“If looks could kill, I’d be a corpse right now.” He smiled. “Calm yourself, madam. Sit down. I didn’t know that my friend Ferro was married. Even less that he had married so well.”
“Answer me, why did you have him arrested?” the woman repeated vehemently and he thought what’s going on? “Why haven’t they let me see him?”
“I’m going to surprise you but, with the greatest respect, I’m going to ask you something.” A revolver in her purse? does she know
something
I don’t know? “How is it that a woman like you can be married to Ferro, ma’am?”
“Have a care, Mr. Bermúdez, don’t get the wrong impression of me.” The woman raised her voice: she probably wasn’t used to it, it must have been the first time. “I won’t allow you to be disrespectful to me, or to say bad things about my husband.”
“I’m not saying bad things about him, I’m saying good things about you,” he said and thought she must have been forced to come here, she’s disgusted because she came, they sent her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“Why is he in jail, when are you going to let him go?” the woman repeated. “Tell me what’s going to happen to my husband.”
“Only policemen and clerks come into this office,” he said. “Women only rarely, and never one like you. That’s why I’m so overcome by your visit, ma’am.”
“Are you still teasing me?” the woman murmured, trembling. “Don’t be so overbearing, don’t abuse me, Mr. Bermúdez.”
“All right, madam, your husband can tell you himself why he was arrested.” What did she want, after all, what didn’t she dare say? “Don’t worry about him. He’s being treated with all due consideration, he doesn’t need anything. Well, he does need you, and that we can’t provide, unfortunately.”
“That’s enough of vulgarities, you’re talking to a lady,” the woman said, and he she’s made up her mind, now she’s going to say it, do it. “Try to behave like a gentleman.”
“I’m not a gentleman and you didn’t have to come here to give me a lesson in manners, you came for something else,” he murmured. “You know only too well why your husband was arrested. Tell me once and for all what you’ve come here for.”
“I’ve come to propose a deal to you,” the woman babbled. “My husband has got to get out of the country tomorrow. I want to know what the conditions are.”
“That’s more like it.” He nodded. “My conditions to let Ferrito go? How much money, that is.”
“I’ve brought the tickets so you could see them,” she said, leaning forward. “The plane to New York, tomorrow at ten. You have to let him out tonight. I know you don’t take checks. This is all I could put together.”
“Not bad, ma’am.” You’re killing me with a slow fire, sticking pins in my eyes, skinning me with your nails: he undressed her, tied her, hunched over and asked for the whip. “And besides, in dollars. How much is there here? A thousand, two thousand?”
“I haven’t got any more in cash, we haven’t got any more,” the woman said. “We can sign a paper, whatever you say.”
“Tell me frankly what’s going on and that way we can come to an understanding,” he said. “I’ve known Ferrito for years, madam. You’re not doing this because of the Espina affair. Speak to me frankly. What’s the problem?”
“He has to leave Peru, he has to be on that plane tomorrow and you know why,” the woman said quickly. “He’s between the sword and the wall and you know it. It’s not a favor, Mr. Bermúdez, it’s a business deal. What are the conditions, what else do we have to do?”
“You didn’t buy those tickets in case the revolution failed, and it’s not a tourist trip,” he said. “I can see that he’s mixed up in something much worse. It’s not smuggling either, that was fixed up, I helped him put the lid on it. I’m beginning to understand, madam.”
“They took advantage of his good faith, he lent his name and now everything is falling down on his head,” the woman said. “It’s hard for me to do this, Mr. Bermúdez. He has to leave the country, you know that only too well.”
“The housing project in Sur Chico,” he said. “Of course, ma’am, now I see it. Now I see why Ferro started plotting with Espina. Did Espina offer to get him off the hook if he helped him?”
“The accusations have already been filed, the miserable people who got him into this have got out,” the woman said with a broken voice. “It’s millions of soles, Mr. Bermúdez.”
“I knew about it, ma’am, but I didn’t know that the collapse was so close.” He nodded. “The Argentinians who were his partners took off? And Ferrito was going to go too, leaving the hundreds of guys who bought those houses that don’t exist hanging in the air. Millions of soles, naturally. Now I know why he got involved in the plot, now I know why you’re here.”
“He can’t take the responsibility for everything, they tricked him too,” the woman said, and he thought she’s going to cry. “If he’s not on that plane …”
“He’ll be behind bars for a long time, and not as a plotter but as a swindler.” He was sorry, shaking his head. “And all the money he got out of it will be rotting away abroad.”
“He didn’t get a nickel out of it.” The woman raised her voice. “They took advantage of his good faith. This whole business has ruined him.”
