Crimes of August: A Novel

Twenty-six

[283] twenty-six In the Gávea clinic,Ilídio received the visit from an emissary of Eusébio de Andrade.The numbers game high command wanted to know whether he was involved in the death of the inspector.The emissary added that the peg-leg lawyer had been let go and that Eusébio de Andrade’s personal lawyer, Mr. Silva Monteiro, a member of the Brazilian Bar Association and professor at the National Law School, was taking over the case and had met with Commissioner Ramos that morning, who had assured him that with the death of Inspector Mattos the investigations would be suspended. Ilídio could relax. Ilídio thankedAndrade’s emissary.He ordered his bodyguardAlcebíades to phone his driver to come for him. The clinic was situated at the top of a hill, in a beautiful isolated location surrounded by trees.In the days that Ilídio had been in the clinic, Alcebíades had slept in his room, which was permissible under the hospital’s rules. Alcebíades had been recommended by Moscoso, who had told Ilídio that it was time for him to have a bodyguard“from the first team.” Ilídio felt protected with Alcebíades at his side.Unlike his old bodyguard, Miro Pereira, a lair and a braggart who talked too much, Alcebíades was a quiet man, attentive and polite, as the best bodyguards are. He never uttered a swear word.He could frequent Ilídio’s home without offending his wife and children with vulgarisms and gutter language. “We should leave here in two cars,”Alcebíades said.“You would go in the second one.” “It’s not necessary. That goddamn cop who was after me already bit the [284] dust.All the other cops are on my payroll.All of them. Uniforms, detectives, investigators, commissioners. If it wasn’t for me, the wives and daughters of most of them couldn’t buy a new dress for their birthday.” “Sorry, Mr. Ilídio, caution and chicken soup never hurt anybody.” “Believe me, Alcebíades. There’s no danger.” Ilídio’s driver arrived with his boss’s Packard. Ilídio had taken to the clinic only a small bag with some undershorts. He didn’t mind wearing the same shirt or pants for several days, but shorts he had to change at least twice a day. He felt repugnance at the smell of what he called the pudenda. The three men got into the Packard. In front, the driver and Alcebíades. Alcebíades had said,“I should go in back with you.” But Ilídio believed that an important numbers man shouldn’t ride in his Packard with his bodyguard in the same seat. In the middle of the highway, a Chevrolet sideswiped Ilídio’s Packard. Alceb íades managed to take out his revolver and fire at the occupants of the Chevrolet before he was killed by a bullet to the head. The same man who killed the bodyguard shot and killed the driver. The attackers’ actions had been very fast. No car had passed them on the road during the slaughter. Ilídio had crouched down on the floor of the car as soon as the shooting began. He felt himself being grabbed by the collar and yanked from the car. A man put handcuffs on him. “Murilo, take their car to that valley near the brook. I’ll follow you.” Murilo grabbed the two dead men from the Packard and put them in the back seat. He got behind the wheel, turned on the ignition, and left. Ilídio was dragged inside the Chevrolet by the man who had handcuffed him. The Chevrolet followed the Packard. “Know where I was this morning? The morgue. I went to visit my friend Mattos and his girl, who you ordered killed,” said the man driving the Chevrolet. “It wasn’t me. I swear it wasn’t me, by the light of my eyes.” “Having Mattos killed because he gave you a kick in the ass, that I can understand. But why did the girl have to be eliminated?” [285] “May I see my mother dead if it was me. Listen, sir, I’ll give you anything you want if you let me go.” “Do you know me?” “You’re Inspector Pádua.” “Then you ought to know, I don’t take numbers money.” “I...