He had been at Alemany Cosmetics for half an hour. He’d been accompanied by Agent Fort, whom he immediately sent to take a look around the lab with deliberately ambiguous instructions though a definite aim: sound out the atmosphere, take the pulse of this organization dedicated to beauty products. The agent’s detailed report noted it had been founded in the forties and had kept going, with no great ups or downs, throughout its history. Only in the last decade had they become competitive, thanks to the development and marketing of AC/Slim, a cream that had caused a furor among ladies and gentlemen with a few extra kilos. From then on, Alemany Cosmetics had widened its products and ambition, moving from a low-profile brand sold in supermarkets to the high pantheon of artificial beauty. At the end of last year they’d launched a line aimed at younger women, Young, which Héctor had never heard of, but according to the advertising campaign was a great investment within the company.
Sílvia Alemany was neither adolescent nor beautiful, and was naturally thin, without needing additional help. She looked like her brother, Héctor thought, though she lacked charm. If at the time he had silently compared Víctor to Michael York, his sister vaguely reminded him of Tilda Swinton, an actress he admired despite the fact that her roles usually unsettled him. He was aware that his bad mood was largely due to the chat with Savall a little earlier, but a significant portion was also caused by this polite and highly reasonable woman sitting on the other side of the desk.
The office wasn’t at all ostentatious, which had surprised him. Rather sparse of detail, with an austerity that had little to do with what he’d imagined of a company dedicated to aesthetics, the space was deceptive. No doubt about it, Sílvia Alemany wasn’t a straightforward woman.
“To tell you the truth, I don’t know how we can help you, Inspector. We’re still in shock over Sara’s death. In fact, we know very little about the private lives of our employees. I never would have suspected that Sara was so … unhappy.”
“She wasn’t a woman with many friends, correct?”
Sílvia shrugged her shoulders, as if giving to understand that this was none of her business.
“I haven’t the faintest idea whether she had friends or not. Personally, I believe Sara wasn’t one who struck up friendships with her work colleagues; however, that doesn’t mean she didn’t have them elsewhere.”
Of course. No one could argue with that.
“And Gaspar Ródenas?”
Sílvia took a deep breath.
“Inspector Salgado, I’ve already spoken to your colleagues about Gaspar,” she replied, in a voice half tired, half willing. “I don’t see what he has to do with Sara’s death.”
“Neither do I, as yet,” said Héctor. He took out the group photo from the file. “But it seems at the very least strange that two of the people in this image have died, don’t you think?”
She didn’t even look at the photo.
“I wouldn’t qualify it as strange, Inspector. Sad, perhaps.”
“When was the photograph taken?”
“Last year, in March or April, I’m not exactly sure. And I don’t know what-”
Héctor interrupted her.
“Was it a company outing?”
“It was a few days of ‘team-building,’ as they say in English. I don’t know how to translate it …” The condescending tone emerged once more.
“I know what it is, thank you. I see you attended as well.”
She smiled.
“Having a management role doesn’t mean being outside the team, Inspector. On the contrary. We usually organize various days like that throughout the year with different employees.”
“Can you give me the names of the others?”
Sílvia looked at the photo, as if she couldn’t precisely remember who had participated.
“The dark-haired man, with very short hair, is Brais Arjona, brand manager of the Young line; beside him is Amanda Bonet, in charge of design-”
“Of the same line?”
“Yes, but not exclusively. I don’t know if you’re aware that Alemany Cosmetics has experienced huge growth in the last few years. Our packaging was old-fashioned and when we hired Brais Arjona, he insisted on modernizing the packaging of the product. It was he who proposed Amanda. And, of course, she has handled the design of the new line directly.”
“I understand. And the others?”
“Apart from me, there is César Calvo, manager of storage and distribution.” In the photo, César had his arm around her shoulders, so in a cold voice she added, “And my fiancé. We’re getting married in a few months.” Not leaving room for any comments, she went on: “Manel Caballero, the youngest, is part of the R amp; D-Research and Development-department.”
Héctor couldn’t decide if Sílvia Alemany was explaining obvious concepts to him out of friendliness or with the intention of irritating him. Whatever the reason, it irritated him. If she noticed the inspector’s furrowed brow, she paid no attention to it.
“Octavi Pujades, the eldest, has been our finance director for years; he was already director in my father’s final years. And the other two, as you know, are Gaspar Ródenas and Sara Mahler.”
“If I remember correctly, Gaspar belonged to the same department as Señor Pujades, isn’t that right? Is it normal for two people from the same department to attend these away days?”
She smiled.
“It depends. On occasion they are organized by department, to unite the group. Other times, like this, it’s about bringing people from different divisions together. So the answer is no, it’s not normal in this case.”
“How are the participants chosen?”
“Well,” Sílvia was maintaining that friendly smile, “it’s not a lottery. Brais and Amanda had had months of intense collaboration, with the contact that always entails, and I thought it would be good for them to work together in a different atmosphere. At the same time, it seemed convenient for them to establish a more personal relationship with the managers of other areas: César, Octavi and me. Sometimes creative personalities like theirs tend to forget they form part of a broader whole, that there are other employees who take care of more concrete areas. The group is also balanced by age, so Manel Caballero from R amp; D, and another person from Sales who couldn’t come in the end. Gaspar Ródenas was on the same level, so although he was also from finance, we decided to include him.”
“And Sara Mahler?”
“I’m afraid that the administrative personnel sometimes feel a little excluded. We needed another woman to make it up, and Saúl and I thought of Sara.”
“Saúl …?”
“Saúl Duque. It’s he who takes care of organizing the details of these activities. My second-in-command. I hate the word assistant-it’s somewhat servile, don’t you think? You saw him as you came in-his desk is just in front of the door to my office.”
Sílvia had relaxed. Clearly, speaking about the ins and outs of the company was a pleasure for her.
“And were they good? I’m mean the away days.”
“Neither good nor bad. Between you and me, Inspector, I’m coming to the conclusion that this kind of thing has more of a motivational effect than anything else. The people feel valued, which is positive in itself.”
Héctor nodded.
“But in this case the away days served another purpose. At least for Gaspar Ródenas, right?”
Sílvia was on her guard once again.
“You mean because afterward he was chosen to carry out Octavi’s duties during his leave of absence? Well, I wouldn’t say that happened as a result of those days. A couple of names were considered, and Gaspar’s was one of them.”
She was lying. And when she was lying her voice took on a slight note of disdain.
“And what tipped the balance in favor of Ródenas?”