to the police,’ said Juan Jose one Monday morning when Yolanda turned up for work once again with obvious signs of being beaten up.
She said nothing.
‘I’ve had enough! He may be the son of that wealthy lot across the bay but he isn’t going to ruin my family.’
It didn’t take long for Juan Jose’s lawyers to present a lawsuit and open up a court case that eventually charged Gerardo of domestic violence and convicted him to a suspended two-year prison sentence and an indemnity of one hundred thousand Euros. It also caused a ripple of negative publicity amongst Vigo’s elite, as both families were prominent members of the upper crust of society.
To calm the waters, Yolanda was sent on a sabbatical to the United Kingdom. Juan Jose made sure she was far away from any limelight, and, thanks to his shipping contacts in Portsmouth, Falmouth College of Arts in Cornwall was suggested and chosen as the best and most remote place to calm down, and at the same time, hopefully improve her English.
Arousa Bay, Galicia
‘You’re quite a celebrity, “Sir” Sergio,’ said Captain Eugenio Soto, commanding officer of the civil guard station in Villagarcia, as he reviewed Sergio’s transfer papers. ‘Bright; computer “wizard”; super detective,’ he looked up at the latest transferee, ‘and a young, loose cannon.’
Sergio was about to defend himself when Captain Soto softened his tone. ‘Relax Lieutenant. With all this drug shit still going on around here we could do with a bit of extra smart “snooping”.’
He looked up at Sergio and smiled. ‘You certainly fit the bill.’
The Bay of Arousa is one of the vast inlets on Spain’s north-west coast, famous not only for its tourist attractions but for its rich seafood breeding ground, particularly mussels, one of the largest beds in the world, as well as clams and cockles. It has numerous islands and peninsulas, Sálvora and Cortegada amongst the most well known, sprinkled with quaint villages spread along its shores catering for all sorts of visitors from golfers to yachters, gourmet cuisine lovers to artists, not forgetting the odd rich pensioner seeking a restful spa in a five-star hotel on the island of La Toja.
In recent years however, the town’s fame had taken a more sinister role and shifted to that of drug trafficking. The area was a well-known haven for most of the powerful Galician drug cartels that had been operating from here over the past three decades. The most famous was a clan known as the
Castriños
.
‘The
Castriños
is like an octopus,’ said Captain Soto. ‘It’s got dozens of tentacles, all poking into different holes.’
He handed Lieutenant Quiroga a list of the last year’s raids, including dates, locations and arrests.
‘I know you’ve got the rest of the background in that database of yours including some of this information, however, I need you to backtrack on them again, check out each one, see if they’ve grown new branches.’
Sergio was instructed to keep as low key and incognito as possible. He was to familiarise with the local scene and mix in with the community as a recent resident looking for a job. ‘Don’t stir anything, just report back on anything suspicious or unusual.’
Out in the main office of the town’s civil guards and at his newly assigned desk, Sergio switched on his laptop, opened his document file, clicked on “Villagarcia” and browsed until he found what he was looking for:
Jose María “Teixugo” Castro
. Main page read:
Head of the Castriños clan, still at large since 1994
. There were dozens of pages with supporting information.
He grinned. Kick off time!
Falmouth, Six Months Earlier
Stan and Yolanda’s relationship had started on a sour note. From very different backgrounds, Yolanda’s snobbishness and Stan’s typical Cornish down-to-earth and outdoor life had clashed from the beginning, despite a common patch-up of apologies on their second encounter at the college. To top it
She said nothing.
‘I’ve had enough! He may be the son of that wealthy lot across the bay but he isn’t going to ruin my family.’
It didn’t take long for Juan Jose’s lawyers to present a lawsuit and open up a court case that eventually charged Gerardo of domestic violence and convicted him to a suspended two-year prison sentence and an indemnity of one hundred thousand Euros. It also caused a ripple of negative publicity amongst Vigo’s elite, as both families were prominent members of the upper crust of society.
To calm the waters, Yolanda was sent on a sabbatical to the United Kingdom. Juan Jose made sure she was far away from any limelight, and, thanks to his shipping contacts in Portsmouth, Falmouth College of Arts in Cornwall was suggested and chosen as the best and most remote place to calm down, and at the same time, hopefully improve her English.
Arousa Bay, Galicia
‘You’re quite a celebrity, “Sir” Sergio,’ said Captain Eugenio Soto, commanding officer of the civil guard station in Villagarcia, as he reviewed Sergio’s transfer papers. ‘Bright; computer “wizard”; super detective,’ he looked up at the latest transferee, ‘and a young, loose cannon.’
Sergio was about to defend himself when Captain Soto softened his tone. ‘Relax Lieutenant. With all this drug shit still going on around here we could do with a bit of extra smart “snooping”.’
He looked up at Sergio and smiled. ‘You certainly fit the bill.’
The Bay of Arousa is one of the vast inlets on Spain’s north-west coast, famous not only for its tourist attractions but for its rich seafood breeding ground, particularly mussels, one of the largest beds in the world, as well as clams and cockles. It has numerous islands and peninsulas, Sálvora and Cortegada amongst the most well known, sprinkled with quaint villages spread along its shores catering for all sorts of visitors from golfers to yachters, gourmet cuisine lovers to artists, not forgetting the odd rich pensioner seeking a restful spa in a five-star hotel on the island of La Toja.
In recent years however, the town’s fame had taken a more sinister role and shifted to that of drug trafficking. The area was a well-known haven for most of the powerful Galician drug cartels that had been operating from here over the past three decades. The most famous was a clan known as the
Castriños
.
‘The
Castriños
is like an octopus,’ said Captain Soto. ‘It’s got dozens of tentacles, all poking into different holes.’
He handed Lieutenant Quiroga a list of the last year’s raids, including dates, locations and arrests.
‘I know you’ve got the rest of the background in that database of yours including some of this information, however, I need you to backtrack on them again, check out each one, see if they’ve grown new branches.’
Sergio was instructed to keep as low key and incognito as possible. He was to familiarise with the local scene and mix in with the community as a recent resident looking for a job. ‘Don’t stir anything, just report back on anything suspicious or unusual.’
Out in the main office of the town’s civil guards and at his newly assigned desk, Sergio switched on his laptop, opened his document file, clicked on “Villagarcia” and browsed until he found what he was looking for:
Jose María “Teixugo” Castro
. Main page read:
Head of the Castriños clan, still at large since 1994
. There were dozens of pages with supporting information.
He grinned. Kick off time!
Falmouth, Six Months Earlier
Stan and Yolanda’s relationship had started on a sour note. From very different backgrounds, Yolanda’s snobbishness and Stan’s typical Cornish down-to-earth and outdoor life had clashed from the beginning, despite a common patch-up of apologies on their second encounter at the college. To top it
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