About the Author 33 страница

Some of the people on stage were running for the exits, others looked at the marshals, who had formed a wall and were waiting, their clubs in the air, for the big black man and the other two who were advancing, waving their chains over their heads. Break them up, Urondo, Trifulcio shouted, break them up, Té llez. He cracked his chain like a bull drover cracking his whip, and the armband man closest to him let go of his club and fell to the floor clutching his face. Get up there, boy, Urondo shouted, and Té llez we’ll hold them off, boy! Trifulcio saw them attacking the small group defending the stairs to the stage and, whirling his chain, he attacked too.

“I got separated from my partner and the others, ” Ludovico said. “There was a wall of thugs between them and me. They were lighting with about ten men and there were at least five surrounding me. I held them off with my pistol and kept shouting Hipó lito, Hipó lito. And then the end of the world came, brother. ”

The grenades fell from the balcony like a handful of brown stones, bounced with crisp sounds on the seats of the orchestra and the floor of the stage, and immediately spirals of smoke began to rise. In a few seconds the air turned white, hardened, and a thick, burning vapor was mixing in and blotting out the bodies. The shouting grew louder, the sound of rolling bodies, chairs breaking, coughs, and Trifulcio stopped fighting. He felt his arms go limp, the chain fell out of his hands, his legs doubled under and his eyes, in the midst of the burning clouds, managed to make out the figures on stage who were fleeing with handkerchiefs to their mouths, and the guys with the armbands who had come together and, covering their noses, were approaching him as if swimming. He couldn’t get up, he pounded his chest with his fist, opened his mouth as wide as he could. He didn’t feel the blows that started landing on him. Air, like a fish, Tomasa, he still managed to think.

“I was blinded, ” Ludovico said. “And the worst thing was the strangling, brother. I began shooting wildly. I didn’t realize they were grenades, I thought I’d been shot from behind. ”

“Tear gas in a closed place, several dead, dozens wounded, ” Senator Landa said. “Could you ask for anything more, Fermí n? Even though he’s got nine lives, Bermú dez won’t survive this one. ”

“I ran out of bullets one-two-three, ” Ludovico said. “I couldn’t open my eyes. I felt my head splitting and I fell into a deep sleep. There were so many on top of me, Ambrosio. ”

“A few incidents, Don Cayo, ” the Prefect said. “It seems they broke up the rally, they did manage that. People are running out of the theater scared to death. ”

“The assault guards have started into the theater, ” Molina said. “There was shooting inside. No, I still don’t know if anyone’s been killed, Don Cayo. ”

“I don’t know how much time passed, but I opened my eyes and the smoke was still there, ” Ludovico said. “I felt worse than dead. Bleeding all over, Ambrosio. And that’s when I saw that bastard Hipó lito. ”

“He was kicking your partner too? ” Ambrosio laughed. “I mean, he fooled them. He didn’t turn out as dumb as we thought. ”

“Help me, help me, ” Ludovico shouted. “Nothing, as if he didn’t know me. He kept on kicking the black man, and all of a sudden the others with him saw me and jumped on top of me. The kicking again, the beating. Then I passed out again, Ambrosio. ”

“Have the police clear the streets, Prefect, ” Cayo Bermú dez said. “Don’t allow any demonstrations, arrest all the leaders of the Coalition. Have you got the casualty lists yet? Was anyone killed? ”

“Like waking up and still seeing the dream, ” Ludovico said. “The theater was already almost empty. Everything broken, spattered with blood, my partner in a puddle of it. I can’t even remember if the old man had any face left. And there were guys sprawled out coughing. ”

“Yes, a big demonstration on the Plaza de Armas, Don Cayo, ” Molina said. “The Prefect is with the Commandant now. I don’t think it would be wise, Don Cayo. There are thousands of people. ”

“Have them break it up immediately, you idiot, ” Cayo Bermú dez said. “Can’t you see that the thing is going to get bigger after what happened? Put me in touch with the Commandant. Clear the streets immediately, Molina. ”

