The Mayor of Palomares

Chapter 12

10 am, Wednesday 26th January 1966
Farmacia Garcia, Palomares, Spain

Jose Maria went to the door of the café and glanced over at the farmacia. It was open for business. He told his few customers he'd be back in a minute and crossed the square.

The American he now knew as Juan Delgado was in the shop with the mayor's niece. They were both dusting the bottles and packets of patent medicines that lined the shelves and talking together quietly. Ampara laughed softly as she turned to attend to him.

'I need to speak with Senor Garcia,' Jose Maria explained.

'He's in the back doing some paperwork. Go through, he won't mind,' Ampara told him.

Jose Maria found the mayor examining prescriptions and receipts then noting everything in a large ledger. He looked up at his visitor.

'Yes, Jose Maria, what is it?'

'It's the American major, Alcalde. He's acting very strangely. Every time a customer comes in he goes over to them and shows them a piece of paper. On the paper, he has written a list of animals that he wants for 1,000 pesetas.'

'What sort of animals?'

'A donkey, goat, cow and a couple more,'

'For 1,000 pesetas?'

'Yes, I thought he might want to buy meat for the soldiers at the camp.'

'Americans don't eat donkeys, Jose Maria. I don't think they eat goats either.'

'Whatever it is, I thought you should know, Alcalde. I have to get back to my customers.'

'Yes, thank you, Jose Maria. You were right to come and tell me. I'll think about it and ask Juan. Perhaps he might know what the major is doing.'

***

When Jose Maria got back to his café he found Jaime Bordallo waiting impatiently at the bar. Jaime asked for a large glass of red wine and, as it was being poured, Major Kinsella came over, took a piece of paper from his shirt pocket, and slid it onto the countertop in front of him. Bordallo looked at it with interest as he picked up his glass of wine and slurped noisily.

'What does he want?' Bordallo demanded of the café owner.

'We think he wants to buy meat,' Jose Maria shrugged.

Jaime scraped his unshaven chin thoughtfully and then began miming eating actions in front of Kinsella.

'You – want - it – to - eat?' he enunciated slowly.

Kinsella scowled at the farmer as if he was an idiot and then shook his head vigorously and pointed to his own eyes.

'He only wants to see a donkey!' Bordallo exclaimed gleefully. 'He'll pay 1,000 pesetas just to see a donkey. I've heard about these stupid rich tourists who throw money about like it's going out of fashion!'

Jaime drained his glass, slammed a few coins onto the bar, and beckoned to the American major.

'What are you doing?' Jose Maria asked.

'I'm going to show him a donkey, of course. I can use 1,000 pesetas!'

***

The village of Palomares was half a kilometre inland from the sea, in a location where the original settlers had discovered the freshwater spring which had served the community for hundreds of years. A narrow road led down to the coast, where a few fishermen's cottages bordered a picturesque sandy bay. Completely undiscovered and undisturbed by the recent influx of tourists, the bay supported a few families who made their living from the sea, in a way that hadn't changed in living memory.

Jaime Bordallo knew that the fishermen kept some donkeys used for hauling their boats up onto the beach, and this is where he led Major Kinsella. Sure enough, when they arrived, two donkeys were tethered under a shady pine tree overhanging a patch of scrubby grass.

To Jaime's surprise, the American completely ignored the two donkeys and began pacing up and down, obviously looking for something else. He turned to Jaime in frustration and used his hands to form the shape of a house.

'Casa?' he appealed.

Bordallo pointed towards the fishermen's cottages further down the beach.

'No, no!' Kinsella exhorted, and pointed at the donkeys as he repeated "casa" several times.

Jaime got the idea.

'No casa,' he said, shaking his head slowly. 'Aqui ... Aqui.'

The major finally realized that the donkeys lived outside all year. They didn't have a stable or barn. He decided to try something else. He took out his piece of paper, shoved it under his new friend's nose, and tapped the list of animals.

Bordallo squinted at the list again. He didn't know of any horses or bulls nearby. There was a goatherd who lived on the slopes of the mountain behind Palomares, but that would involve a strenuous climb. The easier option by far was Conchita the cow. He creased the word "vaca" with a grimy fingernail and gave Kinsella a thumbs up to indicate he knew where to find a cow. Then he held out his hand for his donkey payment and the major reluctantly gave him a 1,000 peseta note.

***

The disused fruit co-operative building looked like a semi-derelict warehouse adjacent to the main road into Palomares. To Kinsella, it didn't look like a suitable place to keep cows. His guide pushed open a metal gate and they crossed a cracked concrete yard to the main building.

Inside, the only light that infiltrated the large space came from several broken windows set up near the roof. The unbroken ones were too filthy to admit any illumination. But that encouraged Kinsella. It tied in with the photo analysts' findings. Then, at the far end, he saw the cow, contentedly munching on a large pile of hay. The major's heart raced. This looked promising. He raced over to the hay and examined the end wall. It wasn't stone, but it was bare brick with no plaster or paint. The analyst could have got that wrong.

Jaime watched in amazement as the American dived into the stack of hay and thrashed about wildly. Conchita moved away as far as her tether allowed, offended at the intrusion. Hay was thrown around with abandon and filled the air with dust. Bordallo coughed and retreated to a safe distance. Eventually, the major gave up and extricated himself. Then he did a circuit of the building, examining every nook and cranny. He ran outside and his companion heard his frantic footsteps pass by on the other side of the wall.

Kinsella re-entered the building, faced Bordallo and started babbling.

'It's not here! The goddam thing's not here!'

'What are you saying?' Jaime demanded. 'There's the cow, now give me my 1,000 pesetas!' He nodded towards Conchita and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together.

'Where is it? Where have you hidden it?'

'I don't know what you're talking about. Give me my money!'

The major shook his head in exasperation and took out his piece of paper and a stub of a pencil. As the farmer watched he drew a shape that resembled a bomb and added two zero's to the sum of money on offer.

'One hundred thousand pesetas for the bomb? Mama mia! That's more than I can earn in a year!'

The battle between Jaime Bordallo's conscience and his greed was short and unequal. He jerked his head in the direction of the door and led the American out.