Silenced in Spain

by D'arcy Kavanagh

  “And Monsieur Tessier, what about you?”

  Tessier said he’d only looked up a moment before López had pulled the trigger.

  “I noticed you watching Chef Andres just before you came here,” Martín said to Burke.

  Burke frowned.

  Martἱn jerked a thumb toward the monitor behind her. It was obvious she and the uniformed flic had been checking camera activity just before Burke and Tessier entered the office.

  “Did you notice anything interesting about him?” Martἱn said.

  Burke took a few seconds to assemble his thoughts. “Chef Andres looked scared to me, like something else was going to happen. He had a couple of his caterers with him – the men I followed the other night in Girona – and it seemed they did as much talking as Chef Andres, almost like he wasn’t in charge.”

  Martἱn nodded but didn’t look surprised. “When he stared back at you, what do you think he was thinking? I know I’m asking you to speculate, but it’s important.”

  Burke couldn’t figure out why she wanted his observations, but said, “He looked at me like he was expecting to see me but, mainly, he looked like a man who just wanted to get the hell out of the museum.”

  When he considered what he’d just told the flic, Burke thought Chef Andres had looked far more frightened than the people around him fleeing.

  In a way, he had looked scared to death.

  Chapter 46

  Burke looked at Sgt. Martἱn, surprised she wasn’t charging around, ordering people about or checking on the suicide scene. Instead, she was standing and thinking.

  “Aren’t you interested in Chef Andres and where he’s going?” Burke finally asked.

  “I know exactly where he is and exactly where he’s going,” Martἱn replied calmly.

  “You do? Where is he?”

  Martἱn smiled without warmth. “He’s in custody and going to the police station.”

  “He is? I just saw him.”

  “As soon as he left the museum, some officers picked him up,” she said.

  “But why did you arrest him?”

  Martἱn shook her head and Burke could see she wasn’t going to elaborate. But he wasn’t prepared to quit, especially since the flics had brought him into the whole mess.

  “If you picked him up so quickly,” he said, “you must suspect he’s guilty of something. But why wait till now, when the museum is in chaos and José López has just killed himself?”

  “I’ll just say we have new evidence that indicated we needed to take action,” Martἱn said.

  Burke was still curious. “New evidence tied to the food fraud? And to what happened to me in Girona and to Colin Bothwick back in Oropesa?”

  Martἱn said nothing, just glanced down at her phone and read something.

  “And what about Tim Fritz? Is he implicated in your investigation?”

  Martἱn’s head shot up. “Why do you ask that, Monsieur Burke?”

  Burke was playing a huge hunch, but expected he had nothing to lose by speculating to the flic.

  “I saw Fritz just after López killed himself. He looked stunned, but he also looked very frightened, as if he was at risk himself.”

  “Continue, please.”

  “I think he believed he needed to get away, not just from the museum but from Figueres or even Spain as fast as possible. His handlers certainly showed they didn’t want him hanging around.”

  “Interesting, Monsieur Burke.”

  Burke knew he was onto some version of the truth. If he had been inaccurate, Martἱn would have dismissed his observations and moved onto another matter. But she hadn’t. She’d wanted to hear more.

  Burke exhaled a long breath and continued. “Chef Andres may be a genius in the kitchen and a smart guy, but I don’t think there’s any way he’s the brains behind a massive food-fraud scheme. I think he’s definitely involved and he’s brought in some of his old buddies from the tough streets of Valencia to help him, but he’s just middle management, if that. There’s someone higher up with greater resources and a sharper brain. Someone who’s extremely well organized and ambitious.”

  “And who’s that?”

  “Tim Fritz,” Burke said.

  Until just recently, he’d thought Fritz incapable of being a big-time crime lord, but the American’s reaction at the museum was telling him otherwise. He’d acted guilty and he’d looked it, too. And then there were his possible connections to Chef Andres who certainly seemed dirty. Hard evidence? Burke didn’t have any, just a gut feeling. And his gut feelings had often been right the past few years. That’s why he’d identified Fritz.

  Martἱn didn’t look surprised at the mention of Fritz’s name. Burke thought she would be. That told him he was getting closer to the full story.

  “Why do you think he’s involved?” the flic said.

  “There are the reasons I just mentioned. Plus he’s always been around the places where there’s been trouble.”

  “So have plenty of others.”

  “And then there’s his private jet.”

  “His jet?”

  “I’m just guessing but I wouldn’t expect a lot of magazine publishers are doing so well these days that they fly about in their own fancy plane. After all, these aren’t the best times for magazines. And that suggests Tim Fritz gets income from other sources, very lucrative sources.”

  Martἱn nodded, looked back at her phone and tapped on it for a few seconds. When she was done, she kept studying her phone. A moment later, she got a return text. After reading it, she looked back at Burke.

  “You might find it interesting, Monsieur Burke, to know that Tim Fritz has also been taken into custody. In fact, he’s on his way to the police station as well.”

