Conversation in the Cathedral (54 page)

“I’m terribly sorry about all the trouble we’ve been causing you, senator,” he said in a friendly way. “We had to locate you.”

“What’s the meaning of all this?” Landa’s angry voice exploded. “Why was I taken from my house by soldiers? What happened to
parliamentary
immunity? Who ordered this outrage, Bermúdez?”

“I wanted to let you know that General Espina is under arrest,” he said calmly. “And the General insists on tying you in with some very sticky business. Yes, Espina, General Espina. He insists that you’re involved in a plot against the government. We need you in Lima to clear this all up, senator.”

“Me, in a plot against the government?” There was no hesitation in Landa’s voice, only the same ringing fury. “But I belong to the
government
, I am the government. What kind of nonsense is this, Bermúdez, what are you up to?”

“I’m not up to anything, it’s General Espina.” He begged his pardon. “He’s got proof, he says. That’s why we need you here, senator. We’ll have a talk tomorrow and I hope everything will all be cleared up.”

“Have them get me a plane to Lima at once,” the senator roared. “I’ll rent a plane, I’ll pay for it. This is absolutely absurd, Bermúdez.”

“Very well, senator,” he said. “Put Camino on, I’ll give him
instructions
.”

“I’ve been treated like a criminal by your police,” the senator shouted. “In spite of my position as a member of parliament, in spite of my friendship with the President. You’re responsible for all this, Bermúdez.”

“Keep Landa there overnight for me, Camino,” he said. “Send him to me tomorrow. No, no special plane. On the regular Faucett flight, yes. That’s all, Camino.”

“‘I’ll rent a plane, I’ll pay for it,’” Major Paredes said, hanging up the phone. “It’ll do that big shot good spending a night in the cooler.”

“One of Landa’s daughters was chosen Miss Peru last year, wasn’t she?” he said, and he could see her, hazy against the curtain of shadows by the window, taking off her fur coat, her shoes. “Cristina or something like that, wasn’t it? She looked like a pretty girl from her pictures.”

“Your methods still don’t convince me,” General Llerena said,
looking
ill-humoredly at the rug. “Things are settled better and quicker with a heavy hand, Bermúdez.”

“There’s a call from Police Headquarters for Mr. Bermúdez,
General
,” a lieutenant said, sticking his head in. “A Mr. Lozano.”

“The subject has just left his house, Don Cayo,” Lozano said. “Yes, a patrol car is tailing him. In the direction of Chaclacayo, yes.”

“Fine,” he said. “Call Chaclacayo and tell them that Zavala’s on his way. Have them let him in to wait for me. Don’t let him leave until I get there. See you later, Lozano.”

“The big fish is going to your house?” General Llerena asked. “What does that mean, Bermúdez?”

“It means he’s realized that the plot’s all washed up, General,” he said.

“Is everything going to be settled so easily for Zavala?” Major Paredes muttered. “He and Landa are the brains behind this, they pushed the Uplander into this adventure.”

“General Chamorro on the phone, General,” a captain said from the door. “Yes, all three phones are connected to Tumbes, General.”

“Cayo Bermúdez speaking, General.” Out of the corner of his eye he saw General Llerena’s face, drawn from lack of sleep, and Paredes’ anxiety as he bit his lip. “I’m sorry to wake you up at this hour, but it’s a very urgent matter.”

“This is General Chamorro, at your service.” An energetic voice that showed no age, sure of itself. “Tell me, how can I be of help, Mr. Bermúdez.”

“General Espina was arrested tonight, General,” he said. “The
garrisons
at Arequipa, Iquitos and Cajamarca have reaffirmed their loyalty to the government. All the civilians involved in the plot, from Senator Landa down to Fermín Zavala, are under arrest. I’m going to read you some telegrams, General.”

“A plot?” General Chamorro whispered in the midst of various noises. “Against the government, you say?”

“A plot that was crushed before it could get started,” he said. “The President is prepared to forget all about it. General Espina will leave the country, the officers involved won’t be touched if they act reasonably. We know that you promised to back General Espina, but the President is prepared to forget about it, General.”

“I only answer for my actions to my superiors, to the Minister of War or to the Chief of the General Staff,” Chamorro’s voice said haughtily, then, after a long pause with electric belches, “Who do you think you are? I don’t give any explanations to some civilian flunky.”