“Then the guards came in and one of them gave me still another kick, seeing me like that, ” Ludovico said. “I’m a detective, I’m on the force. Finally I saw Chink Molina’s face. They took me out a side door. Then I passed out again and I didn’t come to until I was in the hospital. By then the whole city was on strike. ”

“Things are getting worse, Don Cayo, ” Molina said. “They’ve torn up the streets, there are barricades all over the downtown area. The assault guards can’t break up a demonstration like that. ”

“The army has to intervene, Don Cayo, ” the Prefect said. “But General Alvarado says he’ll only call out the troops if the Minister of War orders it. ”

“My roommate was one of the senator’s men, ” Ludovico said. “A broken leg. He filled me in on what was going on in Arequipa and it shook me up. Boy, was he scared. ”

“It’s all right, ” Cayo Bermú dez said. “I’m going to get General Llerena to give the order. ”

“I’m going to get out of here, the street’s safer than the hospital, ” Té llez said. “I don’t want to happen to me what happened to Martí nez or the black fellow. I know someone named Urquiza. I’ll ask him to hide me in his house. ”

“Nothing’s going to happen, they won’t come in here, ” Ludovico said. “Let them have their general strike. The army will open fire on them. ”

“But where is the army? It’s nowhere to be seen, ” Té llez said. “If they get a notion to lynch us, they can walk right in here and make themselves at home. There isn’t even a guard at the hospital. ”

“No one knows we’re here, ” Ludovico said. “And even if they did know, they’d think we belonged to the Coalition and were victims. ”

“No, because they’d know we weren’t from around here, ” Té llez said. “They’d know we were outsiders. Tonight I’m going to Urquiza’s. I can walk in spite of this cast. ”

“He was half crazy with fright because two of his buddies had been killed in the theater, ” Ludovico said. “They’re asking for the resignation of the Minister of Public Order, he was saying, they’ll come in here and hang us from a lamppost. But what the hell is going on, God damn it? ”

“A near revolution is going on, ” Molina said. “The people have taken over the streets, Don Cayo. We’ve even had to withdraw the traffic police so they won’t be stoned. Why hasn’t the order come for the army to intervene, Don Cayo? ”

“What about them, sir? ” Té llez asked. “What have they done with Martí nez and the old man? ”

“Don’t worry, we’ve already buried them, ” Molina said. “You’re Té llez, aren’t you? Your boss has left money at headquarters so you can get back to Ica by bus as soon as you can walk. ”

“Why have they buried them here, sir? ” Té llez asked. “Martí nez has a wife and kids in Ica, Trifulcio has relatives in Chincha. Why didn’t they send them there so their families could bury them? Why here, like dogs? Nobody’s ever going to come and visit them, sir. ”

“Hipó lito? ” Molina asked. “He took his bus to Lima in spite of my orders. I asked him to stay and help and he took off. Yes, I know he didn’t behave well in the theater, Ludovico. But I’m going to make a report to Lozano and screw him. ”

“Calm down, Molina, ” Cayo Bermú dez said. “Calmly now, with details, piece by piece. What, exactly, is the situation? ”

“The situation is that the police are no longer able to restore order, Don Cayo, ” the Prefect said. “I’ll say it once more. If the army doesn’t intervene, anything could happen here. ”

“The situation? ” General Llerena said. “Very simple, Paredes. Bermú dez’ imbecility has put us between the sword and the wall. He messed things up and now he wants the army to fix it with a show of force. ”

“A show of force? ” General Alvarado said. “No, sir, if I call out the troops there’ll be more dead than in 1950. They’ve set up barricades, there are people with weapons and the whole city is on strike. I warn you that a lot of blood will flow. ”

“Cayo assures me that it won’t, General, ” Major Paredes said. “Only twenty percent are observing the strike. The uproar was unleashed by a small group of agitators hired by the Coalition. ”

“A hundred percent are observing the strike, General, ” General Alvarado said. “The people are lord and master of the streets. They’ve formed a committee made up of lawyers, workers, doctors, students. The Prefect has been insisting that I call out the troops since last night, but I want the decision to come from you. ”

“What’s your opinion, Alvarado? ” General Llerena said. “In all frankness. ”

