Brazil, 23rd December 2008
David went home. Not having a horse he took a long time to get there, but they could not have landed any closer for fear of someone’s seeing the lights of Galzu’s ship. The boy was several miles from the house, but the walk would do him good. He could take the opportunity to think about everything he had witnessed and to plan his next moves. The green stone in his ring was giving out a light which gradually went out as he moved further away from where the ship had left him. it was night now and his parents would probably be getting ready for bed. When he got to the house he saw all the lights were out. ‘That’s impossible; mother doesn’t usually switch off the lights.’ he went up the old wooden steps that led to the door at the front of the house. When he got to the veranda he saw there was a piece of paper stuck on the door, and it was sealed by two black and yellow tapes. It was dark and David couldn’t read what was written on the paper, so he took it to the edge of the veranda where he could read it by the light of the moon. It read: “Crime Scene – No unauthorized Entry. Civil Police of Assis-SP”.
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‘My God, what has happened here? Where are my parents?’ David broke open the door with a single kick and ran desperately into the house. he switched on the lights and as soon as the living room was lit up, he saw a great bloodstain on the floor. He began to cry and fell to his knees, trying to grasp what had happened. He hurried round the house, trying to find anything that would give him a clue as to what had happened there. He went upstairs and down again, then ran to the barn where he saw that the animals had gone. he ran to the garage where there was still an old truck; the other cars had disappeared. he started the truck and drove madly into the town. in a few minutes he reached the police station. he left the truck in the street and ran inside.
‘Please, I have to speak to the officer in charge. I found this on the door of my house. Where are my parents?’ asked David, desperate and nervous.
‘Calm down, son, you’ll have a heart attack. Take it easy and we can talk.’
‘i can’t calm down till i know where my parents are.’
‘Tell me, where is your house.’
‘Beija-Flor Farm,’ he replied at once.
‘Good Lord, you must be David!’
‘Yes, that’s me. Tell me what’s going on.’
‘Sit down here, lad, and I’ll tell you what happened… Two days ago a neighboring farmer went to the house to talk to your father. The door was open and he found your parents dead in the front room.’
‘Dead? What do you mean, dead? It can’t be true.’
‘It was a brutal murder, the worst that’s happened in the history of our town. They were decapitated, it was horrible. It made the 238
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papers all over the world. We even thought the killers had kidnapped you, as your parents had been in here some days before to report you missing. Where were you?’
David had heard no more after the word decapitated. He was practically in a state of shock. his head was spinning and he could already imagine who had done it. Probably his enemies had gone looking for him and had killed his parents when they weren’t able to tell them where he was.
‘This can’t be happening to me, it’s a nightmare.’
‘David, tell us: where’ve you been all this time?’
‘I… I was traveling. I went on a trip and I didn’t tell anyone, or my father wouldn’t have let me go.’
‘i see. have you got any idea who could have done this to your parents?’
‘Yes. I mean… No, I haven’t.’
‘Well, have you or haven’t you?’
‘No, I have no idea. Nobody would do this to them. Everyone liked them,’ replied David, sobbing.
‘We’re working on the hypothesis that it could have been one of your competitors in the coffee business; after all, you are the major producers in the region and there are witnesses who say this was upsetting a lot of people.’
‘i don’t know about that… i must see my parents.’
‘That’s not possible - they were cremated. The family took them to são Paulo for the cremation.’
‘And what’s happened to all the animals?’
‘They are at the farm next door. The farmer is looking after the animals until your uncle and aunt recover from the shock and can 239
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take over the work at the farm. Which reminds me, we must tell them you are oK.’
‘Wait, did you say my parents came here some days ago to report that I was missing?’
‘That’s so.’
‘And what did you do?’
‘We put your photo and description in the national register of missing persons. Your father went on television to spread the news of your disappearance, it cost him a fair penny for the national network. Your photo was all over Brazil. As for their deaths, I can’t understand how you didn’t hear about it; it was in the media here and abroad. And the tabloids said that you had done away with your parents and run off with your inheritance.’
‘oh God, so that’s how they found me here, they must have recognized me from the photo and come after me. It’s all my fault,’ David was thinking as he strode up and down. ‘i’ve got to get out of here; they’ll be looking for me.’
‘i’m going back to the farm. i’ll speak to my uncle and aunt later.’
‘Are you sure, boy? We need you back here tomorrow to take an official statement from you, when you are less upset.’
‘Alright, I’ll come back tomorrow if I can,’ said David as he left the police station.
David got into the truck, shut the door and began to shout and weep despairingly. For the second time he had lost his parents.
He was terribly sad about what had happened to his parents, but even so he couldn’t feel hate towards his enemies. he felt sorry for them. he wasn’t looking for revenge. it was a strange feeling he had never felt before. he took a few minutes to calm 240
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down, then dried his tears, started the truck and set off towards the farm.
‘i’ll sleep a bit and tomorrow i’ll leave for the united states. This has got to stop.’
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