“Now I understand why you had the nerve to come here,” he repeated softly. “A lady like you coming to see me, lowering yourself like that. So you won’t be here when the scandal breaks, so you won’t see your name in the crime news.”
“Not because of me, because of my children,” the woman roared; but she took a deep breath and lowered her voice. “This is all I’ve been able to put together. Accept this as an advance, then. We’ll sign a paper, whatever you say.”
“Keep those dollars for your trip, Ferrito and you will need them more than I do,” he said very slowly, and he saw the woman become
motionless
, and saw her eyes, her teeth. “Besides, you’re worth a lot more than all that money. All right, it’s a deal. Don’t shout, don’t cry, tell me yes or no. We’ll spend a little time together, we’ll go get Ferro out, tomorrow you’ll catch the plane.”
“How dare you, you swine,” and he looked at her nose, her hands, her shoulders, and he thought she doesn’t shout, doesn’t cry, doesn’t act surprised, doesn’t leave. “You miserable half-breed, you coward.”
“I’m not a gentleman, that’s the price, you knew that too,” he
murmured
. “I can guarantee you the most absolute discretion, of course. It’s not a conquest, it’s a business deal, think of it that way. And make up your mind right now, the ten minutes are up, madam.”
“Chaclacayo?” Ludovico asked. “Very well, Don Cayo, San Miguel.”
“Yes, I’m going to stay here,” he said. “Go get some sleep, come pick me up at seven o’clock. This way, madam. You’ll freeze to death in the garden. Come in for a while, whenever you want to leave I’ll call a taxi and take you home.”
“Good evening, sir, excuse the way I look, I was getting ready for bed,” Carlota said. “The mistress isn’t home, she went out early with Miss Queta.”
“Bring some ice and go to bed, Carlota,” he said. “Come in, don’t stand there in the doorway, sit down, I’ll fix you a drink. Water or soda? Straight, then, just like me.”
“What does this mean?” the woman finally managed to say, rigid. “Where have you brought me?”
“You don’t like the house?” He smiled. “Well, you must be used to more elegant places.”
“Who’s that woman you asked about?” the woman whispered, holding her breath.
“My mistress, her name is Hortensia,” he said. “One cube or two? Cheers, madam. Well, now, you didn’t want a drink and you downed the whole thing. So I’ll fix you another.”
“I already knew, they already told me, you’re the lowest, dirtiest person who ever lived,” the woman said in a half-whisper. “What do you want? To humiliate me? Is that why you brought me here?”
“Just so we can have a few drinks and a little chat,” he said. “
Hortensia
isn’t a vulgar half-breed like me. She’s not refined and proper like you, but she’s presentable enough.”
“Go on, what else,” the woman said. “How much more? Go on.”
“This disgusts you most of all because it has to do with me,” he said. “If I’d been someone like you, maybe you wouldn’t be so repelled, right?”
“Yes.” The woman’s teeth stopped chattering for a second, her lips stopped trembling. “But a proper man wouldn’t do a swinish thing like this.”
“It isn’t the idea of going to bed with someone else that makes you sick, it’s the idea of going to bed with a half-breed,” he said, drinking. “Wait, I’ll get you a refill.”
“What are you waiting for? That’s enough, where have you got the bed you collect your blackmail in?” the woman said. “Do you think that if I keep on drinking I’m going to feel less disgusted?”
“Here comes Hortensia,” he said. “Don’t get up, it’s not necessary. Hello, girl. Let me introduce you to the nameless lady. This is Hortensia, ma’am. A little high, but you can see, presentable enough.”
“A little? The truth is I can barely stand.” Hortensia laughed. “Charmed, nameless lady, pleased to meet you. Have you been here long?”
“We just got here,” he said. “Sit down, I’ll fix you a drink.”
“Don’t think I’m asking out of jealousy, nameless lady, just out of curiosity.” Hortensia laughed. “I’m never jealous of pretty women. Whew, I’m done in. Do you want a cigarette?”
“Here, to get you back on your feet,” he said, handing her the glass. “Where were you?”
“At Lucy’s party,” Hortensia said. “I made Queta take me home because they were already out of their minds. That nut of a Lucy did a complete strip-tease, I swear to you. Cheers, nameless lady.”
“When friend Ferro finds out he’s going to give Lucy a beating,” he said, smiling. “Lucy is one of Hortensia’s girl friends, ma’am, the
mistress
of a fellow named Ferro.”
“What do you mean he’ll kill her, just the opposite,” Hortensia said with a loud laugh, turning toward the woman. “He loves for Lucy to do crazy things, he’s depraved. Don’t you remember, boy, that day Ferrito made Lucy dance all naked here on the dining room table? Say, you can really drain a glass, nameless lady. Give your guest another drink,
tightwad
.”
