The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, #2
The Angel's Game
by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Contents
Act Three - The Angel’s Game — Chapter 18
Overview
Inspector Víctor Grandes interrogates David Martín privately, urging a full confession centered on Cristina’s whereabouts. David narrates his history and investigation but withholds the crucial truth about Cristina. Under pressure from powerful interests and a telegram naming David as suspect, Grandes grants 24 hours before harsher methods prevail.
Summary
In a stark, sunlit room at police headquarters, Inspector Víctor Grandes dismisses Marcos and Castelo and lays out photographs of the case’s dead: Valera, Marlasca’s widow, Roures, Cristina on her wedding day, and David’s former publishers. He invites David to tell the whole story.
David speaks for hours, retracing his life from his father’s murder and his years at The Voice of Industry to Andreas Corelli’s offer, his work for Vidal, and the deceptions surrounding the tower house and Diego Marlasca. He admits his suspicions about Marlasca and Irene Sabino, but omits the vital truth about Cristina, claiming only a trail lost in the snow.
Grandes then reveals a telegram from Puigcerdà: Cristina has vanished from the sanatorium, and David is the main suspect. Powerful pressure—especially from Pedro Vidal’s father—forces the inspector to proceed carefully, buying time before violence.
Grandes challenges David’s fantastical claims about Corelli, souls, and curses, demanding Cristina’s location. David insists he cannot help and urges the inspector to verify his leads and find Marlasca and Irene Sabino instead.
As stakes escalate, Grandes sets a 24-hour deadline to produce Cristina alive or cede the case to Marcos and Castelo, who favor brutality. David refuses to reveal anything further, leaving the inspector angry but constrained.
Who Appears
- David MartínProtagonist; interrogated by Grandes, recounts his history and investigation but conceals the truth about Cristina.
- Inspector Víctor GrandesLead investigator; listens to David’s account, reveals telegram about Cristina, and grants a 24-hour ultimatum.
- Cristina SagnierSubject of the case; reported missing from the sanatorium, central leverage in the interrogation.
- MarcosBrutal policeman; sidelined initially but poised to take over if Grandes fails.
- CasteloBrutal policeman; shares Marcos’s eagerness to use violence if given control.
- Diego MarlascaLawyer presumed dead; alleged architect of a murderous plot, whom David urges Grandes to find.
- Irene SabinoMarlasca’s accomplice; implicated by David in theft and killing, a key target to locate.
- Pedro VidalDavid’s former mentor; his wife Cristina’s disappearance brings his powerful family into the case.
- Vidal’s fatherInfluential powerbroker; pressures police to resolve Cristina’s disappearance discreetly.