Circulo del Crimen: Todo por la Pasta

# "Todo por la Pasta" by Ed McBain

This Spanish-language police procedural follows detectives Steve Carella and Cotton Hawes of the 87th Precinct as they investigate a warehouse arson case. Roger Grimm, a wooden figurine merchant, reports that his warehouse—containing merchandise valued at half a million dollars destined for shipment—was deliberately burned. The arsonist disabled the alarm system by manipulating its wiring, drugged the night guards with chloral hydrate, and sabotaged the basement water cistern to disable fire suppression systems, indicating intimate knowledge of the facility.

Grimm faces pressure from insurance companies withholding payment pending resolution. Financially desperate—he needs compensation within two weeks before a new German shipment arrives requiring immediate payment—Grimm pressures Carella and Hawes, whose colleagues Parker and Kling are on vacation, to investigate. The detectives reluctantly agree to examine Parker's case files for leads, though they question whether Grimm himself might be the arsonist given the substantial insurance payout.