the rest of the drive, Isobel had seemed to Jubal to be troubled, no doubt analyzing the data they had over and over again to reach a conclusion, to no avail. When she had gotten out of the car, he had given her a nod in an attempt to encourage her. The uncertain smile with which Isobel said goodbye had left Jubal with a heavy heart and longing for the glimmer of hope he had managed to see in her eyes the night before.

·~·~·

They went up to the 47th floor. At BaluarTec's reception desk, at Darío's suggestion, they said they came from Gestiones De La Garza and needed to speak with Ms. Fresneda for only five minutes about an important matter.

The ruse worked. They were told that she must be about to arrive and were ushered into a glass-walled meeting room, similar to the one at the JOC, but twice the size.

Isobel and Darío sat in silence, admiring the spectacular views of the city and the impressive mountains.

"[Did you finally call her last night?]" she asked. Isobel did not need to clarify that she was referring to Veronica.

His gaze became somewhat veiled. "[No, and I felt very guilty.]" Darío pursed his lips sourly. "[But it turns out that she was sending me very nasty messages all day yesterday that I didn't see until this morning. So, you know what? Now I feel a lot better about not calling her.]" But his slight grimace did not disappear from his face.

Isobel tried to give him some comfort by patting his shoulder, when her cell phone rang. It was Jubal.

"Miss Fresneda is already here. She has driven her car into the subway parking lot. Ah, guys, I think she's being followed. Beige SUV, tinted windows. La Nacional, maybe?

"Unlikely," Darío replied. "Normally the GN uses sedans..."

"Juarez?" Isobel wondered.

"I'm afraid so," said Darío uneasily.

After Jubal hung up, it wasn't long before Adriana Fresneda, looking at her cell phone and saying good morning, entered the glassed-in room.

Looking up she stopped dead in her tracks.

"[Does the agency send you?]" she inquired doubtful. "[Where is Gonzalo?]"

"[No, Miss Fresneda,]" Darío said, standing up and holding her hand with a cordial smile. [I am Agent Montero with the National Guard, and this is Agent Castille with the FBI.]"

Adriana took a time to shake hands with the two of them, with a certain distrust.

She was a tall woman, with a slender figure girded by an elegant tailored suit, long mane of thick wavy chocolate-colored hair highlighted at the ends by a few golden strands. The resemblance to her sister was remarkable but she was not as beautiful. Perhaps because, instead of the innocent sweetness in Sofia's look, the veil of cordiality in Adriana's barely hid a hard and calculating expression. Perhaps those were the eyes of someone capable of killing her sister and nephew, Isobel wondered.

"[You didn't identify yourselves that way to get in...]" she said cautiously, scrutinizing them both with inquisitive dark gray eyes, like storm clouds.

"[Yes at the security checkpoint, not to your receptionist,]" Isobel admitted after a moment.

"[And why did you find it necessary to lie?"

"[Yesterday we left messages under our names, this morning we called too, but you are always too busy...] —said Darío shrugging his shoulders—. [However, your schedule was miraculously free when we said we worked for Gestiones De La Garza,]" he concluded with one of his cheeky half-smiles.

Normally women softened at that smile. They became friendly and cooperative. Not Adriana Fresneda.

She acknowledged the slight humiliation of that ironic comment by tightening her lips slightly, and her face became impassive until she managed to make Darío's smile falter. Only then did she make a polite gesture indicating for them to sit down.

"[All right, since you've come all this way,]" she said, taking a seat across the table with a stern look on her face, "tell me, agents, how can I help the Guardia Nacional and the FBI?]"

"[It's about what happened to your sister and nephew,]" Isobel began.

"[If you haven't caught the culprit, I don't think I'm interested in what you have to tell me,]" she said with a certain grudging tone.

"[I understand,]" Isobel gave a warm tone to her words. "[But we need to ask you some questions. We have an affidavit from you stating that you identified the bodies of your sister and nephew. Is that true?]"

"[Yes...]"

"[And you would you remember how you made the identification?]"

"[Why are you asking that?]" asked Adriana, looking alternately between both of them, puzzled.

"[There are certain... concerns about the authenticity of the documents in the file,]" answered Darío, significantly more serious than before.

There was a small moment of doubt.

"[What? Why?]"