“As soon as they see the tanks, the rioters will go home, General Llerena, ” Cayo Bermú dez said. “It’s madness to go on losing time like this. Every minute that passes makes the agitators stronger and the government loses prestige. Give the order at once. ”

“Quite sincerely, I don’t think the army has any business getting its hands dirty for the sake of Mr. Bermú dez, General, ” General Alvarado said. “It’s not a question of the President, the army, or the government here. The gentlemen from the Coalition have come to see me and they’ve given me assurances. They promise to calm the people down if Bermú dez resigns. ”

“You know the leaders of the Coalition quite well, General Llerena, ” Senator Aré valo said. “Bacacorzo, Zavala, Ló pez Landa. You can’t think that those gentlemen are tied in with Apristas or Communists, can you? ”

“They have the greatest respect for the army and especially for you, General Llerena, ” Senator Landa insisted. “All they want is for Bermú dez to resign. It’s not the first time Bermú dez has put his foot in it, General, you know that. It’s a good chance to rid the government of an individual who’s doing everybody harm, General. ”

“Arequipa is indignant at what happened in the Municipal Theater, ” General Alvarado said. “It was a miscalculation on the part of Mr. Bermú dez, General. The leaders of the Coalition have channeled the indignation very well. They put all the blame on Bermú dez, not the government. If you want me to, I’ll call out the troops. But think about it, General. If Bermú dez leaves the cabinet, this will be settled peacefully. ”

“We’re losing in a few hours what it took us years to get, Paredes, ” Cayo Bermú dez said. “Llerena answers me with evasions, the other ministers won’t show their faces to me. It’s a question of a regular ambush against me. Have you talked to Llerena? ”

“All right, keep the troops in their barracks, Alvarado, ” General Llerena said. “The army shouldn’t get mixed up in this unless it’s attacked. ”

“I think that’s the most intelligent course of action, ” General Alvarado said. “Bacacorzo and Ló pez Landa of the Coalition have come back to see me, General. They suggest a military cabinet. Bermú dez could leave and the government wouldn’t give the impression of having given in. It could be a solution, couldn’t it, sir? ”

“General Alvarado has behaved very well, Fermí n, ” Senator Landa said.

“The country is tired of Bermú dez’ abuses, General Llerena, ” Senator Aré valo said. “The business in Arequipa is just one sign of what could happen all over Peru if we don’t get rid of that fellow. This is a chance for the army to win the sympathy of the country, General. ”

“The business in Arequipa doesn’t surprise me in the least, Dr. Lora, ” Dr. Arbelá ez said. “On the contrary, we’ve won the lottery. Bermú dez is already starting to smell like a corpse. ”

“Remove him from the cabinet? ” Dr. Lora asked. “The President will never do that, Arbelá ez, Bermú dez is his favorite spoiled little child. He’d prefer for the army to go at it blood and thunder in Arequipa. ”

“The President isn’t too sharp, but he’s not too stupid either, ” Dr. Arbelá ez said. “We can explain it to him and he’ll understand. The hatred against the government is concentrated on Bermú dez. Throw them that bone, and the dogs will calm down. ”

“If the army doesn’t intervene, I can’t remain in the city, Don Cayo, ” the Prefect said. “Headquarters is only protected by a couple of dozen guards. ”

“If you budge an inch out of Arequipa, you’re fired, ” Bermú dez said. “Control your nerves. General Llerena will give the order any moment now. ”

“I’m penned in here, Don Cayo, ” Molina said. “We can hear the demonstration on the Plaza de Armas. They might attack the post. Why don’t the troops come out, Don Cayo? ”

“Look, Paredes, the army isn’t going to muddy its boots saving Bermú dez’ cabinet post, ” General Llerena said. “No, not in any way. One thing is sure, we have to put an end to this situation. The military leaders and a group of loyalist senators are going to propose the formation of a military cabinet to the President. ”

“It’s the simplest way of liquidating Bermú dez without the government’s appearing to have been defeated by the Arequipans, ” Dr. Arbelá ez said. “Resignation of civilian ministers, a military cabinet, and the whole matter settled, General. ”

