Southern Seas Read Free

I’ve seen people selling Granollers as if it were Jabugo. You see what I mean?’
    Carvalho left with a bag containing Casar, Cabrales and Ideazábal cheeses, Jabugo chorizos, Salamanca ham for everyday eating, and a small portion of the Jabugo for when he was feeling fed up.
    He was in a better mood by the time he reached the pet shop again. The owner was just shutting for the day.
    ‘That dog …’
    ‘What dog?’
    ‘The one that was in the window.’
    ‘It was full of dogs.’
    ‘The little wolf one.’
    ‘It was a bitch. I’ve got them all inside. I put them in cages for the night, so that no one comes smashing the window and taking them off to torture them. There’s a lot of sick minds around these days.’
    ‘I’d like to buy her.’
    ‘What, now?’
    ‘Now.’
    ‘It’ll cost you eight thousand pesetas,’ answered the owner, without reopening the door.
    ‘Can’t be much of a shepherd dog at a price like that …’
    ‘She’s got no pedigree. But she’s a very healthy dog. You’ll see for yourself. Very brave. I know the father, and the mother belongs to one of my brothers-in-law.’
    ‘I’m not worried about pedigree.’
    ‘Fine.’
    The dog wriggled as Carvalho tucked her under his arm. In his other hand, he was holding a bag full of cheese, sausage, tins of dogfood, rubber bones, insecticide, disinfectant and a brush—everything a man and a dog could need to be happy. Biscuter was surprised at the dignity of the little dog. It planted itself solidly on its hind paws, sticking out half a yard of tongue. Its huge ears looked like the swept-back wings of a plane going into a nosedive.
    ‘Looks like a rabbit, boss. Shall I keep her here?’
    ‘I’ll take her up to Vallvidrera. She’ll shit over everything here.’
    ‘By the way—there was a call for you. I jotted his name down in the office book.’
    Jaime Viladecans Riutorts. Lawyer. As Carvalho dialled the number, he called for Biscuter to heat up some food. He heard him moving around in the kitchenette that he had built next to the toilet. Biscuter was humming a tune, happy in his work, and the little dog was chewing the telephone wire. Two secretaries testified to the importance of the man he was calling. Finally thevoice of an English lord, speaking with the accent of a Catalan dandy, came onto the line.
    ‘It’s a very delicate matter. We’ll need to speak in private.’
    Carvalho noted the details of a rendezvous, hung up, and leaned back in his swivel armchair with a certain air of satisfaction. Biscuter laid before him a steaming portion of wild rabbit with vegetable stew. The dog was trying to get a share of his meat, so Carvalho gently put her on the ground and tossed her a little piece of the rabbit.
    ‘It’s true what they say. Children do sometimes arrive with a loaf of bread under their arms.’

    Viladecans was wearing a gold tiepin and platinum cufflinks. He was impeccable from head to foot, starting from his balding pate which shone like a dry riverbed confined between two banks of white hair. Judging by the care with which the lawyer periodically brushed his hand back over the surviving undergrowth, it had recently been trimmed by the best hairdresser in the city. At the same time, a diminutive tongue moved with relish across a pair of almost closed lips.
    ‘Does the name Stuart Pedrell mean anything to you?’
    ‘Rings a bell.’
    ‘It may ring several. It’s a remarkable family. The mother was a distinguished concert pianist, although she retired when she married and subsequently only performed for charity. The father was of Scottish origin, and was an important industrialist before the war. Each of the sons is a public figure in his own right. You may have heard of the journalist, the biochemist, the educationalist, or the building contractor.’
    ‘Probably.’
    ‘I want to tell you about the building contractor.’
    He placed before Carvalho a set of local press cuttings mounted on file cards: ‘The body