“Hello, Alberto?” General Llerena coughed, spoke more strongly. “The Minister of War is speaking, not your comrade in arms. I just want to confirm what you’ve just heard. I also want you to know that you can thank the President for this chance. I’d proposed bringing you up before a court-martial on the charge of high treason.”

“I take full responsibility for my actions,” Chamorro’s voice replied indignantly, but something had begun to give way in it, something that showed through had begun to give way in it, something that showed through its drive. “It’s not true that I’ve been involved in any act of treason. I’ll answer for it before any court you want. I’ve always
answered
, you know that very well.”

“The President knows that you’re an outstanding officer, that’s why he’d rather not think of you as being connected with this headstrong adventure,” he said. “Yes, Bermúdez speaking. The President respects you and thinks of you as a patriot. He doesn’t want to take any action against you, General.”

“I’m a man of honor and I won’t permit my good name to be sullied,” General Chamorro affirmed vigorously. “This is an intrigue that was put together behind my back. I won’t permit it. I have nothing to say to you, put General Llerena back on.”

“All the leaders of the army have attested to your loyalty to the government, General,” he said. “All that’s needed is for you to do it yourself. The President expects it of you, General Chamorro.”

“I won’t allow myself to be slandered, I won’t let my honor be put in doubt,” Chamorro’s voice repeated with vehemence. “This is some
cowardly
and swinish intrigue against me. I order you to put General Llerena on.”

“Reaffirm unbreakable loyalty constitutional government and chief of state in mission national patriotic restoration. Signed, General Pedro Solano, Commander in Chief, First Military District,” he read. “
Commander
in Chief Fourth District and officers confirm support sympathy patriotic regime national restoration. Stop. Will obey constitution laws. Signed, General Antonio Quispe Bulnes. Reaffirm support patriotic regime. Stop. Reaffirm decision fulfill sacred duties fatherland
constitution
laws. Signed, General Manuel Obando Coloma, Commander in Chief, Second District.”

“Did you hear, Alberto?” General Llerena roared. “Did you hear, or do you want me to read you the messages again?”

“The President is waiting for your telegram, General Chamorro,” he said. “He asked me to tell you personally.”

“Unless you want to commit the madness of rebelling all by yourself,” General Llerena roared. “And in that case I can give you my word that all I will need is a couple of hours to show you that the army is
completely
loyal to the government, in spite of what Espina may have made you believe. If you don’t send the telegram before dawn, I’ll consider you in revolt.”

“The President has confidence in you, General Chamorro,” he said.

“I don’t have to remind you that you’re in command of a frontier garrison,” General Llerena said. “I don’t have to tell you about the responsibility that will fall on you if you provoke a civil war at the very gateway to Ecuador.”

“You can consult Generals Quispe, Obando and Solano by radio,” he said. “The President is waiting for you to act with the same patriotism they showed. That’s all we wanted to tell you. Good night, General Chamorro.”

“Chamorro’s head is a can of worms right now,” General Llerena murmured, running his handkerchief over his sweating face. “He’s
capable
of doing something foolish.”

“At this moment he’s insulting the mothers of Espina, Solano, Quispe and Obando,” Major Paredes said. “He could escape into Ecuador, but I don’t think he’ll want to ruin his career like that.”

“He’ll send out the telegram before dawn,” he said. “He’s an
intelligent
man.”

“If he has an attack of lunacy and goes into revolt, he can hold out for several days,” General Llerena said dully. “I’ve got him surrounded by troops, but I don’t have much faith in the air force. When the question of bombing his headquarters came up, the Minister said that a lot of pilots wouldn’t like the idea.”

“None of that will be necessary, the plot has died without pain or glory,” he said. “All told, a couple of sleepless nights, General. I’m going to Chaclacayo now to sew up the last stitch. Then I’ll go to the Palace. If anything new comes up, I’ll be at home.”

“There’s a call from the Palace for Mr. Bermúdez, General,” a
lieutenant
said without coming in. “The white phone, General.”

“Major Tijero speaking, Don Cayo.” In the frame of the window a blue iridescence was breaking out in back of the mournful mass: the fur wrap slid down to her feet, which were pink. “A message has just arrived from Tumbes. It’s in code, it’s being deciphered. But we’ve already got the gist of it. Not bad, right, Don Cayo?”