“What’s going on? ” Cayo Bermú dez asked. “I’ve been waiting four hours and the President won’t see me. What does this mean, Paredes? ”

“The army comes out perfectly clean with this solution, General Llerena, ” Senator Aré valo said. “And you earn an enormous political dividend. Those of us who respect you feel very happy, General. ”

“You can get into the Palace without his aides’ stopping you, ” Cayo Bermú dez said. “Run over there, Paredes. Explain to the President that there’s a high-level conspiracy, that at this moment everything depends on him. That he make Llerena understand things. I don’t trust anyone anymore. Even Lozano and Alcibí ades have sold me out. ”

“No arrests or anything crazy, Molina, ” Lozano said. “You stay right there at your post with your people, and no shooting unless it’s a matter of life and death. ”

“I don’t understand, Mr. Lozano, ” Molina said. “You tell me one thing and the Minister of Public Order tells me something else. ”

“Forget about Don Cayo’s orders, ” Lozano said. “He’s under quarantine and I don’t think he’s going to last much longer as Minister. What about the wounded? ”

“The most serious ones are in the hospital, Mr. Lozano, ” Molina said. “About twenty of them. ”

“Did you bury those two guys of Aré valo’s? ” Lozano asked.

“With the greatest discretion, as Don Cayo ordered, ” Molina said. “Two others went back to Ica. There’s only one left in the hospital. A man named Té llez. ”

“Get him out of Arequipa as soon as possible, ” Lozano said. “And the same goes for the two I sent you. Those people can’t stay on there. ”

“Hipó lito’s already left, in spite of my orders, ” Molina said. “But Pantoja’s in the hospital, very serious. He won’t be able to be moved for some time, sir. ”

“Ah, I understand, ” Cayo Bermú dez said. “Well, under the present circumstances I understand quite well. It’s a solution, yes, I agree. Where do I sign? ”

“You don’t look so sad, Cayo, ” Major Paredes said. “I’m awfully sorry, but I couldn’t back you up. In political matters friendship has to be put to one side sometimes. ”

“Don’t give me any explanations, I understand only too well, ” Cayo Bermú dez said. “Besides, I’ve wanted to get away for some time now, you know that. Yes, I’m leaving early tomorrow morning, by plane. ”

“I don’t know how I’m going to feel as Minister of Public Order, ” Major Paredes said. “It’s too bad you won’t stay on to give me some advice, with all the experience you’ve had. ”

“I’m going to give you one good piece of advice. ”. Cayo Bermú dez smiled. “Don’t even trust your mother. ”

“Mistakes are costly in politics, ” Major Paredes said. “It’s like war, Cayo. ”

“That’s true, ” Cayo Bermú dez said. “I don’t want anyone to know I’m leaving tomorrow. Please keep that secret for me. ”

“We’ve got a taxi that will take you to Camaná, there you can rest for a couple of days before going on to Ica, if you want, ” Molina said. “And it would be better if you didn’t open your mouth about what happened to you in Arequipa. ”

“Fine, ” Té llez said. “I’ll be glad to get out of here as soon as I can. ”

“What happens to me? ” Ludovico asked. “When are they going to send me off? ”

“As soon as you’re able to stand, ” Molina said. “Don’t worry, there’s no reason to anymore. Don Cayo has left the government and the strike’s going to be over. ”

“Don’t be angry with me, Don Cayo, ” Dr. Alcibí ades said. “The pressures were very strong. They didn’t give me a chance to act any other way. ”

“Of course not, doctor, ” Cayo Bermú dez said. “I’m not angry with you. On the contrary, I’m impressed by the able way you handled it. Behave yourself with my successor, Major Paredes. He’s going to name you Director of Security. He asked my opinion and I told him you had what it takes for the job. ”

“I’ll always be here to serve you, Don Cayo, ” Dr. Alcibí ades said. “Here’s your ticket, your passport. Everything in order. And if I don’t see you, have a good trip, Don Cayo. ”

“Come in, brother, I’ve got great news for you, ” Ludovico said. “Guess what, Ambrosio? ”

