“You sinned with that thief without misgivings.”
“You don’t know that. Here, have a drink,” she said and handed him the flask.
Cándido grumbled, but he grabbed it while she pressed her hands together and looked down. Inés began to pray, looking at him from the corner of her eye. He gulped down the alcohol laced with the sleeping draft.
He made a face. “This hooch is awful,” he said.
“The stronger the booze, the stronger the man,” she replied challengingly. “Now hush, I’ll have to start all over again.”
He sipped the alcohol and regarded her with half-closed eyes. His hand rested upon her knee, tracing circles upon her flesh. Inés prayed ardently that he would fall asleep, or even drop dead, in the next few seconds.
“I’ve had enough. We’re leaving,” he said, and made a clumsy gesture to reach for the ignition, leaning forward.
“Wait!”
“No waiting. Let’s go.”
It was then, in despair, that she took out the rock she’d concealed in her purse—Ulises had been correct, looking for ball bearings was a useless endeavor—and hit him in the back of the head with it. She feared he would scream, but he let out a noise that was more like a gurgle, closed his eyes, and slumped down in his seat. The flask slid from his grasp and spilled upon the car’s floor.
She could not believe what had happened, and she sat there, staring at the unconscious man with wide eyes, hands trembling, until she pried the door open.
She stepped out of the car and signaled to Ulises, who shoved Cándido out of the driver’s seat and over to the passenger side. Inés climbed into the back. Ulises grabbed the wheel and they began heading in the direction of the Devil’s Chair.
“I can’t believe it actually worked,” he said.
It felt like she had a knot in her throat, but she spoke. “I told you it would.”
Ulises looked at her in the rearview mirror and she swallowed. She didn’t feel guilt, not yet at least, but she crossed her arms and stared out the window, at the trees and the stars. Ulises drove fast, taking the curves with ease. Cándido was like a slab of meat; he did not stir even when they hit a few bumps and the terrain grew more difficult. Soon they had reached the cliff that was known as the Devil’s Chair.
Ulises parked and they exited the car, looking around to figure out how they’d manage to dispose of Cándido and the vehicle.
“We’ll have to place him in the driver’s seat and jam the accelerator with something.”
“Yes, of course,” she whispered, but they didn’t move. Instead, they looked at the chasm below. It was a steep drop, dozens and dozens of meters deep. Ulises lit a cigarette and took a nervous puff, then turned to gaze at the car. Cándido remained slumped in his seat, he had not stirred an inch.
“He looks dead. What did you give him?”
“I boiled floripondio. If you have too much of it, it can kill. And then I hit him with a rock as you suggested.”
“You’re a regular Lucrezia Borgia, a natural,” he said. It sounded like a taunt, yet had an edge of approbation.
She did not reply. The wind stirred the trees. An owl hooted. Ulises looked at her and she looked back at him.
“We might as well get it done,” he said, and handed her the lit cigarette. She put it out.
He yanked open the car door and began pulling Cándido back into the driver’s seat. Suddenly the dead man opened his eyes and gasped, clutching Ulises. Shocked, Ulises remained frozen in place.
“What are you doing here?” Cándido mumbled.
Ulises sprang out of the car and fell upon the ground while Cándido winced, looked around, and caught sight of Inés. This set him off like tinder. He opened his eyes wide. All at once he must have understood his plight and the general contours of the situation.
He yelled, it was a vicious roar, and threw himself atop Ulises, circling his neck with his hands.
“Fucker!” he yelled.
Cándido was bigger than Ulises, and rage seemed to provide him with a prodigious strength; Ulises was unable to shove him aside, not an inch. He was pinned underneath, scrabbling at the dirt while Cándido roared obscenities.
Inés reached for her purse. With sweaty hands she gripped the rock she’d used before and slammed it down on Cándido’s head. This time, however, the blow seemed to have no effect. Cándido’s spittle hit Ulises in the face, and she was forced to deliver another blow.