“I’m very glad to hear that, Tijero,” he said without any show of joy, and he caught a glimpse of Paredes’ and Llerena’s stupefied faces. “He didn’t take a half hour to think it over. That’s what you call a man of action. Good-bye, Tijero, I’ll be over there inside of a couple of hours.”

“We’d better get to the Palace right away, General,” Major Paredes said. “This is the final stage.”

“I’m sorry, Don Cayo,” Ludovico said. “We weren’t expecting you. Wake up, Hipólito.”

“What’s the matter, God damn it, what are you shoving me for?” Hipólito stammered. “Oh, I’m sorry, Don Cayo, I fell asleep.”

“Chaclacayo,” he said. “I want to get there in twenty minutes.”

“The living room lights are on, you’ve got a visitor, Don Cayo,” Ludovico said. “Look who’s there in the car, Hipólito. It’s Ambrosio.”

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting, Don Fermín,” he said, smiling, watching the purple face, the eyes devastated by defeat and the long vigil, putting out his hand. “I’ll have some coffee brought, I hope Anatolia’s awake.”

“Dark, strong and no sugar,” Don Fermín said. “Thank you, Don Cayo.”

“Two black coffees, Anatolia,” he said. “Bring them to us in the living room and you can go back to bed.”

“I tried to see the President and I couldn’t, that’s why I came here,” Don Fermín said mechanically. “Something serious, Don Cayo. Yes, a plot.”

“Another one?” He pushed the ashtray over to Don Fermín, sat down beside him on the sofa. “It’s gotten so a week doesn’t go by without something being uncovered.”

“Military men at the center of it, several garrisons involved,” Don Fermín recited with displeasure. “And people you’d least expect at the head of it.”

“Have you got a match?” He leaned toward Don Fermín’s lighter, took a long drag, blew out a cloud of smoke and coughed. “Well, here comes the coffee. Leave it here, Anatolia. Yes, please close the door.”

“Uplander Espina.” Don Fermín took a sip with a look of annoyance, stirred the coffee slowly. “He’s got the support of Arequipa, Cajamarca, Iquitos and Tumbes. Espina is leaving for Arequipa this morning. The coup might come tonight. They wanted my support and it seemed
prudent
not to disappoint them, to give evasive answers, attend a few
meetings
. Because of my friendship with Espina most of all.”

“I know what good friends you are,” he said, tasting the coffee. “It was thanks to the Uplander that we first met, remember?”

“It seemed mad at first,” Don Fermín said, staring at his cup of coffee. “Then not so mad. A lot of people in the government, a lot of politicians. The American Embassy knew about it. They suggested that elections be held six months after the new regime took office.”

“A disloyal fellow, the Uplander,” he said, nodding. “It pains me because we’re old friends too. I owe my job to him, as you know.”

“He thought he was Odría’s right-hand man and just like that they took the Ministry away from him,” Don Fermín said with a tired gesture. “He never got over it.”

“He had things mixed up, he began working toward it in the Ministry, naming his people to prefectures, demanding that his friends get the key positions in the army,” he said. “Too many political ambitions, Don Fermín.”

“My news hasn’t surprised you in the least, naturally,” Don Fermín said with sudden boredom, and he thought he knows how to behave, he has class, he has experience.

“The officers owe a lot to the President and, naturally, they’ve kept us informed,” he said. “Even about the conversations between you, Espina and Senator Landa.”

“Espina wanted to use my name in order to convince some people who were hanging back,” Don Fermín said with an apathetic and fleeting little smile. “But only the military men knew the plans in detail. They kept Landa and me in the dark. I only got adequate information
yesterday
.”

“Everything will be all cleared up, then,” he said. “Half of the plotters were friends of the government, all of the garrisons involved have given their support to the President. Espina is under arrest. All that remains is to clarify the position of a few civilians. Yours is beginning to be clear, Don Fermín.”

“Did you also know that I’d be waiting for you here?” Don Fermín asked without sarcasm, a glow of sweat appearing on his brow.

“It’s my job, I get paid to know whatever is of interest to the
government
,” he admitted. “It’s not easy, actually, it’s getting harder and harder. Plots by university students are child’s play. When generals start plotting, then it’s more serious. And all the more so if they’re plotting with members of the Club Nacional.”