Act Three - The Angel’s Game — Chapter 19

Locked in a barren room all day, David Martín is rejoined at night by Inspector Víctor Grandes, who has spent hours verifying Martín’s account. Grandes reports that Doctor Trías has been dead for years, no Banco Hispano Colonial account exists for Martín or Andreas Corelli, and Martín himself commissioned the cemetery angel.

Grandes adds that the Witch of Somorrostro is long gone, the current old woman is mute, and the Güell Park mansion is abandoned. He found Irene Sabino—María Antonia Sanahuja—who denies knowing Martín and recounts Diego Marlasca’s grief, his link to Roures’s Afterlife Society, a trust for Irene and Juan “Jaco” Corbera, and Marlasca’s suicide. Ricardo Salvador was expelled from the force and left for the Americas.

Turning to Cristina Sagnier, Grandes confirms witnesses saw Martín leaving her hospital room the night she vanished, the restraints were cut, and Martín never returned to his hotel. He has spoken to Pedro Vidal, who believes Martín has lost his mind and begs for leniency, while Vidal’s father offers Marcos and Castelo a bonus to extract a confession.

Despite the overwhelming contradictions, a single detail unsettles Grandes: Martín claimed a rare copy of The Steps of Heaven was stolen the night Señor Sempere died, and Grandes spots a book in Irene’s room bearing Martín’s inscription to Sempere. This inconsistency makes him doubt the neatness of the case.

With time running out before Marcos and Castelo assume control, Grandes urges Martín to flee. When pressed, Martín admits he does not know if he killed Cristina. Grandes gives him a key and an escape route through a back stairway, and as Martín leaves, the inspector pointedly notes the angel brooch Martín always wears, leaving the moment hanging.