The Summer of Dead Toys by Antonio Hill Page B

Leire was going to repeat the reassuring murmur about the conversation being unofficial but Alfonso Esteve didn’t give her the time to do it.
“Aleix Rovira is one of the most complicated students I’ve ever had.” He noted that his comment required an explanation and so he continued. “Very intelligent, of course, and, according to the girls, quite attractive. Not at all the typical swot: he was as good at sports as he was at mathematics. A born leader. I suppose it’s not surprising: he’s the youngest of five siblings, all boys, all strictly educated in what we might call ‘Christian values.”” He paused. “In his case, a serious problem in his childhood has to be factored in: he had leukaemia, or something like it. So it’s even more commendable that once recovered he was always top of the class.”
“But?” Héctor smiled.
“But,” Alfonso stopped again, “but there was something cold in Aleix. As if he’d seen it all before, as if his intelligence and the experience of his illness had given him a . . . cynical maturity. He had the group wrapped around his little finger, and some teachers as well. Being top of the class, the best in the history of the school, and the memory of his battle against cancer gave him a type of insensitivity to everything.”
“Are you talking about bullying?” asked Leire.
“That would be stating it too strongly, although there was some. Biting comments directed toward the less clever or less attractive; nothing you could accuse him of, but it was clear the whole year did what he wanted. If he was rude to one of the teachers, they all copied him; if he decided one must be respected the rest did the same. Anyway, this is only my opinion; most people think he is a charming boy.”
“You seem quite convinced of this opinion, Señor Esteve,” pressed Castro. She sensed there was something else and didn’t want the teacher to leave it unspoken.
“Listen, me being sure is one thing; it being the truth is something very different.” He lowered his voice, as if he were going to tell them a secret. “A school is a rumor factory and it’s difficult to establish their origin; they emerge, they spread, they’re discussed. They start in a whisper, hidden from the person concerned; then they become louder until in the end they explode like a bomb.”
Both Salgado and Castro still stared at him, willing him to continue.
“There was a teacher, not so young, forty-something. She arrived when Aleix and Marc were doing First Bacc together. For some reason, she and Aleix didn’t get on. It’s strange, because he usually made an effort to have a rapport with the female teachers. The rumors began immediately, of every kind. No one knows much about what happened, but she didn’t last the year.”
“And you believe those rumors came from Aleix?”
“I’d swear they did. One day she didn’t come to work and I subbed for her. Aleix had an expression of cruel satisfaction, I’m sure.”
“And Marc? ”
“Well, poor Marc was his number-one fan. His father had remarried and I think his wife couldn’t have children, so they adopted a little Chinese girl. That meant trips, absences . . . Marc needed someone in his corner, and that someone was Aleix Rovira.”
“They ended up expelling him for a few days,” added Héctor. This had been the main reason for their visit: in places like this, crawling with pupils from good families, expulsions were rare. However, if he was hoping the teacher would clarify the matter, he immediately became aware that that wasn’t going to happen: suddenly regretting his previous indiscretion, the man chose to dig his heels in on that subject.
“That happened the following year, but I’m afraid it’s part of the student’s private file. And it’s confidential. If you want to know more, you’ll have to speak to the principal.”
Leire cleared her throat, expecting Inspector Salgado to insist, but he didn’t.
“Of course. Tell me, did Marc come to