What is the central mystery in the novel, Velvet Was the Night?

The central mystery of the novel revolves around Leonora’s compromising photographs of the Hawks. At the beginning of the narrative, her possession of these photographs causes her to go into hiding. Each of the various groups and actors in the novel—Maite and Rubén, Emilio, the DFS, the Hawks—then spend the bulk of the narrative searching for Leonora and her photos. In the final chapter, Leonora comes out of hiding and visits Rubén. Maite suggests that Rubén “had portrayed himself as the wounded hero and that had reeled Leonora [back] in” (274). This scene confirms Leonora as an attractive yet potentially naive young woman.