  Burke glanced at Tessier who looked back at him with an open mouth, clearly surprised at Martἱn’s last announcement.

  “What’s he been arrested for? And what’s Chef Andres been arrested for?”

  “Those details aren’t for the public, at least not yet.”

  Burke could see that the flic still didn’t trust him since he was a member of the media. If she gave him too much information, it could end up on the evening news and that might be a problem for the police, at least at that point.

  “I’ve been conscripted by you to help your investigation and you can’t tell me?” said Burke, adding some righteous indignation to his voice although he didn’t feel badly treated. He was just curious and thought the unjustly-wronged approach might work.

  “You’re media, Monsieur, and right now we can’t release the information. But I expect there’ll be a news conference soon with some details.”

  “But … ”

  Martἱn motioned to her uniformed officer. “Time for them to leave.”

  The officer took a step forward. Burke and Tessier got the message and left with the flic who walked them across the museum courtyard which was now populated only by police and a crime-scene crew.

  When he glanced above at where López had killed himself, Burke saw someone taking photos and another person setting up strong lights.

  As suicides go, Burke thought this one was getting a lot of police attention.

  Chapter 47

  Outside the museum, curious pedestrians were rubbing shoulders with guests of the event, most of whom looked like they didn’t know what to do next. However, a few of the guests were talking to two television news crews who were filming.

  López, it seemed, was going to be the star of the late-night newscast.

  “Paul, Jules,” came a voice.

  Burke looked around and spotted Suzanne Godard coming their way with Monique Chan in tow.

  “Where were you?” Godard asked when she got within talking range.

  “The police had a few questions.”

  “About what?”

  “Not much. Just what we saw,” Burke said, glancing at Tessier who nodded.

  “Nothing more?�
�

  “That was it.”

  “Our news people are wondering if we can put together a story for them,” Godard said.

  No surprise there, Burke thought. The suicide of a well-known area businessman at a special Vuelta event was news and especially if someone had caught López’s last moments on video and posted the clip in some way. These days, the mainstream media were feeling the pressure of competing with social media.

  “Well, I don’t know what more I can say except a couple of people at the event have been arrested – and one of them is Chef Andres Calderόn,” said Burke, figuring that the police hauling away the culinary star would have definitely been noticed.

  “What? Chef Andres?” Godard said.

  Burke could see the arrest was news to his boss.

  “What for?” Godard asked.

  “Possible connection to a massive food-fraud scheme.”

  “You’re being serious?”

  “Deadly.”

  “And what’s Chef Andres’ part in it?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Whatever the reason, that’s huge. We’ve got to file something about that,” she said. “Are you sure about all this? We don’t want to be wrong.”

  Burke could see Godard was feeling an adrenaline rush. A culinary superstar getting hauled away by the flics was big news.

  “A reliable source told me,” Burke said.

  “How reliable?”

  “A flic, a smart one.”

  Godard frowned and Burke sensed she was weighing the possibility the flic had mislead Burke for some reason.

  “And you heard it, too, Jules?” Godard said, turning to her statistician.

  “The exact same thing.”

  Godard thought for a few moments and then checked out the crowd, stopping when she spotted other TV crews at work. Had Chef Andres’ arrest already made the news?

  Godard turned to Chan. “Take your phone and take Tessier, and do a spot by the entrance to the museum. Jules, you film it. Say what Paul just said but don’t convict Chef Andres. Say the police want to talk to him as part of an ongoing investigation into food fraud. Toss in that police are also examining the scene where well-known businessman José López killed himself. Are you up for the job, Monique?”

  Burke thought Chan looked exceedingly calm. With her pre-TV work background, she probably was.

  “I’ve got it under control,” Chan said.

  “Get back to me in five minutes and I’ll look at it. If it’s good enough, we’ll post it on the network’s social media feeds and on the website.”

  Chan marched off toward the entrance with Tessier beside her. Burke had no doubt the pair would produce a quality piece.

  Godard moved a step closer to Burke. “Paul, I think you’re holding back some information.”

  Burke didn’t reply.

  “I want to know what you know. But trust me that I’m not going to listen to you and post just anything. We need to get it right even if these are times when accuracy isn’t worth crap to a lot of people.”

  Burke considered her comments. He trusted her because she was smart, determined and ethical, and not some glory hound eager to trample over people and facts to get noticed. So he told her about Chef Andres and his crew, and then shocked her by saying Tim Fritz had also been taken into custody for his possible connections to the food fraud. In addition, he mentioned the food fraud might be connected to the murder of Colin Bothwick and to the attacks on him.

  “And your police friend told you this?”

  “She’s not my friend, but, yes, she did. And there’s something else that happened tonight that’s strange.”

  “More?”

  “Inspector Torres was supposed to be in the museum checking on matters. We were connected by a small communications system, very James Bond-like, but she ended up going someplace in a rush. I don’t know where, but I think it was important.”

  “Something to do with the food-fraud case?”