“It wasn’t to rob her, Ludovico, ” Ambrosio said. “No, it wasn’t for that either. Don’t ask me why I did it, brother, I won’t tell you. Will you help me? ”

“They put me on the regular list! ” Ludovico said. “Run out and buy a bottle of something and sneak it in here, Ambrosio. ”

“No, he didn’t order me to, he didn’t even know, ” Ambrosio said. “Just be satisfied with the fact that I killed her. I thought it up all by myself, yes. He was going to give her the money to go to Mexico with, he was going to let himself be bled for the rest of his life by that woman. Will you help me? ”

“A third-class officer, Homicide Division, ” Ludovico said. “And do you know who came to give me the news, brother? ”

“Yes, to do him a favor, to save him, ” Ambrosio said. “To show him my gratitude, yes. Now he wants me to go away. No, it isn’t ingratitude, he isn’t evil. It’s because of his family. He doesn’t want this to dirty them. He’s a good person. Let your friend Ludovico advise you and I’ll give him a token of my thanks, he says, you see? Will you help me? ”

“Mr. Lozano in person, just imagine, ” Ludovico said. “All of a sudden he appeared in the room and I could have dropped dead, Ambrosio, you can imagine. ”

“He gives you ten thousand and I give you ten thousand out of my savings, ” Ambrosio said. “Yes, fine, I’ll leave Lima and you’ll never see my face again, Ludovico. Fine, I’ll take Amalia too. We’ll never set foot in this city again, brother, agreed. ”

“The salary is twenty-eight hundred, but Mr. Lozano is going to get them to recognize my seniority on the force, ” Ludovico said. “I’ll even have my increments, Ambrosio. ”

“To Pucallpa? ” Ambrosio asked. “But what can I do there, Ludovico? ”

“I know that Hipó lito behaved very badly with you, ” Mr. Lozano said. “We’re going to give him a post where he can rot while he’s still alive. ”

“And do you know where they’re going to send him? ” Ludovico laughed. “To Celendí n! ”

“But you mean they’re going to put Hipó lito on the regular list too? ” Ambrosio said.

“What difference does it make, if he has to live in Celendí n, ” Ludovico said. “Oh, brother, I feel so good. And I owe it to you too, Ambrosio. If I hadn’t gone to work for Don Cayo, I’d still be a nothing. It’s something I’m in debt to you for, brother. ”

“You’re so happy because you’re all healed, you can even move, ” Ambrosio said. “When are they letting you out? ”

“There’s no hurry, Ludovico, ” Mr. Lozano said. “You get well at your leisure, consider this time in the hospital as a vacation. You’ve got nothing to complain about. You sleep all day, you get your meals in bed. ”

“The fact is, everything’s not that rosy, sir, ” Ludovico said. “Don’t you realize that while I’m here I’m not making any money? ”

“You’re going to draw your full salary all the time you’re here, ” Mr. Lozano said. “You’ve earned it, Ludovico. ”

“We part-timers only get paid by the job, Mr. Lozano, ” Ludovico said. “You forget I’m not on the list. ”

“You are now, ” Mr. Lozano said. “Ludovico Pantoja, Third-Class Officer, Homicide Division. How does that sound to you? ”

“I almost jumped out of bed and kissed his hand, Ambrosio, ” Ludovico said. “Really, did they really put me on the regular list, Mr. Lozano? ”

“I spoke about you to the new Minister, and the Major recognizes your services, ” Mr. Lozano said. “We got your appointment through in twenty-four hours. I came to congratulate you. ”

“I’m sorry, sir, ” Ludovico said. “I’m ashamed, Mr. Lozano. But the news has got me so worked up, sir. ”

“Go ahead and cry, don’t be ashamed, ” Mr. Lozano said. “I can see that you’ve got a warm feeling for the force and that’s very good, Ludovico. ”

“You’re right, we’ve got to celebrate, brother, ” Ambrosio said. “I’m going to go get a bottle. I hope the nurses don’t catch me. ”

“Senator Aré valo must be all worked up, right, sir? ” Ludovico said. “His people were the ones who got it the worst. They killed two of them and the other got it bad. ”

“You’d better forget about all that, Ludovico, ” Mr. Lozano said.