Isobel and Darío did not respond. They just waited for her answer.

"[I… I don't… I don't remember. I don't know. It was they. You can't imagine how painful it all was...]" Adriana murmured, turning her face away; her expression seemed to be suppressing a lot of anguish.

But to Isobel it only seemed so. It wasn't a bad performance. Just not good enough for someone trained in catching people lying.

"[Maybe because... it's not true that you could identify them,]" Darío pressed, earning a confused, or perhaps alarmed, look from Adriana. "[Because the bodies were not those of your sister and nephew?]"

Isobel pulled out the copy of the dental records and showed them to her, comparing them to those in the case file. "[Can you notice that other names are listed?]"

"[I don't... Please, I don't want to relive it all over again...]" lamented Adriana.

Deep sorrow darkened her eyes. Although he was not the only one who had spoken to her, she did not take her eyes off Darío in a while. Isobel thought that she was possibly not as immune to his charms as she seemed... Or perhaps she was fighting back. Her friend was keeping his pose but Isobel knew him well; she could sense he was getting... interested.

"[All right. What can you tell me about these payments made to Dr. Yáñez of the Piedras Negras Forensic Institute?]" Isobel inquired then again softly.

Adriana's brow furrowed in a way that was very reminiscent of Maggie when she was relentless. Darío leaned back a little but held his gaze firmly.

"[Ah, I see that doesn't sadden you so much,]" he said ironically.

Isobel felt proud of Darío. He might be interested, but he wasn't going to be fooled.

"[Are you accusing me of something?]" asked Adriana sharply, but she immediately lowered her eyes, hiding her rebelliousness. "[I don't know what you're talking about]." She closed her eyes tightly, as if in pain. "[I cannot continue with this. I'm sorry,]" she stood up.

To Isobel's chagrin, Darío took a risk, seeing Adriana leaving. "[Do you know that you are in danger, Miss Fresneda?]" he asked with an anxious tinge in his tone, "[Isidoro Yáñez was killed the day before yesterday.]"

Adriana only hesitated for a tenth of a second when she heard that. Isobel recognized her self-control, even though she had given herself away anyway.

"[No, I didn't. But I didn't know him at all. If you'll excuse me...]"

He went to the door. "[No, probably not in person,]" Darío muttered acidly, getting up.

Isobel also stood up. Adriana's performance had been, for her, exactly that: a performance. It was clear she was lying, but Isobel was not sure which way. She was either a ruthless killer or a concerned cover-up.

She decided to lay it all out on the table. Maybe that way she would be able to interpret Adriana better. "[Before you go, please let me give you my deepest condolences.]"

"[Yes, thank you,]" Adriana murmured uninterestedly, already grasping the door handle. She looked to be in a kind of a hurry.

"[And my deepest apologies,]," added Isobel.

That managed to stop Adriana, who turned and looked at the other woman, clearly intrigued.

"[I caused Sofia and Carlos to be killed,]" declared Isobel solemnly.

"[What?]" Adriana asked, incredulous. She did not sit down again, but nevertheless, stayed and listened in silence to Isobel's account of what had happened with her brother-in-law, the drug lord. Of Colonel Molina's threat. Of how she managed to make Vargas give in.

Isobel also told her that Vargas held Isobel responsible for the death of Sofía and Carlos; that he had sworn revenge. About the attempts on the lives of Jubal and the rest of the team... About Rina's murder.

Surprise, horror, consternation passed through Adriana's face. "[Oh, my God…]" she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

She looked at the two of them alternately, eyes misty with tears. This time she did not seem to be pretending at all.

"[I know I didn't kill them,]" Isobel said, "[but I was the one who set this whole thing off. And I wanted you to at least know that I am sorry. I am very, very sorry,]" she concluded, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

She put her whole heart into those words. If Sofia and little Carlos were really dead, if Jubal was wrong in his conclusions and Adriana had had nothing to do with their murder… Isobel desperately needed her forgiveness.

Adriana's gaze was filled with an unexpected commiseration that brought Maggie back to mind.

Then she closed them, throwing her head back. "[You shouldn't bear that guilt... Sofia and Carlos...]" she hesitated, "[they are not dead. They are alive... somewhere]".

The air clutched at Isobel's throat.

