Crimes Of August Part 37

"You forced him to confess. And me, my mother, my wife, all of us in our selfishness ended up believing it was better for my father to say he was the guilty one, because being old he would be acquitted easier than me. We believed that, because it was better for us. I could be near my son and my wife, I could take care of the workshop and the orange grove better than him. My father was an old man and us young ones thought old people don't need anything, they've already lived all they're supposed to live. So we decided to let my father sacrifice himself for me."

Silence.

"You killed my father. I killed my father. My wife, my mother killed my father. He was an old Portuguese who didn't know how to pretend he was something he wasn't, a murderer, even to protect his son."

"It's too late now. Things are never the way they are, that's life."

"I want you to arrest me."

"The case is closed."

"Arrest me."

Mattos grabbed Cosme by the arm and dragged him like a rag doll into his office. The inspector's stomach burned. He threw the fragile youth's body against the wall.

"Listen, you fool. I cannot and will not arrest you for that crime. I can't salve your conscience, or your wife's, or your mother's. Don't be stupid. There's nothing more can be done. Get out of here and don't come back. I don't want to see your face ever again, live with that horrible memory for the rest of your life, just as I'll have to live with it."

"Sir-"

"Out! Out!"

Mattos, taking Cosme by the arms, led him to the office door, pus.h.i.+ng him violently into the corridor and from there to the door opening onto the street.

AT A MEETING that lasted twelve hours, all the air force brigadiers present in the capital decided unanimously that only the resignation of President Vargas could restore calm to the country. The meeting was interrupted twice: for Brigadier Eduardo Gomes to communicate to the other military secretaries the a.s.sembly's decision to issue a proclamation demanding Vargas's resignation; for Eduardo Gomes to try to obtain the support of Marshal Mascarenhas de Morais, whose loyalty to Vargas was well known.

The meeting was held in an atmosphere of frenzy created by the lower-ranking officers. Editing the communique had been extremely difficult. On one side, the younger officers demanded in angry terms that the note directly accuse the president of the death of Major Vaz and demand his resignation. If he didn't resign, he should be deposed by force of arms. On the other side, the brigadiers, more prudent and possessing a sharper sense of discipline and hierarchy, had no desire for the note to be characterized as subversive. If not for the presence of Brigadier Eduardo Gomes, the younger officers would have breached subordination and imposed their point of view. Brigadier Eduardo Gomes reflected that a struggle among comrades at that moment would only benefit the common enemy; he asked the younger officers to trust their chiefs, the chiefs present there, among whom was Air Force Secretary Epaminondas.

To go to the residence of Marshal Mascarenhas de Morais to communicate the decision of the a.s.sembled military men, in permanent session at the Aeronautics Club awaiting the outcome of the efforts of their leader, Eduardo Gomes was accompanied by Brigadier Iv Carpenter and Generals Juarez Tavora, Fiuza de Castro, and Canrobert. Eduardo Gomes had attempted, by taking with him important army generals, to obtain the support of the chief of the general staff of the armed forces. Once again the marshal called upon General Castello Branco as adviser. After hearing the visitors, the marshal stated that, although he deemed resignation a worthy solution, under no circ.u.mstance would he countenance its being imposed on the president of the Republic.

The marshal's att.i.tude disappointed the generals and brigadiers. However, given that the marshal's reaction had not been one of violent repudiation of the subversive probe of his feelings, the would-be enticers left the marshal's home believing that in case of a military coup the marshal would not fight against his colleagues in uniform.

As an a.s.siduous follower of regulations, Mascarenhas de Morais related to Secretary Zenbio, when he succeeded in finding him, what had happened. "The situation is serious, very serious," Zenbio had said. At seven that evening, the chief of the general staff went to Catete Palace, where he repeated to the president the meeting that had taken place at his residence.

"I will not resign. I was elected by the people and cannot leave expelled by the armed forces. I will only leave here dead," said the president. Worried, the marshal noticed in his friend's voice, more than challenge, sadness and regret.

Eduardo Gomes encountered difficulty in meeting with the secretary of war.

Zenbio had gone to a luncheon and to watch horse races at the Jockey Club, in the Gavea district. The brigadier only managed to see him in his residence, at five p.m.

"The army will not permit subversion of order," said Zenbio curtly.

"Mr. Secretary, I'm not talking about subversion of order. I've come to advise you that if the president does not resign, there will be civil war," answered Eduardo Gomes. "Consult your generals and you'll find out, if you don't know already, that our comrades in the army, as well as those in the navy, share the same sentiments of rebellion as their air force comrades."