“How can I forget, sir? ” Ludovico said. “Can’t you see what they did to me? You remember a beating like that for the rest of your life. ”

“Well, if you don’t forget, I don’t know why I’ve gone to so much trouble for you, ” Mr. Lozano said. “You haven’t understood a thing, Ludovico. ”

“You’ve got me all confused, sir, ” Ludovico said. “What is it I have to understand? ”

“That you’re an officer of investigations, on the same level as those who’ve come out of the School, ” Mr. Lozano said. “And an officer can’t have done any work as a hired thug, Ludovico. ”

“Go back to work? ” Don Emilio Aré valo said. “What you’re going to do now is get well, Té llez. A few weeks with your family, with full pay. Only when you’re completely recovered will you go back to work. ”

“That kind of work is done by the part-timers, the poor devils without any training, ” Mr. Lozano said. “You’ve never been a thug, you’ve always been on high-level operations. That’s what your service record says. Or do you want me to erase all that and put you down as a nobody? ”

“There’s no reason for you to thank me, boy, ” Don Emilio Aré valo said. “People are good to me and I’m good to them, Té llez. ”

“Now I understand, Mr. Lozano, ” Ludovico said. “I’m sorry I didn’t catch on. I was never a part-timer, I never went to Arequipa. ”

“Because somebody might complain, say he’s got no right to be on the regular list, ” Mr. Lozano said. “So that, forget about all that, Ludovico. ”

“I’ve already forgotten, Don Emilio, ” Té llez said. “I never left Ica, I broke my leg riding a mule. You don’t know how good I feel over what you’ve done for me, Don Emilio. ”

“Pucallpa for two reasons, Ambrosio, ” Ludovico said. “They’ve got the worst police post in all of Peru there. And second, because I’ve got a relative there who can give you a job. He’s got a bus company. You see, I’m offering it to you on a silver platter, brother. ”

FOUR

“THE BIM-BAM-BOOMS? ” Ambrosio says. “I never saw them. Why do you ask me that, son? ”

He thinks: Ana, The Kitty, the Bim-Bam-Booms, the tiger love of Carlitos and China, the old man’s death, the first gray hair: two, three, ten years, Zavalita. Had the bastards on Ú ltima Hora been the first to exploit The Kitty as news? No, it had been the ones on La Prensa. It was a new kind of bet and at first the horse players stuck to the daily double. But one Sunday a typesetter picked nine of the ten winning horses and won the hundred thousand soles of The Kitty. La Prensa interviewed him: he smiled in the center of his relatives, toasting around a table loaded with bottles, kneeling before the image of Our Lord of Miracles. The next week the prize for The Kitty was double and Ú ltima Hora had a picture on the front page of two Ica businessmen euphorically holding up the winning ticket, and the following week the four hundred thousand soles were won, all by himself, by a fisherman from Callao who had lost an eye in a barroom fight in his youth. The pot kept growing and among the newspapers the hunt for the winners started. Arispe picked Carlitos to cover the news of The Kitty and after three weeks La Cró nica had lost all the scoops: Zavalita, you’ll have to take over, Carlitos hasn’t been able to get his foot on the ball. He thinks: if it hadn’t been for The Kitty, there wouldn’t have been any accident and you’d probably still be single, Zavalita. But he was happy with the assignment; there wasn’t much to do and, thanks to that invertebrate kind of work, he was able to steal hours on end away from the newspaper. On Saturday nights he had to stand watch at the main office of the Jockey Club to check on how high the stakes were climbing, and early Monday morning it was already known whether the winner of The Kitty was one or many and what office had sold the prize-winning ticket. Then the hunt for the lucky person started. On Mondays and Thursdays the office was deluged with calls from meddlesome tipsters and he had to go back and forth in the van with Periquito checking out the rumors.

