WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIES Chapter Forty-Three

 WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIES

Chapter Forty-Three

Santana was devastated. The previous day's prediction had come true. In the worst possible way. When the first rays of sunlight illuminated the city, thirteen lifeless bodies were found around it. All slaughtered in the same way... half-severed head. Not a drop of blood at the scene...

Doctor Carneiro entered the delegate's office. Head down. Shot down. He didn't expect the police chief and teacher's prediction to come true... especially with so much violence, as it happened...

Around ten o'clock the bodies began to arrive at the morgue. It was necessary to identify the victims, notify their relatives and arrange for their grave. After all, what else could you do in such circumstances?

Marieta found two volunteers to help her wash and prepare the bodies. They were not going to do an autopsy, since they already knew what had happened. Furthermore, they wouldn't find anything new in the bodies...

After a superficial examination, more to identify the bodies than anything else, Carneiro went to Santana's office... as on other occasions, none of the victims were a son of the city... they were all outsiders, caught by surprised by the violence of the night...

- Santana, you... you... how did you manage to get it right about the dead of the night?

- I told you yesterday, Carneiro... the signs... we were warned by the signs.

- And the injuries are exactly the same as in previous cases....it's as if a repetition of the situation was occurring....how could that be possible?!

- Do you have any idea what weapon the killer used?

- Oh, that's simple... the strength that Deputy Juvêncio gave me goes well with the cuts...

- They used a claw?!

- Yes... but I think the claw was still stuck in the animal's paw...

- Like this?

- I believe Juvêncio is right... the cuts are made by the dinosaur...

- What the hell kind of animal is that?

- Oh, it's an animal that shouldn't exist... I think he told you something about it...

- Well, he asked me about a lizard...... like I said, if there were a lizard like that around here, someone would have seen it already...

- I agree... but the animal's characteristics match the attacks... and Juvêncio doesn't seem like a man who is easily suggested...

- Then...

- Well, if we define a two-meter-tall lizard as the first suspect, we just need to find out who is with him... because, for sure, he is not the one who drinks the victims' blood...

- And why not, doctor?

- I may be wrong, but lizards are carnivorous... I never knew of any species that was hematophagous...

- Ema... what?

- It feeds exclusively on blood... if it were the lizard that was after its prey, it would eat the corpse. Although...

- But what?

- Apart from the head being almost torn from the body, and apart from the absence of blood, there are no other types of injuries to the victims...

Santana scratched his head, discouraged. Now he had to find out who... or what... was killing the people on the outskirts of town. He had to stay alert to warn travelers approaching the city, so that they wouldn't be caught by surprise... and the delegate who came from the Capital to help was still missing... yes, he had a bomb in his hands...

- Are you going to hire more helpers?

- I'll need it... I just don't know if I'll be able to...

- Why?

- Well... those who are good with weapons are usually on the other side of the law... those who follow the laws usually don't know how to use weapons...

- But there must be some cowboys who could serve the position...

- The ones I arrest every weekend? Doesn't seem like a good idea to me...

- Well, someone's going to have to help you. Even more so now that Torquato has disappeared...

- Don't even tell me... Torquato and Juvêncio... what a great help they are giving me...

- Do you know if any campaign will be passing through our city these days?

- Thank God, there's nothing on the horizon. The last thing I needed at the moment was a herd crossing the city right now...

- Yeah... really, we're in a forest without a dog...

- Well, you have to say "goodbye" to your trip...

- For now... but after we resolve this situation, I intend to travel, yes...

And the two were silent for a few moments, immersed in their own thoughts. Suddenly Santana found herself thinking about Matilde, the teacher. It's funny, they had known each other for so long and I had never noticed how beautiful she was... those golden curls were a temptation, without a doubt... and when she smiled... which wasn't very common, as she was a very seriously, due to her position at school... my God, those dimples on her face were something out of this world... Santana shook her head... this wasn't the time to think about the teacher... there were more urgent things to think about... was she committed to someone? He needed to find out… but what the hell was he thinking? Two missing... two, no... five! Thirteen dead... and he's thinking about the teacher? Focus, boy... focus! The problem now was to find out what was happening in the city... where this man came from... what could he call it?... This monster that attacked the unwary... yes, it was better to focus on the problem at hand... .

As for the good doctor, he continued to dream of the comfort that that "car" would provide him, when he finally acquired one... He had already spoken to a representative of a North American company... Fort... Forj... Ford. .. well, it was a name that started with "F"... from what he learned through correspondence with friends, this company was building some vehicles that, in addition to being strong and robust, also excelled in comfort... yes, He was going to buy his car... as soon as it was possible to go to Santos... I hope this Lagartão case would be resolved soon... And Carneiro was determined... once this case was over, he would retire. He was going to leave everything in Marieta's capable hands... and for her to hold the firecracker, because if she couldn't, someone would definitely come to take her place...

As you can see, although they were involved in a scandalous case... they couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel... their thoughts were far from future victims... each one was thinking about things that had nothing to do with the problem they experienced... which is perfectly normal for human beings. When you're facing a problem that apparently has no solution, you tend to run away to other, milder matters... it's a way to maintain your sanity... and analyze the problem more calmly. Sometimes he even manages to find the solution...