That same day, at his residence, which had been transformed into his general headquarters, Zenbio conferred with Brigadier Epaminondas, secretary of the air force, who had been informed by Eduardo Gomes of the stance taken by the meeting at the Aeronautics Club. Present at the meeting of the two secretaries were General Odilio Denys, commander of the Eastern Military Zone, and Police Chief Colonel Paulo Torres.

Around ten o'clock that night, Zenbio headed to the military compound, where the main army units in the capital were concentrated. He returned after midnight and went directly to the War Department, where almost all the generals on active duty in the Federal District were waiting for him. A communique was issued saying that the armed forces were united in defense of the law and the Const.i.tution and that every measure had been taken to prevent subversion of order, from wherever the call for violation of the regime might come.

LATE THAT NIGHT, the home of Cafe Filho, vice president of the Republic, was packed with friends and fellow party members. Cafe Filho demonstrated good humor, giving vent to a characteristic of his personality that his friends called "blagueur spirit." He refused to make any statement to the press.

THE WARs.h.i.+PS anch.o.r.ed in the Bay of Guanabara kept their engines running all night.

twenty-three.

MATTOS READ in Monday's newspapers the brigadiers' communique about the Sunday meeting at the Aeronautics Club. To the inspector, the note, sketchy and obscure, would through its veiled threats increase the rumors flying in the city. "The general officers of the Brazilian Air Force, identifying with the feelings of the corps stemming from the criminal facts brought to light in the Police/Military Inquiry, once again express their grat.i.tude for the solidarity received from the army and the navy, and the a.s.surance that the armed forces, within the framework of order and discipline, and faithful to the Const.i.tution, will not betray the confidence vested in them, in order that the current crisis may have a definitive and worthy conclusion. They also agreed that Brigadier Eduardo Gomes, the highest officer present at the meeting, should communicate to the secretaries of the military departments and to the chief of the general staff of the armed forces the unanimous decision taken there, as being one capable of restoring peace to the country."

To Mattos, the note left an open field for speculation. But the secret word that Eduardo Gomes had taken to the secretaries wasn't hard to imagine; the air force was demanding the removal of Vargas.

"In the War Palace, General Zenbio, hero of the FEB and secretary of war, expressed complete satisfaction with the conduct of the troops at the military compound, who have remained at the ready for the safeguarding of the regime and the Const.i.tution," said Radio Globo. An identical announcement, also referring to Zenbio as the hero of FEB, had been published that day by ltima Hora. The government had decided to stop the "spreading of alarmist news." The radio stations announced events, under police control. But by now censors.h.i.+p is useless, thought the inspector. At that juncture public opinion was no longer worth anything.

While Mattos was absorbed in these thoughts, Alice was writing in her diary, sitting at the table in the living room. Lately she remained silent, staring at the wall, or writing for hours on end in the thick hardcover notebook.

She raised her eyes for an instant from the diary and noted the look of absorption on Mattos's face.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Getlio Vargas." Pause. "And you?"

"I have more important things to think about. I have my life."

"Getlio Vargas is part of my life."

"He arrested you when you were a student."

"It wasn't him. It was some flunky of his. I feel sorry for Getlio. I know that sounds absurd; I'm surprised myself."

"You told me that when you were arrested they put you in something called the Polish corridor, where you were hit and kicked when you were forced to walk through. You were only seventeen."

"Everything lasted two minutes at most."

Mattos stood up and got a briefcase with papers and photos from the bedroom.

"See this photo here? As a high school student I'm parading on the Seventh of September, 1937, at the height of the dictators.h.i.+p. I liked parading on the Seventh of September. I liked marching to the beat of the drums. See this other photo? I'm singing patriotic anthems with thousands of other children in the Vasco stadium, a chorus directed by Villa-Lobos. In this one here I'm speaking at a pro-Vargas queremist rally in 1944, when I was already in law school."

"Queremists . . . I have a vague recollection . . . Who were they actually?"

"Pressured by the military in '44, Getlio had to schedule elections for president of the Republic and launched the candidacy of his secretary of war, Gaspar Dutra. But at the same time he organized a movement to keep him in power, whose motto was 'Queremos Getlio'-We Want Getlio-and defended convoking a const.i.tuent a.s.sembly with Getlio in power."

"And were you a queremist?" Pause. "Or a m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t?"

"I was very confused in those days."

"And these days, too."

