Renaldo (96 page)

he knew that much from Oli. What were the odds that he could connect

Renaldo’s brother to any of his past terrorist crimes? Lonnie and his girlfriend

were camping in the south after being banished by Florencia De Seta. That

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RENALDO

was the accepted story. If Gordero believed that, a request from Lonnie to see

his brother play in the World Cup final might not arouse any suspicion at all.

He had to be there to see Renaldo! He picked up the receiver and dialed the

numbers on the card.

Might as well get to know this man sooner than later. He might end up handling

my estate matters if things go badly.
Lonnie smiled at his macabre sense of humor

as he waited for some response on the other end of the line. Being Saturday,

he knew that the chances of reaching Gordero were slim at best, but he had

nothing to lose in trying.

“A.R. Gordero and Sons. How may I help you?” the voice crackled in his

ear.

“Astor Gordero, if you please.”

“Señor Gordero is not working today. This is his answering service. If you

would like to leave a message, he will be in the office on Monday.” Lonnie’s

heart sank.

“Is there no way of contacting Señor Gordero before Monday? There is

some urgency to the matter I wish to discuss with him.”

“Are you a client of Señor Gordero’s?” the voice shot back, now slightly

impatient.

“No, no I am not a client personally, but my brother is a famous client

of Señor Gordero. Renaldo De Seta, the football player. And my mother does

business with the Señor as well. It is really important that I reach him as soon

as possible. Is there anything that you can do for me?”

“I am sorry, sir. If you were a client yourself, you would have Señor

Gordero’s private number, but I am under strict instructions not to give that

number to the public.”

“I am not the fucking public, you puta. I am Renaldo De Seta’s brother.

Thank you for all your help and please go to Hell at your earliest convenience!”

Lonnie slammed the black receiver down, shaking with frustration.

“Goddamned slut! Who does she think . . .” He looked at the reverse side

of the business card as he flipped it onto the nightstand. There was a second set

of numbers written in ink.

“Son of a bitch!” His fingers dialed the number. The connection was

crystal clear this time.

“Astor Gordero.” The voice stunned Lonnie. He had never expected to

actually be able to talk to the attorney in person. Now, he was mute with awe

and trepidation.

“Astor Gordero! Is anyone there? Who is this? Please speak up. We must

have a bad line.” Lonnie took a deep breath and plunged in with both feet.

“Señor Gordero, it is a great honor to actually reach you. This is Lonnie

De Seta speaking, Renaldo’s older brother. I believe you have met my mother

as well.”

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JAMES McCREATH

There was complete silence on the other end of the phone. At least

ten seconds passed. It seemed like an eternity to Lonnie. He repeated his

introduction before the older man could speak.

“I said, Señor, this is Lon . . .”

“Lonnie De Seta. Yes, yes, I heard you, my boy. This is a surprise!”

The Fat Man was frantically signaling Wolfgang Stoltz to tape record the

conversation on the in-house wire tap and also to make sure that the line in

was being traced.

“So, Lonnie, I’ve been expecting a call from you for weeks. Renaldo told

me that you had promised to be back for the tournament if he made the starting

roster. Quite frankly, I think your brother is disappointed that he hasn’t heard

from you. Where are you now, and what can I do for you?”

The solicitor looked over at his assistant, who held up his thumb and

index finger in a circle to indicate that everything was in order.

“I am back in the capital, Señor Gordero, but in a rather sad state of affairs.

I have been camping on the glaciers down in Bariloche with my girlfriend.

The weather turned nasty, and we lost everything in a blizzard. Food, clothes,

personal items, even my wallet. In truth, I am lucky to be alive. My girlfriend is

at the hospital in Bariloche with fractured ribs and other injuries. She is going

to be alright, but I had to come home to get money and clothing for us both.

My arrival just happened to coincide with the World Cup final.”

Lonnie took another deep breath and kept going. “I suppose you know

why I am calling you this afternoon, and you must forgive my bluntness, but it

would mean the world to me to be able to see Renaldo play tomorrow. Is there

any way that you could secure me a ticket, Señor? I would be indebted to you

for the rest of my life if you could achieve such a miracle.”

There was a slight chuckle at the other end of the receiver.

“Lonnie, Lonnie, I have been known in the past as a miracle worker of

some proportion, but this! This is something I fear the Savior himself would

have trouble accomplishing. However, seeing as you are my star client’s only

brother, let me see what rabbits I can pull out of my hat. It will take some time

to arrange things though. I won’t have an answer for you until tonight. Where

can you be reached? Do you have a number?”

Lonnie blurted out the number of Marla’s personal line. The powerful

Gordero had been cordial and sympathetic to Lonnie’s initial request, so the

bandit decided to go for broke and rub the genie’s lamp twice more.