  “I think so. But it happened fast which is how I ended up talking to Sgt. Martἱn.”

  Godard rubbed her chin. “When did Torres leave? Before López killed himself?”

  Burke nodded.

  “So where does López fit into all this? Was he just really depressed and wanted to go out in style?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that since he did it. López never seemed the depressed type, but I believe something happened that pushed him over the edge. And for whatever reason, he believed he needed to take his life in a very public way and to do it now.”

  “Why?”

  “I have one idea. I think he killed himself to protect his family.”

  Chapter 48

  Burke could see his boss was surprised by his theory.

  “Where does that idea come from, Paul?” Godard said, making sure no one around them was listening.

  “A lot of little things that are starting to amount to something big, at least to me.”

  Godard said nothing, waiting.

  “By most accounts, José López was a successful businessman in the Tarragona region. He did well and then decided to retire. There are stories quoting him looking forward to spending time with his grandkids and with traveling.”

  “So what?”

  “His wife died in a hit-and-run accident which probably was devastating since it sounded like they were close.”

  Godard rolled her eyes in impatience, trying to get Burke to speed up his story.

  Too bad, Burke thought, knowing it was going to take more than a few seconds to make the links in his theory.

  “After she died, he didn’t go traveling to lose himself or to forget. But that was probably understandable. As for becoming a full-time grandfather, he didn’t do that either although being close to family might have provided him the kind of positive feelings he’d need to get through the loss of his wife. Instead, he got himself some partners, expanded his business, bought a fleet of fishing boats and started operating a big catering company.”

  “I’m not following you, Paul,” Godard said, the exasperation in her voice evident.

  “Think about it, Suzanne. If you’re going to run a food-fraud ring that involves smuggling, what do you need?” Burke said. “You need the ability to transport various food products by land and sea. If you have a trucking company, that’s a big step. Owning fishing boats also helps. And if you need to shift the food without being noticed, you need a reputable business that’s connected to food – in this case, a catering company.”

  “That’s logical,” Godard said.

  “So, you need someone who can help on those fronts. But what happens if that person isn’t interested?”

  “You find a way to force him.”

  “Exactly. And in López’s case, that was his family. By all accounts, he was devoted to his two sons and their families. And that made him vulnerable to people who wanted to use him.”

  “Do you know where his family lives?”

  “I don’t, but if I had to guess, I’d say they don’t live in Spain. López was a smart man and he’d have gotten them away from here to a place where they wouldn’t be found or where they’d be well protected.”

  “OK, but why wouldn’t he go to the police when he was first approached?”

  Burke saw Tessier and Chan walking toward them. He turned back to Godard. “I’m only guessing but I don’t think he trusted them enough to be sure his family would be safe. Whoever approached him was scary. And I think he believed some police were involved in the food-fraud organization operating in Spain. He had nowhere to turn.”

  “And you think Chef Andres was behind all of his problems?”

  “I think Chef Andres got involved somewhere along the line. He comes from a rough background, but he never had the resources or the vision to put together this food-fraud ring.”

  “So, someone with lots of contacts and money is behind it?”

  “Your guess is a
s good as mine, but I think the person running this organization had to have more than contacts, money and a criminal disposition. Whoever it is, is ruthless and ready to use others to get results. Chef Andres just saw an opportunity and worked his way into the organization.”

  “So, who’s the big boss?”

  “Part of me says Tim Fritz.”

  Tessier and Chan stopped a metre away. Chan held out her phone to Godard who checked the video they’d done.

  “Excellent, Monique, first rate,” Godard said. “You, too, Jules. You have Chef Andres’ name in there without convicting him and that’ll give energy to the story without causing any grief. Go ahead and post it, and tell head office what we’ve done.”

  Chan and Tessier moved away once more and Godard turned her attention back to Burke.

  “You mentioned Tim Fritz being the brains behind what’s happened,” she said. “I’m struggling with that because Fritz doesn’t seem the sort at all. Smart, yes, tough, no although I can’t say I know him much.”

  “I know, but I believe he’s got more wealth that most people think. And if that’s the case, he just has to hire smart people to do the dirty work. As for his ambition, I think he’s got plenty of that.”

  “But why did López shoot himself? It’s still not clear to me.”

  “I’ve thought about that question a great deal.”

  “And you have a theory, right?”

  “I do, but I’m not sure if it’s any good.”

  “Paul, get to the point,” Godard snapped.

  “OK, here goes: I think López felt the threat against his sons and their families was increasing, and he had to do something fast. He believed to eliminate the threat, he had to disappear – or not be alive. That way, his family couldn’t be used against him and, as a result, they’d be safe. But he doubted he could disappear and never be found. That left the second option. So, he shot himself and did it in a way that the world would see.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “López knew the Vuelta is a big deal with thousands of media hanging around. He also knew the Dalí museum is internationally recognized. So when the Vuelta’s nightly event happened at the museum, he had the perfect place and occasion to attract the greatest attention.”