Page 20 of Daring

"Earlier, you said they had kidnapped Mikel Blanco in the trunk of your car, a car they claim disappeared with him inside. Clarify that for me."

"It was just bad luck. We had already contacted Teodoro's people and negotiated the ransom. That parking lot seemed perfect for us to wait, big, poorly lit, and with no surveillance. We had sedated the guy, and we knew he wouldn't wake up and therefore wouldn't attract attention. There were a few hours left for the exchange..."

"Where was it supposed to take place?" the sergeant interrupts.

"They had to leave a bag with the money in the bus station parking lot, and once picked up and verified, we would give them Blanco's location."

"The bar parking lot."

"Yes. As I was saying, there were a few hours left for the exchange, and Piqui insisted on waiting inside the bar. It was going to be the deal of our lives, imagine," he laments with a snort.

No, Cruz can't imagine.

"All I can imagine is that one of your colleagues is in the morgue, and the other is teetering between life and death. You're lucky that patrol happened to be there."

Sergio Perea stays silent for a few seconds, lost in thought about how quickly things went wrong.

"I told Piqui it was better to stay in the car, but he insisted," he continues explaining. "We started drinking, you know, and our heads got hot enough for the keys to disappear without either of us realizing."

"They stole the car keys?" Sergeant Cruz asks, astonished. "Inside the bar?"

"It had to be there. When we came out and Piqui couldn't find them, we assumed maybe he dropped them on the way to the bathroom or on the way to the bar when we got out of the car. But when we reached the parking lot and saw the car was gone, we understood someone must have taken them."

"Whose car was it?" the sergeant tries to confirm, finding the story so surreal that she has no choice but to believe it.

"Piqui's."

"And where did he leave the keys for someone to take them?"

"He always had this habit of leaving everything on the table, keys, wallet, phone. The guy would walk into a bar and empty his pockets like he was at home. I always warned him to be more careful, but, well."

"Yes, I see."

Sergeant Cruz notes down the car's model, color, and license plate details she couldn't capture at the crime scene when Sergio Perea began hyperventilating during questioning, and the paramedic insisted on taking him. She makes a call to her colleague, asking him to verify the information, then hangs up and continues questioning Sergio Perea.

"Did you talk to anyone while you were in the bar?"

"Not that I remember. The three of us sat alone at a table, and we didn't exchange a word with anyone."

The sergeant jots down a reminder to return to the bar and interview the bartender. Her police mind races, exploring possibilities. What if the bartender overheard the three men discussing their plan and took advantage of serving them drinks to snatch the keys? It seems unlikely, considering he was the one who alerted the patrol. Nevertheless, she must check.

"Do you recall anything strange happening? Anyone suspicious in the bar?"

"No, nothing," Sergio asserts, though his answers in that regard provide little help to the sergeant, given that all three were drinking enough to be oblivious.

"Alright. How did they kidnap Mikel Blanco?" she asks, shifting gears.

"By chance, like I said. We knew the police was after his old man, and we figured they'd cough up a nice sum for him. We'd been investigating and tailing his men for a few weeks, hoping to locate him. Yesterday, Piqui and I were on stakeout in the car after trailing one of his guys to a warehouse. Jackpot! He walked in, and minutes later, Mikel walked out. Caught us off guard, didn't expect that jerk to be there, let alone strolling alone. We revved up the car, blocked his path, hopped out before he could react, and Piqui smacked him on the head with whatever he found. Threw him in the trunk and peeled out."

Sergeant Cruz Ortega is astonished by what she hears but says nothing and continues jotting down notes.

"How did you contact Teodoro?"

"With his son's phone. We snatched it and took it to a friend who unlocks them for fifty bucks in no time. The contacts were all coded, you know, like nicknames or business names, pizza place, florist, tobacco shop, and such. We randomly called one, and the guy who answered thought it was Mikel calling. He wouldn't spill who he was, but he had to be someone powerful in the organization, close to Teodoro, 'cause he handled the whole negotiation. You know the rest."

"No, I don't. How much was Teodoro willing to pay you?"

"We asked for three million, one for each of us. Since we were risking our necks, we wanted it big."

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