Chapter 7 Summary

With the television and radio confiscated, Maruja and Beatriz remain unaware of the deaths of Diana and Marina. Sensing their uneasiness, the majordomo calls for his bosses to make an effort to improve the living conditions of the hostages. Novels and entertainment publications are brought and the blue light bulb replaced with a white one, however, it proves too bright for the pair whose eyes are by now accustomed to the semi-darkness of the room. Maruja falls once more into despair. She pretends to sleep, avoids conversation and eats little. Beatriz now occupies the empty bed. At the end of January a guard named Jonás, having come to the end of his vigil, tells the women, under the condition of anonymity, that Diana Turbay is dead.

Similarly, by now, having witnessed Diana's funeral and the exhumation of Marina's body, Pacho Santos has...