Crimes of August: A Novel

Twenty-three

[255] twenty-three Mattos read in Monday’s newspapers the brigadiers’communiqué 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 gratitude for the solidarity received from the army and the navy, and the assurance that the armed forces,within the framework of order and discipline,and faithful to the Constitution,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 Zenóbio, 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 Constitution,”said Radio Globo.An identical announcement , also referring to Zenóbio as the hero of FEB, had been published that day by Última Hora. The government had decided to stop the“spreading of [256] alarmist news.” The radio stations announced events, under police control. But by now censorship 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?” “Getúlio Vargas.” Pause.“And you?” “I have more important things to think about. I have my life.” “Getúlio 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 Getúlio. 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 dictatorship. 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, Getúlio 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 Getúlio’—We Want Getúlio—and defended convoking a constituent assembly with Getúlio in power.” “And were you a queremist?” Pause.“Or a masochist?” [257] “I was very confused in those days.” “And these days, too.” “These days too.” Pause.“Getúlio 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...