"These days too." Pause. "Getlio ended up being deposed, in '45. Know what he liked doing, when he returned, like an outcast, to his ranch in the South? Plant trees." Pause. "He enjoyed planting trees."

"I like flowers. Why are you so unhappy? That's irritating me. You are unhappy, aren't you?"

"How do you want me to answer?"

"That you're happy."

"I'm happy."

"Promise me you're not going to see that girl again, that Salete."

"I can't promise that. I can only promise that I'm happy."

"She's not a woman from your world."

Mattos felt like telling Alice that neither was she a woman from his world; that he himself didn't know what his world was; that he felt like a stranger in his nebulous world and in the world of others, too.

"I have to go out," he said.

"It's good for me to be alone. I have lots of things to write in my diary."

Before going to the precinct, Mattos went to the Senate Annex, in the So Borja Building, to look for Laura, but Almeidinha said she wasn't in.

"Tell her I'll be back soon to talk to her."

When he got to the precinct, he called his doctor.

"Your x-ray isn't good. You may have to have an operation. Remember that new technique I mentioned? Antrectomy and vagotomy?"

"I remember." Mattos put an antacid in his mouth. "You remove the antrum from my stomach and cut the nerves that govern secretion of stomach acid. You put an end to my ulcer and my excessive hydrochloric acid. Doctor, I'm a little bit of a physician and a little bit crazy, like everybody. Will I still be the same man or will I be a different person afterwards?"

"It's not good to play around with your health. This is something we have to resolve right away. You're running the risk of a serious hemorrhage. Can you come here today?"

"What time?"

"As soon as you can. Don't fail to come."

Rosalvo entered the office.

"Any orders, sir?"

Mattos was awaiting the arrival of Detective Celso, head of surveillance and apprehension, with whom he had established a plan for the arrest of Francisco Albergaria. He had not yet spoken with anyone about the information he had obtained from Kid Earthquake at the Boqueiro do Pa.s.seio or revealed to his colleagues the name of the suspect.

"When Celso from Surveillance shows up, let me know."

But the alert that Rosalvo gave him, shortly afterward, was that the doorman from Mattos's building had just called, saying there was a small fire in his apartment and that Alice was all right.

"Who's Alice?" asked Rosalvo.

Mattos didn't answer. He rushed out in search of a taxi.

The building's doorman went up with Mattos in the elevator.

"Did anything happen to Dona Alice?"

"No . . . I mean, she was a little upset . . . But it wasn't necessary to call the fire department. I put out the fire myself with the extinguisher. Annoying, isn't it, sir?"

"How did it happen?"

They got to the floor where the inspector lived. The burnt smell was evident from the corridor. The apartment door was shut.

The doorman took the inspector's arm.

"Look, sir, it was the girl who set the apartment on fire. I think she had an attack . . . I wanted to have my wife stay with Dona Alice until you arrived, but she threw my wife out."

"Thank you. I'll take care of everything."

The table and chairs were partially burned. The books on the shelves, the records and the player were singed by the flames. Mattos saw all this at a glance as he went toward the bedroom.

Alice was sitting on the bed. Her head was covered with black residue from burnt paper, which was spread about her face.

Mattos sat down beside her. He delicately took her ash-stained hands.

"I burned my diary," Alice said. She seemed sleepy.

"It doesn't matter. You can write another."

"I don't want to write another. I want to forget."

Mattos picked up the pill bottle, open on the bed. It was almost full.

Mattos put the bottle in his pocket. "How many pills did you take?"

"Two . . . Three . . . Two . . ."

"All right if I call Dr. Arnoldo?"

"I want to be with you."

"You're going to be with me. I just want to call Dr. Arnoldo. Stay there while I call him."

Dr. Arnoldo asked Mattos to take Alice to the Dr. Eiras Clinic on Rua a.s.sunco, in Botafogo and ask for Dr. Feitosa. He, Dr. Arnoldo, would leave at once for the clinic.

"If she resists leaving, it's best not to force her. Call me back."

Mattos got a damp towel and cleaned Alice's hair and hands. She sleepily allowed Mattos to exchange her dress for a clean one. Before they left, the inspector put Alice's toothbrush in his pocket.

AT THE SUGGESTION of General Humberto Castello Branco, the chief of the general staff of the armed forces, Marshal Mascarenhas, held a meeting of the Joint Chiefs. Mascarenhas listened apprehensively as the chiefs of the three armed forces-army, navy, and air force-said only the resignation of President Vargas could end the crisis.