“A pleasant fellow, friend Ferro,” he said. “Tireless when it comes to having a wild time.”
“Especially when women are involved,” Hortensia said. “He wasn’t at the party, Lucy was furious and said that if he didn’t come by twelve o’clock she’d call his home and cause a scandal. This is getting boring, let’s put some music on.”
“I have to be going,” the woman blurted without getting up, without looking at either of them. “Would you please call me a taxi?”
“Alone in a taxi at this hour?” Hortensia said. “Aren’t you afraid? The drivers are all a bunch of crooks.”
“First I have to make a call,” he said. “Hello, Lozano? I want you to let Ferro go at seven o’clock in the morning for me. Yes, see to it personally. Seven o’clock sharp. That’s all, Lozano, good night.”
“Ferro, Ferrito?” Hortensia asked. “Is Ferrito in jail?”
“Call a taxi for the nameless lady and keep your mouth shut,
Hortensia
,” he said. “Don’t worry about the driver, ma’am. I’ll have the policeman on the corner go along with you. Consider the debt paid.”
3
H
AD THE MISTRESS
loved Don Cayo? Not very much. She hadn’t cried over him, but instead, because he’d gone off and left her flat: bum, dog. It’s your own fault, Miss Queta said, she’d told her time and time again, at least get him to buy you a car, a house in your name at least. But during those first weeks there was scarcely any change in life in San Miguel; the pantry and the refrigerator were as chock full as ever, Símula continued to keep her tricky accounts for the mistress, at the end of the month they got their full pay. That Sunday, as soon as they met in the Bertoloto, they began to talk about the mistress. What would become of her now, Amalia said, who would help her. And he: she was a sharp one, she’d get herself another moneybags before the cock crowed three times. Don’t talk about her that way, Amalia said, I don’t like it. They went to see a picture from Argentina and Ambrosio came out talking
Argentine
slang and putting on the accent; nut, Amalia laughed, and all of a sudden Trinidad’s face appeared. They were in the little room on the Calle Chiclayo, getting undressed, when a woman in her forties with artificial eyelashes came looking for Ludovico. Her expression became sad when Ambrosio told her he’d gone to Arequipa and hadn’t come back. The woman left and Amalia made fun of her lashes and Ambrosio said he likes wild old women. And by the way, what could have
happened
to Ludovico? He hoped nothing had gone bad for him, the poor guy didn’t feel like going at all. They had a snack downtown and walked until it got dark. Sitting on a bench on the Paseo de la República, they chatted, watching the cars go by. There was a breeze, Amalia cuddled against him and Ambrosio put his arm around her: would you like to have your own little house and me for your husband, Amalia? She looked at him with surprise. Pretty soon the day would come when they could get married and have children, Amalia, he was putting money away for that. Could it be true? Would they have a home, children? It seemed so far away, so difficult, and lying on her back in her bed, Amalia tried to picture herself living with him, cooking his meals and washing his clothes. She couldn’t. But why not, silly? Weren’t a lot of people getting married every day, why not you to him?
It must have been a month since the master had left when the mistress came into the house like a cyclone one day: all set, Quetita, starting at the fat man’s next week, she would start rehearsing today. She had to take care of her figure, exercises, Turkish baths. Was she really going to sing in a nightclub, ma’am. Of course, just like before. She’d been famous once, Amalia, I gave up my career for that bum, now she was going to pick it up again. Come, let me show you, she took her by the arm, they ran upstairs, and in the study she took out an album of clippings, what she had wanted to see so much at last, Amalia thought, look, look. She was showing them to her, proud: in a long gown, in a bathing suit, with upswept hair, on a stage, as Queen, throwing kisses. And listen to what the newspapers said, Amalia: she was beautiful, she had a tropical voice, she was having success after success. The house became a shambles, all the mistress talked about was rehearsing and she went on a diet, some grapefruit juice and a small steak at noon, a salad with no dressing at night, I’m starving to death but what difference does it make, close the windows, the doors, if I catch cold before my opening I’ll die, she was going to quit smoking, cigarettes were poison to singers. One day Amalia heard her complaining to Miss Queta: not even enough to pay the rent, the fat man was a tightwad. After all, Quetita, the main thing was the chance, she’d get her public back and make some demands. She would leave for the fat man’s around nine o’clock, in slacks and wearing a turban, carrying a small valise, and return at dawn, with heavy makeup on. Her main worry was weight more than cleanliness now. She went through the newspapers with a magnifying glass, listen to what they’re saying about me, Amalia! and she’d get angry if they said something good about someone else: that bitch paid them, she bought them.