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Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Eufrasia comes to the police inspector voluntarily to offer some observations that she thinks are key to solving the case. First, she reveals that Camilo was not truly a skilled painter; she recommended his work to a friend, who came back to her with the revelation that Camilo only painted over photographs. This knowledge helped her to see early on that the story Camilo was telling about Rosa could not be true. More importantly, she emphasizes that the housemaid at La Madrileña, Elsa, is being overlooked as an essential actor in the course of events that led to Rosa’s death. Eufrasia asserts that Elsa has harbored an affection for Camilo for years that has gone unnoticed but is evident in the extra care she puts into cleaning his room. Upon the revelation that Camilo was having an affair with Rosa, Elsa grew sour and began to do petty things like spill hot soup on Camilo. When the “real” Rosa moved in, Elsa became intensely fixated on her and refused to clean her room.
Before the altercation between Camilo and Réguel, Eufrasia eavesdropped on the couple’s argument and overheard Rosa extorting money from Camilo in response to his requests that she leave.