Summary

Part IV takes place in December 1959 and is told from the perspective of Ramon Folcada. It is written in the present tense. It begins with his assertion that someone other than him is having sex with Miranda, whom he refers to throughout as La Negra. He saw her with a young man at the carnival parade but the man was in costume so Folcada could not tell who it was.

Folcada named his horse Jugurtha after his superior officer in the police academy gave him a history book about King Jugurtha. Folcada watched La Negra closely: his suspicions that she was having an affair were growing. His annoyance is added to by his concern that the locals will find out about his past actions in the police force when he, in his own words, helped to prevent a revolution. Something went...