“Just them?”
“Just them.”
“And you want the other net to still function?”
“That’s it. Can do?”
“It’ll take me about an hour. I’ll call you back when it’s up.”
“You will get your reward in Heaven, Aloysius.”
FOUR
1700 Arizona Boulevard San Antonio, Texas 0905 14 April 2007
Dona Alicia Castillo was waiting for Charley and Sweaty when they walked into the breakfast room. Charley’s grandmother was seated at the head of the table drinking a steaming cup of
Max trotted over to the dignified old woman and waited for her to scratch his ears.
“Good morning,” Dona Alicia said. “You slept well, I hope.”
Charley and Sweaty walked over to her and kissed her cheek.
“Abuela, if she didn’t snore like a backfiring John Deere, I’d have probably slept better.”
His grandmother ignored him.
“Shall we wait for Lester?” she asked.
“I looked in his room,” Castillo said. “He was sleeping like a cherub. Nobody was snoring in
This earned him an icy flash from his grandmother.
“I’d forgotten how beautiful this is,” Sweaty said quickly, gesturing past the windows to the garden. “What a beautiful lawn!”
“You wouldn’t think it was so beautiful if you had to mow it,” Castillo said.
“Carlos’s grandfather believed boys should earn their allowances,” Dona Alicia said.
“He paid a dollar an acre,” Castillo said.
“Why don’t we eat?” Dona Alicia said. “We have so much to talk about. Would you say grace, darling?”
“Abuela’s talking to you, my love,” Castillo said. “Try to keep it under five minutes.”
His grandmother shook her head.
“Dear God,” Sweaty began, “we thank You for the bounty we are about to receive. We thank You for our families, and ask that You keep them safe. We ask Your protection for those who are prisoners, and ask that they be soon safely reunited with their families. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, thy Son and our Lord and Savior. Amen.”
She turned to Charley.
“Short enough for you, my heathen?”
He made a waving gesture with his hand, suggesting she had more or less met his criteria.
“You had Colonel Ferris in mind, didn’t you, Svetlana?” Dona Alicia asked.
Sweaty nodded. “Yes.”
“Abuela, what do we have to talk about so much?” Castillo asked as he picked the maraschino cherry from his grapefruit and popped it into his mouth.
She gestured toward the windows.
“Well, Carlos, why don’t we start with those men walking around outside the fence?”
Charley and Sweaty exchanged glances.
After a moment he said, “Oh, you noticed, huh?”
“Even before Mr. Lafferty of Gladiator Security called me and said I had no cause for concern, that there were six of them and a half dozen more could be here in less than five minutes if they were needed.”
Castillo took a moment to frame his reply.
While he was doing so, Dona Alicia asked, “Have you noticed, Svetlana dear, that ‘who me?’ look on Carlos’s face when you catch him with his hand in the cookie jar?”
“Abuela,” Castillo began carefully, “think of the security guys as me just being extra-careful.”
“About what?”
“Do you want me to tell her, Carlito?” Sweaty said.
“I wish you would, dear,” Dona Alicia said. “I don’t think you’re nearly as good at getting around the truth as he is.”
Castillo gestured for Sweaty to go ahead.
“We have good reason, Abuela,” Sweaty said matter-of-factly, “to believe that the SVR is behind the kidnapping of Colonel Ferris and the assassinations of the other Americans. That it is a diversion in their plans to get at Carlito, my brother, our cousin Aleksandr, and me.”
“And you’re worried that this might involve me?” Dona Alicia asked calmly.
“Yes, ma’am,” Castillo said.
“What about Billy Kocian and Otto Gorner? I’d think if I were at risk, so would they be.”
“We think that whatever the SVR tries,” Castillo said, “it will be in Mexico. Or here. But just to be sure, Abuela, I gave Sandor Tor a call and told him what we think is going on.”
“Not Otto?”
He shook his head.
“Why not?” she asked.
It was not an idle question but rather more on the order of a rebuke.
“Two reasons,” Castillo replied. “After the SVR murdered that
“His name was Gunther Friedler,” Dona Alicia said evenly, “and you should be ashamed of yourself for not knowing his name. He was one of your employees!”
Castillo looked at her a long moment, then nodded.
“Yes, ma’am, you’re right. What I started to say, Abuela, was that after Herr Friedler was murdered, Billy arranged for Sandor Tor to take over all security for Gossinger Beteiligungsgesellschaft, G.m.b.H. He told Otto that if Otto’s security people had done their job, Herr Friedler would still be alive. So Otto went along.
“Anyway, I called Sandor-Billy and Sandor-and told them what we thought. Both agreed, by the way, with what we think. It probably took no more than half an hour before Sandor’s people were sitting on Otto and his family.”
“You didn’t call Otto? Why not?”
“That’s the second reason,” Castillo said, pointing to a leather attache case sitting on a sideboard. “Otto doesn’t answer his Brick. He thinks the CIA listens to everything he says over it.”
“Does it?”
Castillo shook his head.
“And what do you think Otto’s going to do when he notices his extra security?” Dona Alicia asked. “And you know he will.”
“Since Otto also believes that both the Germans and the Russians listen to his telephone calls,” Castillo said sarcastically, “and since he doesn’t want to use the Brick because the CIA will be listening, what he probably will do is hop in his new Mustang and fly to Budapest for a goulash lunch. Or, if the Mustang is in Budapest, invite Billy to Fulda for
“Otto has a Mustang? Like yours?”
“
“I’m surprised Otto would permit something like that,” she said. “He’s usually very frugal.”
