“DARÍO’S MOTHER HAD STARTED going from house to house asking people if they knew anything about her son,” Clara Benoit had told me the afternoon I went to see her at the new beach resort her father’s trying to build on the ever-shifting shores of the muddy lagoon, “and when I found out I couldn’t stand it any longer and went to look for her, I found her at Majul’s store talking to his wife who I think wanted to tell her but Babil who’s still alive never took his eyes off her to make sure she kept her mouth shut and after Delia’d said Well thanks if you hear anything I beg you please let me know straight away I went out with her. And I remember a couple of people were walking past on the sidewalk and when they realised what was going on — because anyone could tell from Delia’s face — they crossed the street and disappeared. And when I’d finished Delia stood there staring at me I was crying she wasn’t and she said to me You’re lying. You’ve wanted Darío dead ever since he left you but God will punish you for this injury you’re doing me she said with this faraway look in her eyes and then she turned on her heels and headed in the direction of the headquarters walking like a disjointed doll and a couple of times she almost fell over, then picked herself up and carried on again, and I ran after her and caught up with her halfway down the block and offered to go with her and she turned round and pointed to the church and said again God will punish you and I couldn’t go on following her after that see?”
“ALL RIGHT if just supposing if there’d been some misfortune the best thing is to let people know as soon as possible even if it hurts, but would you believe it by now there were people in town who were saying the boy was dead imagine if the news had reached his mother’s ears, people repeat the first thing they hear without caring whether it’s true or not, what I reckon is that Delia she must’ve heard something and panicked, and maybe the person who told her even thought they were doing her a favour and actually did her a terrible injury, imagine a mother being told that about her only son, I sometimes wonder if it’s thoughtlessness or just plain wickedness. Imagine the pair of us waiting for them to come out me as soon as I could I dropped all the lunch things like that and rushed off to Clota’s when I see her heading over in floods of tears couldn’t speak for crying and I called to Chesi and between the pair of us we made her a nice cup of tea and patted her hand There there till she was in a fit state to speak, said Delia had raised her voice to her beloved Armando and he says How dare you drag my wife into this and Delia I’ll drag your wife and oh Fefe I can’t repeat what she said how upset the woman must have been, I’d never have thought it possible if it hadn’t been Clota that was telling me, I know Delia regretted it later and went and apologised and asked her again to help, but you know Clota she might be a very nice person but she had her dignity and never opened the door to her again, not if she comes on bended knee she told us I don’t want to hear that woman’s name again as long as I live.”