The Butcher of Almagro

It all began when, after the terrible epidemic, work became scarce, hunger took over the streets, dogs, cats and even rats were hunted to extinction, and the old butcher shop in the Almagro neighborhood, “De carne somos,” reopened under a new owner, the Hungarian László Mészáros, offering an unusually generous proposal: to provide rations of meat and peas to ease the community’s hunger in exchange for small errands, barters, or maintenance work in the run-down shop. Neighbors immediately began lining up outside to sign up for various tasks or trades and thus take a plate of food home, so the whole neighborhood started to organize around the figure of El Carnicero de Almagro, celebrating the humanity of this peculiar merchant—except for a few who, skeptical of his “charitable” devotion, began to ask with some logic, “But where do the beasts come from?” and to look more closely into the butcher’s dealings. In Almagro, although nobody said it out loud, people suspected that some had indeed been tempted, even signing bloody marks to get better rations. The police, bellies full of steaks and chops, paid little heed to the gossip of the common folk. “Yes, go ahead! Let’s do it.” As part of the secret society “Los topos de Almagro,” you and a group of brave souls, eager to uncover the mystery surrounding the place, have planned to enter the shop. Taking advantage of the daily errand that keeps László Mészáros away every morning, you decide to go in through the back door and reveal the mystery of El Carnicero de Almagro!