"Can I ask you something, Dortmund?" Captain Riestra told the inspector.
He gave her a warm, unemotional look. He did not answer, but the captain noticed in time that his words bothered him and he chose to go into silence. Or Dortmund was in a bad mood that day or he loved propasase with his role of difficult man. Whatever the matter, it was only a few seconds before the inspector folded his arms, stared at Captain Riestra, and said,
_ Ask, please.
Captain Riestra settled down and asked something shy:
_ What is your favorite card game? Bridge, basket, poker, trick ...?
Sean Dortmund looked at him reproachfully.
_ I thought your doubt would take a more professional approach.
_ Good. To be honest, I was hoping that my curiosity would awaken in you some idea of some old case that you have had to investigate or solve.
"It's about the seven players, right?" Dortmund asked suspiciously.
Captain Riestra laughed a little more resignedly and said,
_ I do not know what pushed me to want to deceive him in the most crude way that exists. Yes, it's about that case. I would like to hear your opinion about him. It seems all so supernatural to me.
Dortmund spread a subtle smile on his face.
_ Then, go ahead. I'm all ears. Be brief and concise with the details and details of the case.
_ Juan Alberto Torrente, Gerardo Irurtia, Leandro Rangazzi, Bruno Chávez, Rómulo Francosi, Anselmo Luana and Ricardo Poglioti are seven friends who are known all their lives and who share a common passion: their fanaticism for poker. They meet to play every Tuesday night, always at someone else's house. It's like a ritual, I would say. They make bets of all kinds, from economic to the most insignificant and unusual. Three days ago the date coincided with Halloween, October 31, and the seven agreed that the bet should respond to that celebration. The initiative was approved unanimously. When Anselmo Luana threw his idea, there was no longer the possibility of deciding about it: betting on life. It sounds creepy and terrifying, but the idea responded to something more superfluous and metaphorical. It involved living the life of another, technically the loser, for six days. Each day for the six consecutive days it was the turn of a different one. It is something nefarious and irrational, but to them it seemed amusing, thinking that nothing could go wrong. Who delivered the cards that day in the first hand was Ricardo Poglioti. The party stretched out to thirteen hands. In none of the previous twelve came a single ace, but in the thirteenth division came the ace of hearts that touched Leandro Rangazzi. Did you hear that, Inspector Dortmund? Hand thirteen on October 31, the only ace of the whole party came out: at four o'clock, Mr. Rangazzi died as a result of a heart failure, found dead in his bed by his sister. And do you know what he held between his fingers? An ace of hearts. It is awful! The prosecutor investigated the other six but released them because he did not find enough elements to relate them to the death of Leandro Rangazzi, and the cause was labeled as "finding a cause of death." The autopsy revealed no foreign substance, no poison or drugs or anything of the sort. And most striking of all is that Mr. Rangazzi did not suffer from heart disease, he was a completely healthy man. His death is an insoluble mystery. We perused the scene a thousand times and found nothing incriminating against any of the other six.
At this point, Dortmund interrupted the story:
Did they find traces in the ace found in the victim's possession?
"No, just Mr. Rangazzi's own," said Captain Riestra.
_ And the lock of the entrance door to the house was forced?
_ No. Definitely not.
Dortmund shook his head as if an idea had attacked him, but he refrained from commenting and told Captain Riestra to go on with the story.
"What do you think, Inspector Dortmund?" Captain Riestra ventured to inquire before continuing.
"The only thing possible," he said thoughtfully, "is that Mr. Rangazzi has been injected with air." The air covers the veins, blocks the lungs and causes a general failure in the body, which results in sudden cardiac arrest. At the moment, I can not tell you anything else. Proceed, please.
Just a week after this incident, the others returned to meet at Mr. Torrente's house to play. It's disgusting to think about that. They did not respect at all the memory of his deceased friend. But still they followed, and the mystery and the drama returned to be the protagonists. On that occasion, that is, two Tuesday ago, the aces refused to participate in the game. Gerardo Irurtia was the one who divided on this occasion. He left the ace of spades in the middle of the game and fell to the Mr. Torrente. The next morning, the six of them went to the cemetery to honor Mr. Rangazzi's memory. As they were retreating, Juan Alberto Torrente tripped over a branch and fell to the ground, but he did not rise, so Rómulo Francosi bent down to help him get up and when he touched his chest, something red impregnated his hand. When they turned him upside down ... He had a sharp spade nailed to his heart and in his hand he held the Ace of Spades! It seemed utterly impossible, since no one approached him. They kept a considerable distance and it would have been difficult to kill in this way without the rest noticing anything strange. But now it was clear that it was a murder, but the clues did not lead us anywhere and everything was left unclarified. We traced the spade and it was part of a collection of old weapons that the own victim possessed in the living room of his house. From there the murderer extracted it. And so I believe that it is no coincidence that the game of poker was held at Mr. Torrente's house.