“Because of that woman over there with all the makeup on, ” Santiago says. “She looks like one of the Bim-Bam-Booms, the one named Ada Rosa. ”

With the pretext of tracking down presumptive winners of The Kitty, you could stay away from the newspaper, Zavalita, go to a movie, go to the Patio or the Bransa and have a coffee with people from other papers, or go with Carlitos to the rehearsals of the company of chorus girls that the impresario Pedrito Aguirre was putting together and in which China danced. He thinks: the Bim-Bam-Booms. Up till then he’d only been in love, he thinks, but from then on infected, intoxicated with China. For her sake he did publicity for the Bim-Bam-Booms, writing spontaneous artistico-patriotic articles that he slipped into the entertainment page: why did we have to content ourselves with those Cuban and Chilean chorus girls who were second-rate artists, when there were girls in Peru just as capable of stardom? For her sake he resolutely wallowed in the ridiculous: all they needed was a chance and the support of the public, it was a matter of national prestige, everybody to the opening of the Bim-Bam-Booms. With Norwin, with Soló rzano, with Periquito they went to the Teatro Monumental to watch the rehearsals and there was China, Zavalita, her coltish body with its fierce behind, her striking roguish face, her wicked eyes, her husky voice. From the deserted orchestra seats in the midst of the dust and the fleas, they watched her arguing with Tabarí n, the fairy choreographer, and they followed her in the whirlwind of figures on stage, dizzy from so much mambo, rumba, guaracha and subi: she’s the best of the lot Carlitos, bravo Carlitos. When the Bim-Bam-Booms began appearing in theaters and cabarets, China’s picture would appear at least once a week in the show column, with captions that praised her to the skies. Sometimes, after the performance, Santiago would accompany Carlitos and China to have something to eat at El Parral, to have a drink at some dismal bar. During that time the couple had got along quite well, and one night in the Negro-Negro, Carlitos put his hand on Santiago’s arm: we’ve already passed the acid test, Zavalita, three months without a storm, one of these days I’m going to marry her. And on another night, drunk: these have been happy months, Zavalita. But the fights started up again when the company of the Bim-Bam-Booms broke up and China began to dance at El Pingü ino, a nightclub that Pedrito Aguirre had opened up downtown. At night, when they left La Cró nica, Carlitos would drag Santiago through the arches of the Plaza San Martí n, along Ocoñ a, to the dismally decorated sticky cave of El Pingü ino. Pedrito Aguirre wouldn’t charge them a minimum, sold them beer at cost and accepted IOUs. From the bar they would watch the seasoned pirates of Lima night life set out to board the chorus girls. They sent them notes by the waiters, had them sit at their tables. Sometimes, when they arrived, China would have left already and Pedrito Aguirre would give Carlitos a fraternal pat on the back: she hadn’t felt well, she’d left with Ada Rosa, she’d got word that her mother was in the hospital. Other times they would find her at a candlelit table in the back listening to the laughter of some prince of bohemia, curled up in the shadows beside some elegant older man with graying sideburns, dancing tight in the arms of a young Apollo. And there was Carlitos’ downcast face: her contract called for her to entertain the customers Zavalita, or in light of the circumstances let’s go to a whorehouse Zavalita, or I only keep on seeing her out of masochism Zavalita. From that point on the love between Carlitos and China had gone back to the butchering rhythm of before, reconciliations and breaks, scandals and public fisticuffs. During the intermissions of her romance with Carlitos, China showed herself off in the company of millionaire lawyers, adolescents with good names and the look of ruffians, cirrhotic businessmen. She takes on all comers as long as they’re family men, Becerrita would say poisonously, she doesn’t have the calling of a whore but of an adulteress. But those adventures would only last a few days, China always ended up calling La Cró nica. There the sarcastic smiles in the editorial room, the perfidious winks over the typewriters, while Carlitos, his sunken-eyed face kissing the phone, moved his lips with humility and hope. China kept him in total bankruptcy, he went about borrowing money everywhere and collectors even showed up at the newspaper with IOUs of his. At the Negro-Negro they cut off his credit, he thinks: he must have owed you at least a thousand soles, Zavalita. He thinks: twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five years. Memories that exploded like the bubbles Teté used to make with that gum of hers, ephemeral, like the stories about The Kitty, whose ink had been erased by time, Zavalita, useless, like the pages tossed into the wicker wastebaskets at night.