In March 2004, Fuentes briefly returned to Chivilcoy with Villarrubia to show him what she had already found there. The two rented a plane and did one more flyover of the ranch, a trip that revealed only how isolated and unapproachable the property was. When Fuentes returned to Santiago to continue background research on the story, Villarrubia stayed behind in Chivilcoy. His first goal was to build a relationship with Juan Carlos Calandrino, the owner of the auto shop where Peter Schmidt’s car was registered. Villarrubia hoped that Calandrino would provide valuable information on the Germans. But befriending Calandrino would also help him maintain the façade that he was investigating Italian immigration to the area.

Villarrubia approached an Italian notary who, judging by the size of the advertisement he had placed in the phonebook, appeared to be a pillar of the community. Basic Internet research revealed that the man’s family, the Gardellas, had probably emigrated from Naples, a fact that he enthusiastically confirmed when Villarrubia paid his office a visit.

Villarrubia

The notary willingly allowed Villarrubia to use his name in approaching others in town, including Calandrino. Eventually, Villarrubia was able to approach Calandrino and befriend him.

Villarrubia

Over the next few days, Villarrubia spent most of his time either with Calandrino or researching the genealogies of locals, as if he really were an Italian sociologist. In the meantime, he wondered how he could get close to the neighbors of the German ranch, called La Solita.