En la escena del crimen encontraron a Lorenzo y dos cuerpos ensangrentados: el de la esposa de Lorenzo y el de un hombre, Cariaco, que después se supo era el amante de Isabel, con el que supuestamente iba a escaparse.
Para el pueblo, sin pruebas y sin investigación, Lorenzo era el culpable del doble homicidio:
_Un hombre que no beba y no hable, no debe ser normal -decía la gente con respecto a Lorenzo que siempre había sido un hombre de pocos amigos y de pocas palabras.
En cambio Isabel, mujer dicharachera, extrovertida y amistosa, era la víctima de la historia:
_Pobrecita, debió ser terrible vivir con un hombre como Lorenzo Añol y cuando quiso ser feliz, ese monstruo la mató -ataban cabos y conjeturaba la gente.
Después de la investigación, Lorenzo fue declarado inocente, pero ahora no cargaba sobre él el peso de la muerte, sino el de la traición, el de la infidelidad, del engaño:
_Es un cornudo, mala cama -decía la gente en aquel pueblo pequeño, en donde la historia de Lorenzo se convirtió en el tema de conversación de todos.
Una vez, luego de muchos años, vi una criatura que vagaba por la noche, encorvada y llena de pelos. Al principio creí que era un animal salvaje, de esos que salen solo cuando el sol se oculta, pero luego, cuando lo divisé mejor, me di cuenta que era un hombre. Era Alirio Añol más esquivo y huraño que antes. Por un momento nuestras miradas se cruzaron y en los ojos de Alirio había miedo, rabia y tristeza. Todo lo que había vivido, lo había convertido en un hombre con rasgos de animal, o ya era un animal que le quedaba poco de hombre.
[Versión en inglés]
When they said that Lorenzo Añol had killed his wife, Isabel Blanco, the whole town took to the streets with the desire to lynch him, but it was the police who arrived first and took him to the police station.
At the scene of the crime they found Lorenzo and two bloody bodies: that of Lorenzo's wife and that of a man, Cariaco, who was later found to be Isabel's lover, with whom she was supposedly going to run away.
For the people, without evidence and without investigation, Lorenzo was the culprit of the double homicide:
_A man who does not drink and does not talk, must not be normal - people said with respect to Lorenzo who had always been a man of few friends and few words.
On the other hand, Isabel, a talkative, extroverted and friendly woman, was the victim of the story:
_Pobrecita, it must have been terrible to live with a man like Lorenzo Añol and when she wanted to be happy, that monster killed her - people conjectured and conjectured.
But after the investigation, it became public knowledge that it was another man, Alirio, who had killed Cariaco and Isabel, since he was also having an affair with Lorenzo's wife.
After the investigation, Lorenzo was declared innocent, but now he did not bear the burden of death, but that of betrayal, of infidelity, of deceit:
_He is a cuckold - people said in that small town where Lorenzo's story became everyone's topic of conversation.
Once, after many years, I saw a creature wandering at night, hunched over and full of hair. At first I thought it was a wild animal, one of those that come out only when the sun goes down, but then, when I got a better look at it, I realized it was a man. It was Alirio Añol, more elusive and sullen than before. For a moment our eyes met and in Alirio's eyes there was fear, anger and sadness. Everything he had lived through had turned him into a man with the features of an animal, or he was already an animal with little of a man left.
