the plane down the dirt strip. A gun poked out of the rear window of the lead car and Dennis saw a flash.
Up! Evers shouted.
The nose of the plane jerked skyward and they began a steep climb. Dennis was pinned to his seat and thought he would throw up again. Then they were in the clouds and Charlie was laughing hysterically.
Thank you, thank you, he hollered, and God bless America.
Chapter 7
A t the height of her agony, Rebecca cried out to Jesus. Jean-Claude Baptiste nodded his approval. In addition to practicing an animistic tribal religion, the president of the republic hedged his bets by attending Roman Catholic mass regularly, and he approved of a woman who kept her faith under trying circumstances. The interrogator asked the bartender from the Mauna Loa another question. When he found her answer unsatisfactory he did something that caused her to scream again.
There was a knock on the door to his office and Baptiste turned down the intercom that was transmitting the interrogation from the basement. Baptiste liked to conduct his own question-and-answer sessions in person when he could, but his position as president didn't leave him much free time, so he'd learned to delegate and made do with listening to important interrogations over the intercom.
The door opened and Nathan Tuazama entered. He was dressed in a tan business suit, a light blue silk shirt, and a forest green tie. Most men trembled in Baptiste's presence but Tuazama was a man whom Baptiste feared. This was due to a dream Baptiste had had many years ago that featured him and Tuazama. In it, both men were being menaced by a lion in a clearing in the jungle, but the lion appeared to be unable to choose between them. Every time the lion headed toward Baptiste he grew confused, changed direction, and headed for Tuazama. Then, just as he was about to pounce on Nathan, he would again grow confused and start toward the president. In the dream, the lion was never able to make a decision about which Batangan would be his dinner.
Baptiste had told Nathan about the dream. Then he had consulted an old man in his village, who was a magician. The day before the consultation, Tuazama paid the old man twenty dollars. The Juju man listened intently as the president recounted his dream. Then he read the entrails of a goat and revealed that the fates of Baptiste and Tuazama were inextricably entwined. Since then Baptiste had been very solicitous of Tuazama's well-being and Tuazama had done everything he could to encourage Baptiste in the belief that he would stay alive as long as the chief of his secret police was well cared for.
Sit down and listen for a few moments, Nathan.
There was another scream followed by another plea to Jesus for mercy.
She is strong, Baptiste said.
Tuazama shrugged. That's true, but she'll tell us what we want to know eventually. In any event, this interrogation may be unnecessary. I believe I've figured out what happened and where Charlie has gone.
Baptiste leaned forward, eager for the information.
The night of the banquet at the mansion, Charlie sent an e-mail to World News, an American magazine, offering to give an interview. A few days later, a mercenary named Chauncey Evers met with Charlie in the Mauna Loa, where the bartender works. The man who saw this thought that Evers was a harmless drunk and didn't bother to report the meeting. He has been dealt with.
Yesterday, Charlie picked up an American journalist named Dennis Levy at the airport. Levy works for World News and he was on the plane that flew Charlie out of the country. After driving in from the airport, Charlie dropped Levy at the Batanga Palace, where Evers was staying. My guess is that the bartender put Charlie in touch with Evers and Charlie arranged to have Evers take him to the United States.
But Charlie's a wanted man in America.
He's not stupid, Mr. President. He had to know you'd figured out that he was Bernadette's lover. He knows what would have happened to him
Up! Evers shouted.
The nose of the plane jerked skyward and they began a steep climb. Dennis was pinned to his seat and thought he would throw up again. Then they were in the clouds and Charlie was laughing hysterically.
Thank you, thank you, he hollered, and God bless America.
Chapter 7
A t the height of her agony, Rebecca cried out to Jesus. Jean-Claude Baptiste nodded his approval. In addition to practicing an animistic tribal religion, the president of the republic hedged his bets by attending Roman Catholic mass regularly, and he approved of a woman who kept her faith under trying circumstances. The interrogator asked the bartender from the Mauna Loa another question. When he found her answer unsatisfactory he did something that caused her to scream again.
There was a knock on the door to his office and Baptiste turned down the intercom that was transmitting the interrogation from the basement. Baptiste liked to conduct his own question-and-answer sessions in person when he could, but his position as president didn't leave him much free time, so he'd learned to delegate and made do with listening to important interrogations over the intercom.
The door opened and Nathan Tuazama entered. He was dressed in a tan business suit, a light blue silk shirt, and a forest green tie. Most men trembled in Baptiste's presence but Tuazama was a man whom Baptiste feared. This was due to a dream Baptiste had had many years ago that featured him and Tuazama. In it, both men were being menaced by a lion in a clearing in the jungle, but the lion appeared to be unable to choose between them. Every time the lion headed toward Baptiste he grew confused, changed direction, and headed for Tuazama. Then, just as he was about to pounce on Nathan, he would again grow confused and start toward the president. In the dream, the lion was never able to make a decision about which Batangan would be his dinner.
Baptiste had told Nathan about the dream. Then he had consulted an old man in his village, who was a magician. The day before the consultation, Tuazama paid the old man twenty dollars. The Juju man listened intently as the president recounted his dream. Then he read the entrails of a goat and revealed that the fates of Baptiste and Tuazama were inextricably entwined. Since then Baptiste had been very solicitous of Tuazama's well-being and Tuazama had done everything he could to encourage Baptiste in the belief that he would stay alive as long as the chief of his secret police was well cared for.
Sit down and listen for a few moments, Nathan.
There was another scream followed by another plea to Jesus for mercy.
She is strong, Baptiste said.
Tuazama shrugged. That's true, but she'll tell us what we want to know eventually. In any event, this interrogation may be unnecessary. I believe I've figured out what happened and where Charlie has gone.
Baptiste leaned forward, eager for the information.
The night of the banquet at the mansion, Charlie sent an e-mail to World News, an American magazine, offering to give an interview. A few days later, a mercenary named Chauncey Evers met with Charlie in the Mauna Loa, where the bartender works. The man who saw this thought that Evers was a harmless drunk and didn't bother to report the meeting. He has been dealt with.
Yesterday, Charlie picked up an American journalist named Dennis Levy at the airport. Levy works for World News and he was on the plane that flew Charlie out of the country. After driving in from the airport, Charlie dropped Levy at the Batanga Palace, where Evers was staying. My guess is that the bartender put Charlie in touch with Evers and Charlie arranged to have Evers take him to the United States.
But Charlie's a wanted man in America.
He's not stupid, Mr. President. He had to know you'd figured out that he was Bernadette's lover. He knows what would have happened to him
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