“With respect, Señor, I have no money to pay for a ticket if your search is

successful. You see, as I said my wallet was lost in the storm and I arrived home

after the banks closed last night. I am not staying at my mother’s house, for we

have had a strained relationship the last few months. Would it . . . do you think

it would be possible to borrow a few thousand pesos until Monday when my

bank opens? Then I will pay you for the ticket and the loan, with interest!”

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RENALDO

“Well, let me see what I can do, Lonnie. I think there might be some loose

change sitting around the office here. Don’t worry, money can be taken care of.

The ticket is the hard item to secure. It will be like finding a needle in a hay

stack!” Again, The Fat Man’s self-amused laugh filled the line.

“One last request, Señor, if you don’t mind. Would it be possible for me to

call Renaldo? To tell him I am in town, and that I am trying obtain a ticket to

see him play? Could I please get his number at the training facility?”

The voice that answered the final question was totally different from the

one he had previously heard. It had a hard edge, a certain authoritarian finality

to its uttered reply.

“That is out of the question! Your brother has only one thing that he

needs to think about, and you know very well what that is. I will not tolerate

any interference or distractions as to our ultimate goal. After Renaldo is a

World Champion, then and only then will you be able to congratulate him.

I will contact you when I have word on the availability of a ticket. Stay right

where you are, for I will only try to contact you once. Good-bye until then.”

The abruptness of the termination startled Lonnie. It had been like talking

to two different people. He supposed that the ability to change moods and

personalities was an asset to a great theatrical litigator such as Astor Gordero.

He had just been given a tutorial in the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde School of legal

linguistics.

The fact that he now stood an infinitely better chance of seeing his little

brother play the following afternoon was enough of a boost to displace the bad

taste that the curt conclusion to their chat had left. What was more, his wallet

might just be chock full of pesos if ‘The Generous One’ took pity on the poor,

displaced camper.

Two out of three requests isn’t bad for a complete stranger. Isn’t bad at all!

Lonnie smiled with satisfaction as he poured some Scotch into the tumbler

and made himself comfortable for viewing the Brazil-Italy pregame festivities.

“My God, Wolfie, do you believe that? It is another sign, an omen boding

well for us, and hopefully for all of Argentina. The planets are definitely aligned.

I have been searching for that man for months, and he suddenly places himself

in the palm of my hand. What more could I ask for?” Astor Gordero beamed

with his good fortune.

“A victory against Holland tomorrow, of course!” was Stoltz’s reply. “But it

has been an incredible run of good fortune since we arrived home from Rosario,”

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JAMES McCREATH

the German continued. “First, the flaccid English bow to your nonnegotiable

terms regarding the two players.”

“Then that mobster Dominico cedes his rights to Ramon Vida and signs

over his transfer papers. You should have heard him squeal, Wolfie, just like the

swine he is. He said that I was robbing him of his future superstar. I told him

he will make so much money once Newton’s relocates that he can buy the boy

back in two years. He is lucky that I did not ask for more!”

Gordero was, of course, talking about the Boca Juniors situation and the

dealing required to obtain the personal services of their star center forward.

The Fat Man continued his discourse revealing more good news.

“Then, after two days of your adept romantic persuasion, Florencia De Seta

arrives in this office to inform us that she is prepared to take her mother-in-

law Lydia to court over control of the De Seta empire. She also states that such

action will very likely be unnecessary, for the old woman has been bedridden of

late with a serious undiagnosed malady!”

Mock concern shrouded the solicitor’s face. “The Señora’s daughter-in-law

has been alerted by the staff in Pergamino that the situation is so grave that it

might be necessary to fly the matriarch back to the capital to be hospitalized.”

“The wrinkled old bitch won’t live to see Buenos Aires again. Good

riddance!” was Stoltz’s caustic comment.

“But, Wolfie, the most touching moment of all was when Florencia

informed me that you had personally convinced her to allow Renaldo to travel

to England. When she said that, she realized she could not control his life

anymore, and that as long as he was enrolled in a medical school while he

played football, she would give the boy her blessing. That she now wanted to

concentrate all her attentions on the control of the family business, counting

heavily on your personal stewardship to guide her. My, my, you do work wonders

with that magic wand of yours!” Gordero’s belly shook from a bout of hearty

laughter.

“I accept the compliment, Herr Chairman, for you know how much I

enjoy my work.” Stoltz had that mischievous grin of total satisfaction about

him. “Now, what are we going to do about Lonfranco?”

The phone rang at that instant. Stoltz picked up the receiver, listened

intently, then wrote down something on his notepad.

“That was the tracer. The call came from this address on Calle Viamonte.

We have him!” He tore the piece of paper from the spiral binding and handed

it to his employer.

“Good, very good! It is all working out so perfectly. With Lonnie and

Lydia disposed of, Renaldo halfway around the world, and Florencia under your

spell, we will have everything we wanted. Control of perhaps the largest private

family fortune in Argentina.”

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