“No stronger a connection than you’ve implied. But I still want to know. Why is the Army interested at all? We can accept Fenrek’s involvement in what ought to be a purely medical matter, because of those criminal overtones in Scotland. But the Army? Why, General?”
He sighed. “You are a persistent man, Senhor Cain! And I wasn’t trying to evade the question. It’s simply that the Army was supposed to be carrying out a small-scale exercise during the night along the beach where those fishermen died. It was called off at the last moment because one of the three landing craft involved broke down. They’re rather...ancient. But it occurred to someone that a small detachment had just escaped being wiped out. They wanted to make sure that it was merely coincidental.”
“And was it?”
He didn’t take his eyes off me. “Of course. Obviously.”
A little pause, and then: “Wouldn’t you say so?”
I couldn’t think why he should want to fence with me so carefully. The natural discretion of the good politician? I said, not wanting to hide anything from him:
“If the nebulous thoughts at the back of my mind ever begin to make sense, then there’d be a very plausible reason for a minor attack on a small military contingent.”
He had the intelligence—or the grace—not to look surprised. He just stood there, his fists at momentary rest on his hips and looked at me, and he said at last, very quietly:
“A test of some sort?”
“Exactly.”
He said: “If you’re thinking what I think you are thinking...You might be on to a very dangerous business, Senhor Cain.” Almost without stopping, he shook his head suddenly and said: “No. No! Whichever way you look at it; it just doesn’t make sense!”
I said: “But it just could. It just might be a very logical progression. Can I call on Nacimento if and when the problem of identification crops up?”
“Of course. He’s up at the castelo, any time you want him.”
“And I can trust him implicitly?”
“Implicitly. He’s a very good man. Our Army’s not very democratic, I suppose, but we occasionally do have promotion from the ranks, and I once almost gave Nacimento a Commission. He’d have made a very good officer.”
“But you didn’t?”
He sighed. “No, though in retrospect, I wish I had. I think perhaps I was being a little unfair to him. I just didn’t want to lose him. And when I realize how I’ve been held back from a career that would have been very close to my heart, then I feel that on a smaller scale I really inflicted the same kind of obstruction on Nacimento. But he is very happy now, a sergeant in the Honor Guard.”
Passing through the house on my way out, I shook hands again with Dona Clara, and admired her roses, set off now in a beautiful silver urn on the hall table. The servant was there, holding the front door open and eyeing me slyly when he thought I wasn’t looking. I had to bend my head to get through the door.
The General said, shaking hands; “Come back and dine with us tonight, can you do that?”
I said: “I would like that very much. May I bring Fenrek’s niece with me? Astrid Tillot?”
He beamed. “Of course, my dear fellow, we’d be delighted.” His mood changed suddenly. He said, sounding worried: “Do you think you’ll be able to find this fellow Loveless for me?”
“Yes. It might take a little time.”
“It would mean so much. My country is coming into a very difficult period now, and if I can get the Ministry I want... There’s so very much I can do. I like to think that were basically a very good people, we Portuguese, and I’d like to help our country along to much closer rapport with the rest of the world, good neighbors to everybody. Is that too much to hope for?”
“I’m sure it’s not.”
“If we can persuade Loveless to speak out, to let them know that I was on the right track.” He threw up his arms helplessly: “All I can do, is try. And if you’ll help me, Cain...”
I said: “I’ll help you, General Queluz. Ate logo.”
“And thank you.”
The servant was watching me go, making sure I didn’t say an unkind word to the old man, guarding him like an affectionate, but wary, watchdog.
CHAPTER 3
Fenrek was in the hospital, fuming,
His face was red and swollen, his eyes puffed up, and he looked like hell. He said, glaring: “Those damned injections, why didn’t you talk me out of them, Cain?”
Astrid was sitting there with him, looking pert and cheerful in a bright green shirt and white slacks, her silver hair flowing loosely now. She said: “He told you, Uncle, and I told you, too. You’ve only yourself to blame.”
I said: “And you’ve never looked better anyway. How are you, Astrid?”
“Fine.”
“Good.” I said to Fenrek: “It’s your lousy metabolism. You don’t drink enough. What’s the latest on the red tide?”
He scowled. “The Navy report. The five gallons of cochineal they poured into the ocean colored roughly a tenth of a square kilometer. So whoever made that artificial tide for us must have used about forty gallons or so.”
“Did they drag up any dried insects?
“No, none. They must have used the liquid.”
“And I suppose you’ve got people out checking on sales of cochineal in liquid form?”
“Of course. Every pharma in town has at least a small amount in stock except in one area. In the Alfama, there’s not a drop to be had.”
