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CHAPTER TWO

A plan to kill

In another area of the city, Roberto Bocuzzi and his brother, Carlos, were afraid. They were afraid that the woman on the motorbike who saw their faces would tell the police. Roberto and Carlos had $50,000 from a bank robbery and now they were rich. But they couldn’t enjoy the money because the police were looking for them and this woman knew their faces. They didn’t want her to tell the police. So they waited and made plans. They made plans to kill the woman on the motorbike.

A week after the accident Cristina went back to work. She felt better and she really wanted to go back to her new job as soon as possible. She only got a headache now at the end of the day when she was tired. Her mother stopped visiting her in the flat but she bought a lot of food. She put it in the fridge so that Cristina didn’t have to go shopping for a few days. Cristina went back to her old life. She wanted to go back to the gym too but it was too early.

‘Be careful for a week or two,’ the doctor said. ‘Don’t do too much. Remember, you were lucky. You can’t remember the accident, but it was a bad one. You lost your memory and you were lucky not to lose your life.’

For two weeks Cristina worked on the Impressionist exhibition. She read a lot about the Paris museum and made plans for the director of the museum, Philippe Maudet, to visit Buenos Aires.

She took the bus to the museum in the morning now, or walked when she had time. She worked all day and then went home. She went to bed early and tried to rest a lot.

A few weeks after the accident Cristina went back to the Recoleta Health Club. She looked through the window into the office and smiled at the two people in there, Florencia and Daniel. Florencia was the receptionist and Daniel was the gym manager of the health club. Daniel was new there but he already looked at home in the gym. He spent most of his time in the office but he exercised a lot when the gym was closed to other people. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. Visitors to Argentina often talked about how many blonde, blue-eyed Argentines there were.

Cristina changed into her sports clothes and went into the gym. She only did a few exercises and then she went to have a shower. Daniel met her near the door.

‘You’re back,’ he said. ‘Were you on holiday?’ Cristina didn’t know what to say. She didn’t think anybody knew she had been away.

‘I had a motorbike accident,’ she answered at last. ‘I was in hospital for a short time.’

Daniel looked at her. ‘Are you OK now?’ he asked.

‘I’m much better, but I only did a few exercises in the gym today. I still have to go slowly,’ answered Cristina.

Daniel smiled and Cristina felt better. ‘Be careful then,’ he said and then he walked back to his office.

Cristina took a shower and thought about Daniel. She didn’t know many people in the city center - most of her friends lived near her parents’ house - and she hoped Daniel would become a friend.

Cristina was tired that evening, but for the first time she didn’t have a headache. She could finally forget about the accident and start living again.

On the other side of the city, Roberto Bocuzzi also felt better. He and his brother, Carlos, bought all the newspapers from the day of the robbery and the motorbike accident and looked at them carefully. They read a lot of stories about the bank robbery and then, finally, they found a story about the motorbike accident. It said that the woman worked in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. They now knew who the woman who saw them was.

Every morning for almost a week Roberto stood outside the museum and waited. But he didn’t see her. Then, a week after the accident he saw a woman walking towards the museum. When she got nearer he saw that it was the woman he was waiting for. He remembered her long hair. He remembered her face. Roberto didn’t want her to see him, but there were a lot of people in the street so it was not difficult to hide. She walked quickly past him and she didn’t look at him. She walked through the door of the museum. Roberto looked at his watch. It was just before half past eight.

Roberto went to the bar behind the museum, the Cafe de Las Artes. He bought a cup of coffee and phoned his brother. Then he left the area quickly and took the bus home.

At three o’clock that afternoon Roberto left his flat again. At the bus stop near his home he waited for one of the colorful old city buses. The ride across the city center was slow and uncomfortable but at four o’clock he was outside the museum. He saw Cristina leave the building at four thirty. He followed her along Avenida del Libertador. She walked so fast that he almost had to run. After about fifteen minutes Roberto watched Cristina walk in through some glass doors. Above the doors he saw the name “Recoleta Health Club” in red letters.

Roberto found a bar with tables outside. From his table he could see the door of the health club. He waited until he saw Cristina leave the gym and followed her home. He followed her for a few more days. He wanted to know if she did the same thing every day. He also wanted to visit the gym before he decided how to kill her.