WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIAS Chapter Thirteen

WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIAS

Chapter Thirteen

Santana was calm, lying in his hammock... He had just arrived from the police station and was taking the opportunity to rest a little while he waited for his wife to finish making lunch. Their three children, two boys and a girl, were playing in the yard, along with other children in the village. Yes, the afternoon was quiet. A cool breeze was blowing from the south and the temperature was really pleasant. Nothing could take the delegate's peace that afternoon...

- Good afternoon, children.... is your father...?

- Paieeee...

It was Eduardo, Santana's eldest son, running home to call him...

- What is it, boy?

- There's a guy out there wanting to talk to you...

Santana got up, put on her shirt and walked out to the doorway. Still mounted, Juvêncio was waiting for him in the yard...

- Get off, young man... it's your house!

Juvencio nodded his thanks and dismounted from his horses. One of the boys took the animal's reins and led him to the stables....

- I'm sorry I came like this without warning...

- What is it, boy... You are welcome anytime...

- Thank you... I needed to talk to you...

- Let's go in! Ritinha, put another plate on the table... this guy is going to eat with us!

- What is it, Santana... I don't want to bother...

- What a nuisance, what... will you have lunch with us, yes... then we'll talk...

And Juvêncio and Santana began to talk, while Ritinha finished setting the table...now, with a guest...

After lunch, the two men began to walk through the orchard, enjoying the shade of the trees. There were several ripe fruits... it was autumn. From time to time Santana would stop under a tree, examine the fruit, then move on. They came close to a persimmon tree, laden with ripe fruit. Santana picked two, offered one to Juvêncio and ate the other. the conversation, of course, was about the latest incidents in the county... Santana related the cases, Juvêncio asked some questions... Juvêncio talked about his investigations, Santana asked some questions. And so the two of them spent the afternoon, chattering ping pong...

- Santana, do you believe in spiritual intervention?

- Like this?

- Do you believe in manifestations from the other world?

- Well, I...

- Look, I'm asking a serious question.

- I know... it's just...

- Well, the question is simple... do you believe in manifestations from the other world or not?

- Yes I believe. But of course I won't admit that to anyone.

- It's because?

- Look... if I put in a report that the cause of deaths in the region is due to a ghost... well, at best I would be exonerated...

- Did you know that my department only takes care of cases of ghosts and other animals?

- No, I didn't know...

- I was only assigned to this case because the bosses know that there are paranormal manifestations here...

- Then...

- Yes, you can talk freely with me... in fact, the more I know about your perceptions, the simpler it will be for me to reach some point...

And the two men were silent for a few seconds. Then Santana started talking, exposing all his ideas about what could be happening, including talking about Torquato's theory as one of the possible ones...

After some time listening to everything Santana had to say, Juvêncio decided to change the focus of the conversation a little... he wanted to hear the stories of the region... his fears, his beliefs... that would be important for him to be able to do a panel of what was actually happening in the surroundings. After all, legends always change from place to place... and there is always a reason for such a thing to happen. Its main focus was the legend of Jurupari, since this was Santana's main suspect, so to speak, and his assistant. Yes, he was a demon... and, yes, one of his gifts was to transform himself into some wild animal, his favorite being the jaguar... and a jaguar, standing upright, would have been as tall as of a grown man and he could, yes, stop someone's throat, leaving his head hanging by some tendons... After listening for a long time about the legends of the region, he began to ask about the residents... who they were , where they came from... finally he was satisfied... it was time to return to his room in the boarding house... he had to put all his ideas in order, and the best place for that was, without a doubt, that mattress soft bed that awaited him in his rented room... who knew... someone who had slept endless nights on the hard floors of the plains now couldn't wait to lie down on a soft mattress, with clean linens...

Finally lying on his bed, Juvêncio began to think about everything he had heard during the day. Though he had heard a lot, nothing he gathered that day lit a light on his path. He kept groping in the dark, not knowing exactly where to go. Yes, without a doubt, chasing bandits was much simpler... it was enough to find them, frame them and hand them over to the law... or to the gravedigger, depending on the situation. Well, he had only been in the region for a day... it was almost impossible to get an overview of the problem in such a short amount of time. He needed to pack some things to work on... a map of the area would be a must. He would have to get a notebook, too. He preferred to keep everything in his memory, but he had to admit... age was coming and his memory wasn't that good anymore. As well as his agility in drawing weapons. He was still fast compared to most people. But he felt very slow... so much so that if he had to challenge someone, surely that someone could supplant him without too much trouble. Yeah, time was really ticking for him. He would have to prepare someone to continue his work, when it was time to stop... thinking about it, long after his time to stop had arrived... he was still stubborn, as he still hadn't found anyone to take his place. The logical choice would be his former partner, Juquinha... now, Doctor José Carlos de Almeida, Chief Delegate of the Federal Police, responsible for the entire South/Southeast region... of course he declined the responsibility offered by Juvêncio... after all, he had a position that needed constant presence, where it was necessary to supervise his subordinates, so that the broth did not spill. And so, without having an heir to assume his mantle, Juvêncio kept on fighting, knowing that the next case could be the one that would end his career... and his life!