"[When...]" Adriana added. Then she began to speak very quickly. "[When they asked me to identify them, I knew. There had to have been an exchange of bodies. An then… then I paid Dr. Yáñez, so that he would give me the actual autopsy report. Look.]" She opened a laptop that was there in the room. She accessed an encrypted file and showed it to them.

It was very clear there. Deaths due to natural causes, partial post-mortem cremation. Signed, this time yes, by Isidoro Yáñez Carrión, and not by a previously deceased colleague.

Isobel sighed deeply and silently at that confirmation which triggered her distress, even if it gave her some satisfaction to know that, at least, the research Jubal, Darío and she had done was indeed correct.

Meanwhile, Darío stared at Adriana, as if overcome.

"[Although I have searched for them, and have not been able to find them, I believe they are alive. I really do,] Adriana said vehemently. "[But... I can't help you anymore.]"

That didn't fit. Nevertheless, Isobel nodded, as if to indicate that she understood. "Thank you.]" She said it sincerely, looking Adriana in the face.

The latter turned to Darío with tormented eyes but ended up taken them away. "[I- I have to go,]" she stammered, ending the meeting.

And she left in a hurry.

"[Did you believe everything she said?" asked Darío as they rode down in the elevator.

"[No. Do you?]"

"[No way.]"

It was obvious. No one else had made payments to Yáñez. Who else but Adriana paid him to falsify the report in the first place? Moreover, if she knew it wasn't they, why had she agreed to sign off on the identification of the bodies then?

Darío sighed briefly. "To be honest, I would have liked her not to lie to us...]"

"[I was taken aback that you told us that Sofia and Carlos are alive,]" Isobel commented. "[If she's a ruthless killer, why would she care about my feelings? And if she's not and she is protecting her nephew and sister, why would she reveal a secret that she has worked so hard to cover up?]"

"[She seemed genuinely horrified by what you told her. Maybe she really didn't want to leave you carrying that guilt...]"

"[Maybe. Or it's neither. But then she pretended better at the end than at the beginning?]" Isobel shook her head and chose not to pursue the subject.

·~·~·

Once they left the building, they met Jubal at the car.

"She has told too many lies. I don't know what to believe," Isobel said in frustration, after giving Jubal a summary of the conversation with Adriana. "And we still don't know what happened to Carlos and Sofía."

"I've been thinking," said Jubal, making a slight gesture towards the beige SUV. "If they are from Juárez and they are after Adriana, could it be because Yáñez told them that Sofía and Carlos are indeed alive?"

"You're right," agreed Darío. "If that's not the case, why would they go to the trouble of following her?"

Considering it, Isobel had to admit that it made sense. Also, the fact that Vargas -if they could trust him- had confirmed that Juárez was behind Yáñez's death, gave points to that theory.

But, in any case, it was still just another speculation. Besides...

"Yes, but it would also mean that they are all in grave danger, because Juárez's only reason for finding them is to kill them for real," she said overwhelmed by a grim and anguished feeling. Jubal swallowed hard. Darío looked at her worriedly. "By the way, why did you do that?" she asked the latter.

"What do you mean?"

"Scaring Adriana about Yáñez's death. Now it is possible that she will vanish into thin air."

Darío lowered his head, somewhat embarrassed. "Sorry, I got nervous," he murmured.

Looking frustrated at him, Isobel thought she knew why Darío had become nervous, but decided to keep quiet.

"Hey, maybe that will work in our favor," Jubal interjected. "If Sofia and Carlos are still alive, and Adriana knows where they are, I'd be very surprised if she doesn't run out to look for them."

To Isobel those seemed like too many "ifs". She looked at him a bit skeptically.

"Oh, yes," Darío supported him, however. "In fact, look. If she doesn't do it in less than half an hour, I'll eat my hat."

"Darío, you're not wearing a hat. You never wear a hat," said Isobel, rolling her eyes as a smile escaped her.

"Then it's the perfect bet," Jubal replied, not quite holding back one of his own.

Isobel couldn't help but burst out laughing, and blessed them both for managing to lift her spirits somewhat.

She was affectionately reprimanding them with her eyes, when from the parking lot of the Safi building Adriana came out in her electric car. The beige SUV followed Adriana. Gesturing expressively with his eyebrows, Darío started up and followed the SUV. "Vamos allá."

~.~.~.~