They met at Patricia’s office the next day. Time was running out. There were less than 40 hours left. Patricia examined the drawing with a magnifying glass, taking notes. The stroke is consistent with a child between the ages of three and 4, he said. The pressure of the crayon, the shape of the figures, the limited perspective. This drawing is authentic. Dolores, a little boy did it. Can it represent real trauma? Undoubtedly, children who witness traumatic events often process them through art.
This drawing shows a violent scene, a figure on the ground, another standing in a dominant position. The use of the color red here pointed to spots on the lying figure. It indicates that the boy understood that there was blood and the man in the blue shirt is the most significant detail. Traumatized children remember specific elements, colors, smells, sounds. If the girl drew a blue shirt, it is because the real aggressor was wearing a blue shirt. That’s a sensory memory, not an invention.
Dolores showed the photographs of Gonzalo that Carlos had collected. In each one, without exception, he wore shades of blue. Ramiro Fuentes always wore dark colors, Dolores said. Black, gray, brown, never blue. Patricia nodded. If you can prove that the girl drew this days after the event, you have psychological evidence that she saw someone other than her father commit the crime. It is not legal evidence on its own, but combined with other elements it can reopen the case. Exactly. Dolores put the drawing away carefully.
I had a piece of the puzzle, but I needed more. I needed to find Martín. Carlos arrived that night with more information. He had researched Sara Fuentes’ past and found something crucial. Sara had a close friend, Beatriz Sánchez. They had known each other since university. According to phone records I was able to obtain, Sara spoke with Beatriz the night before she died. A 40-minute call. Beatriz Sánchez, a relative of Aurelio, her cousin, but they have not spoken for years. There was a family fight a long time ago.
Beatriz lives on the outskirts of the city. She is a retired nurse. Dolores visited Beatriz that same afternoon. She was a 60-year-old woman who lived alone with three cats and memories of better times. Sara called me that night, Beatriz confirmed. I was scared. He told me that he had discovered something about Gonzalo, Ramiro’s brother, a fraud with the parents’ will. What else did he say to her? that Gonzalo had been harassing her since before the marriage. Ramiro never knew. Sara did not want to cause problems between siblings, but in recent months Gonzalo had become more aggressive.
He threatened her if she did not keep silent about the will. Why did he never declare this to the police? Beatriz lowered her gaze. My cousin Aurelio visited me two days after Sara’s death. He told me that if I opened my mouth, he would investigate my taxes, he would find irregularities where I did not know. He told me that he could destroy my life with a call. I was afraid, Dolores. I was afraid and I kept quiet. And I’ve lived with that guilt for 5k years. Would you be willing to testify now?
Beatriz looked out the window where the sun was beginning to set. Sara was my best friend. I let her innocent husband be convicted of cowardice. If testifying now can fix some of what I did wrong, I’m willing. Dolores left Beatriz’s house with a recording of her testimony and renewed hope. But when he got to his car he noticed something strange, a black vehicle parked at the end of the street, the same model he had seen in front of his house days before.
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