Twisted Intentions - Part I

It was almost 06:30 PM as Adrian pulled up in front of Mrs. Gustavo’s house. The house was on the corner of 8 Alcala de Guadaira in Seville. Mrs. Gustavo was an 62 year old widow who lost her husband, Sergio, to a heart attack about 5 years ago. Mrs. Gustavo lived off her husband’s savings. Adrian at 23 was in his final year at university and was studying law. He moved into the same locality with his dad when he was 8 years old. His mother died while giving birth to him and his dad worked as a store manager. As a little boy, Adrian was very shy and did not make too many friends. He would go to the local park every evening, sit on the bench and watch the other boys play. Mrs. Gustavo loved children as she could not have any of her own. She would also come to the park with baked cookies for the boys. One day she saw little Adrian sitting alone and offered him cookies and that’s how their friendship began. Everyday she would sit with him, she tried to get him to talk to the other boys, but Adrian was an introvert and liked being by himself. As days went by, Mrs. Gustavo became his best friend. He would go over to her place and help her bake the cookies. She would tell him stories and pamper him like he was her son. And now after all these years, she was like the mother he never had. Adrian’s dad passed away about two years back in a freak accident when a fire broke out in the supplies room of the store. Since it was in the basement, no one heard his cries for help. He was trapped and died of suffocation. Since then he had been living with Mrs. Gustavo and she funded his education.

Adrian used his key and entered the house. Normally Mrs. Gustavo would switch on the porch and main hall lights and a light from the TV would flicker from the living room. However this evening all was dark and quiet.

“That’s odd...” he thought

Adrian placed the keys on the side table at the entrance and switched on the lights in the main hall and walked into the living room which was on the left of the house and over to the lamp and switched it on.

“Mama Gustavo “shouted Adrian as he walked across the living room towards the kitchen. He pushed the door and entered. There was no one there. There was another door on his right which led back to the main hall. There was a big study to the right of the main entrance. It was filled with books and a big teakwood study table. Sergio Gustavo was an avid reader and Mrs. Gustavo had let the room be as it was after he died. Adrian switched on the light and surveyed the room. Then he turned around and walked up the staircase towards the bedrooms.

“Mama Gustavo “he called out. Again no response.

“This is strange, where could she be. She never leaves the house.” Thought Adrian.

He reached her bedroom and slowly opened the door and stepped in. His head started spinning as he saw the sight in front of him.Mrs Gustavo lay in a pool of blood on the side of her bed. Her hands and legs were tied and he mouth was gagged. Her throat had been slit open. Her eyes were wide open and the expression of horror was frozen on her face.

Officer Sanchez had been with the Fairview police station for over 10 years. He was a short and stout man in his late forties with sandy hair cut close. He was a bachelor and a man of few words, he wasn’t very comfortable with emotions and remained detatched.All he cared about was his work. He looked at Adrian, who was sitting on the couch in the living room. Adrian was in shock and had a blank expression on his face. He was oblivious to what was happening around him. Cops moved around looking for fingerprints or any other evidence that could give them a clue.

Officer Sanchez sat on the sofa next to Adrian.

“Hijo, I can understand this is difficult for you. But it would really help us in the investigation if you could answer some of my questions.”

Adrian nodded his head in approval.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

Adrian took a deep breath and said, “Well I got home as usual around 06:30. Normally Mama Gustavo switches on the lights by this time, but all was oscuro.I looked around the house for her and found her in the bedroom... “He stopped to take a deep breath.

“Acqui”, Officer Sanchez said as he handed him a glass of water. Adrian took a sip and placed the glass on the table.

“Did you notice anything out of place or out of the ordinary when you checked the house?”

“No, all the doors were locked. Everything was in place”.

“Do you know anyone who would want to hurt Mrs. Gustavo?”

“No, Mama Gustavo was the sweetest person. She always helped people in the neighborhood and never raised her voice. I don’t know who would want to hurt her.”

“What about money?”

“What about it? She wasn’t a very rich lady. There was money that Mr. Gustavo has saved and she pays for my college tuition with that money. I also have a part time job at the local supermarket from 3 - 6 pm and we manage with the money I get from there.”

“Hmm...What about this house? This must cost a fortune. Does she have any other children who might want this property?”

“No, Mama Gustavo did not have any children. I was adopted by her after my father passed away about two years back.”

Officer Sanchez scratched his chin,”Hmmm this is intriguing. Whoever did this did not do it for money or property. There is no sign of a forceful entry or anything missing so the person must be known to Mrs. Gustavo. Can you tell me who all visit the house in the day?

“Umm well let’s see, there is Mrs. Gutierrez who lives across the street. She is a widow too and her two sons live away from home. She and Mama Gustavo usually have lunch together everyday. Apart from that there is the usual, paperboy in the morning and Diego, the gardener comes once a week but he hasn’t come in yet this week.”

“Okay”, said Officer Sanchez as he scribbled in his notebook. “Ill have a word with Mrs. Gutierrez. Please call me if you can think of anything else that could give us a clue”

“Seguro”, said Adrian

That night Adrian couldn’t sleep. He had a vivid dream where he saw a masked man strangling Mama Gustavo. She was screaming ...” Ayuda! Ayuda!” and Adrian sat on his bed watching, paralyzed. He couldn’t save Mama Gustavo and watched helplessly as the masked man killed her in front of him.

Adrian woke up with a start, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. His heart was beating real hard. He looked around the dark room and realized that Mama Gustavo was dead and sat there on his bed and cried.


Two days later Officer Sanchez knocked on the front door of Adrian’s house. Adrian opened the door. It was 10 in the morning and he was in his pajamas, his hair ruffled and a stubble on his face. He looked like he had not slept in days.

“May I come in?” asked Officer Sanchez, “the post mortem report on your grandmother just came in.”

“Seguro”, said Adrian and let the officer in.

They went to the kitchen and sat at the dining table. The kitchen was in a mess. Used utensils piled in the sink and half eaten takeaway food lying on the counter. There was a kettle on the stove brewing coffee. Adrian poured some in a cup and offered it to the officer.

“Gracias “he said as he took the cup from Adrian.

“What is this new information you have?” Adrian asked as he took a seat opposite the officer.

“Well, this may come as a shock to you and there is no easy was to say this.” He took a sip and continued. “We found traces of semen in your grandmother’s blood. I’m afraid she was raped.”

Adrian choked on his coffee and yelled hysterically “Qué??!!! Cómo es eso posible”.

"Por favor, calm down!!" Said Officer Sanchez

“This is enfermo, she was 62 years old, this man must be enfermo…!!” Adrian continued hysterically

“Si, Convengo con ti. We will do our best to catch your grandmother’s killer. I promise you that. Please get a hold of yourself.”

To be continued...