Now five friends were left standing and although they were marked by the tragedy, the ambition of the game was stronger and they reunited the following Tuesday, that is, the Tuesday of last week. Bruno Chávez dealt that time and the aces did not see the light, until the ace of diamonds went to the hands of Anselmo Luana. With two unpleasant antecedents, Mr. Luana shuddered from head to toe, he was frightened and went anguished that night of the house of Francosi. The next day, he was found dead in his bed and the cause of death was by mechanical asphyxiation, probably carried out with his own pillow. And guess what? He was robbed of a collection of oriental diamonds he kept in the second drawer of his little table, and between the fingers of his left hand, they left him the diamonds. The stones themselves were a memory that his parents brought back from Turkey three years ago. They certified it themselves. Another murder and again we were adrift with clues and evidence. The prosecutor and the judge are getting irrational, and unless we have something firm, this is going to get worse and it's going to fall apart.
That's why he came to consult me, I understand. And even more, we can not ignore that today is Tuesday and that a fourth man is going to lose his life if we do not avoid it in time.
Only you can help us solve this case successfully.
Dortmund was flattered.
_ Who knew about the existence of the diamonds in the possession of Mr. Luana? _ Asked immediately.
_ Everybody. There were no secrets between them, "replied Captain Riestra.
_ I will do the honors. Trust me I'll figure it out. It's not such a complicated affair, after all.
_ Do you already know everything? "Dortmund, how ...?" Emphasized Captain Riestra in despair.
_ Because I was based on what you told me and not on the facts themselves. That the ace leaves at a certain moment and touches a certain person responds to a simple trap and skill of hands. If I have the ace in a certain position of the deck, there are techniques of false and very effective repartociones to give it. Do not forget, Captain Riestra, that you are experienced poker players and you know many secrets that the profane are completely unaware of.
_ But, how is it possible that the rest of the aces never leave?
_ Everything is in the ability of hands. But is it a proven fact?
_ It was what they declared.
_ Then we do not know! It is only the statement of four people suspected of murder. And remember that Argentine law does not force you to declare truth, but you can lie. Do not forget that.
_ But, who was in particular? Dortmund, by God!
_ Remember my words: skill with cards is essential. Ricardo Poglioti was the first to play the game on October 31. The next Tuesday, that task was delegated to Mr. Irurtia. In the cemetery, remember that Mr. Rómulo Francosi discovered that Mr. Torrente had a spike in his chest, and Bruno Chávez delivered the letters in the session last Tuesday, in which Mr. Luana died.
_ You mean that ...?
_ It was a plan designed and brilliantly executed by Ricardo Poglioti, Bruno Chávez, Gerardo Irurtia and Rómulo Francosi.
"Dortmund, forgive me for being confused. And today?
_ Nothing is going to happen today because three are dead and four are those who conspired in their deaths. They wanted the police to think that today the fourth would die but it is an absurd and false idea.
If Mr. Leandro Rangazzi died four hours after departure, it is sensible to suppose that the cause of death was due to carbon monoxide poisoning.
_ They opened the gas valve in their sleep.
_ Yes, I take it for granted. Mr. Francosi (I am sure that he was the executor of all crimes) or, failing that, one of the other three, followed Mr. Rangazzi to his house cautiously, He waited for the poison to act and when he was sure that he had already died, he went back in, closed the valve and left, always wearing gloves to avoid leaving any trace that would identify him, but not before leaving a symbolic heart ace among the Fingers of the body. That's why the sister found him the next morning without anything happening to her.
On the following Tuesday, when they met at Mr. Torrente's house, taking advantage of the fact that he owned a collection of old weapons, Mr. Francosi had to steal the pica with absolute caution and discretion. Then, in the cemetery, he made Mr. Torrente adventurous, and when he gave in to assist him, he took the weapon out of his pocket and threw it at it, and let the suit slip. Remember the story, Captain Riestra: Mr. Francosi was the only one who bent to help Mr. Torrente rise. And it was probably Mr. Francosi himself who smothered Mr. Luana by operating in a similar way as he did the first victim. The four were very cautious to leave no clues. In addition, they agreed to declare the same and be the alibis of the others.
_ But why? To what cell responds all this madness?
_ Simply, for the diamonds of Mr. Luana. Jewels like this are invaluable. I think Mr. Rangazzi was killed because he knew the plan and decided that he was a threat and they eliminated him. It is possible, then, that Mr. Rangazzi secretly witnessed some conversation which the others maintained in plotting the whole plan step by step. As for Mr. Torrente, it occurs to me to think that he did not want to be part of something like that and he was killed as a traitor and also to avoid being exposed, and I interpret it this way because pica means limitations and adversity. And so I associate Leandro Rangazzi's death with carbon monoxide: because the heart symbolizes the circulatory system, on which gas acts by substituting oxygen for hemoglobin, and given its characteristics, it becomes very difficult to detect it in the body.
So, then, I infer that the primary objective of the plan was Mr. Luana. The figure of the diamond symbolizes wealth and the end. The ace of diamonds anticipated the reason for his early murder.
_ Dortmund: you are brilliant! I only need the tests and we have them. These guys left no traces of any kind.
_ But I know how you can get them because I have a small plan that can not fail. We have the advantage that today is Tuesday and that they are completely unaware that we already know the whole truth. They left the clover ace for the end because the clover symbolizes luck, which they believe they achieved with the ruthless execution of the plan. I'm sorry to disappoint you.
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