Page 111 of Royal Caleva: Luis

“Unfortunately, her refusal drove Camacho off the deep end,” Mikel said. “He developed a deep hatred of the U.S. military presence in Caleva, and he holds Su Majestad responsible for it. That led him to concoct an elaborate plan to poison you, Señor.” Mikel paused for a moment. “I believe it was a way to sublimate his anguish at losing his daughter and grandson.”

“Which he brought on himself,” Raul said without sympathy.

Luis understood the man’s agony at being separated from his child and grandchild, but he felt no sympathy for him.

“First, he got elected to the Consejo de los Ciudadanos because he felt that would be the best way to gain access to the palace,” Mikel said. “He attached himself to the group of malcontents who would be most likely to meet with you, in this case about the naval base’s lease since it’s in his district. He is a professor of mathematics at the university, which allowed him to use the school’s chemistry laboratory. There, he created the poisoned pages in the book, using thallium rat poison that he obtained from Eastern Europe.”

“A book?” Lorenzo asked.

“He presented me with a recently published volume about fencing history and strategy,” Luis said. “He even recommended particular chapters to read. I wonder if those pages held the most poison.”

“It was inspected via the usual security measures, including testing random pages for harmful substances,” Mikel said, his voice without inflection, but Luis saw the hollowness of failure in his eyes. “The poisoned pages were not among those tested in the initial inspection.”

“An elaborate plan indeed,” Lorenzo said. “The man must be highly intelligent in a twisted way.”

“I’m almost flattered,” Luis murmured. “And a little surprised.” Camacho didn’t seem like a criminal mastermind.

Mikel’s lips tightened. “Camacho claims he did not wish you to die, so he infused only scattered pages with the thallium. He just wished you to suffer some of the pain that he felt.”

“His intention is unimportant,” Lorenzo snapped. “He poisoned the king.”

“He will be tried and sentenced, Lorenzo,” Luis said. “With the full force of the law. But not until after we have introduced Grace to Caleva. Let joy reign first.”

“That completes the summary of my report,” Mikel said. “I would be happy to answer any questions.”

“Questions can wait until I’ve read the report,” Luis said, eyeing the couch again.

Lorenzo and Raul understood the meeting was at an end and stood.

“May I speak with you privately, Señor?” Mikel asked.

Luis swallowed a groan. “Of course.”

His son and brother said their farewells.

Mikel set his laptop on the desk and flipped it open. “I would like to play you part of the recording of the interrogation.”

“By all means,” Luis said as Mikel swiped at the laptop’s screen.

“This is taken from the camera that records the prisoner head-on so that facial expressions and body language can be analyzed later,” Mikel explained as he started the video.

Felipe Camacho sat in a cone of light with dimness surrounding him. His mane of white hair hung limply around his face, and he sat slumped in a metal chair, his handcuffed hands resting on a metal table.

Mikel’s voice came from off-camera. “You call yourself a patriot, wanting Caleva to be only for Calevans. Yet you attempted to murder your king, which is not the act of a loyal Calevan. Why?”

Camacho’s head snapped up. “No! I did not try to murder him! I only wanted him to feel the daily pain that I feel. He would not die. She promised me that.”

“She?” Mikel asked. “Who is she?”

Luis’s fatigue vanished as his attention was riveted on the man in the chair.

Camacho shook his head, his lips pressed together.

“Who is she?” Mikel’s voice was implacable. “She caused you to nearly commit regicide. You owe her no loyalty. Who is she?”

But Luis knew. And it explained the complexity of the scheme to poison him.

“I don’t know,” the prisoner said. “I never met her. She never told me her real name.”

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