Da Silva glanced at him with raised eyebrows. “Why?”
“Because you just got through saying that death squads come into existence because a group of police think the regular courts are too slow in rendering judgment. Here’s a man who is the court, but he’s also the man who appoints the chief of police, so he really controls both sides of the table. It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Unless,” Da Silva said slowly, trying to fit Wilson’s reasonable objection into his theory, “the judge doesn’t know what’s going on.”
Wilson shook his head decisively.
“I doubt it. He’s supposed to be the big influence up there; large landowner, sits on the bench, appoints people to important jobs. He’s probably like some of the judges we had in our own West, years ago, people like Judge Roy Bean, for example. My guess is he knows everything that’s going on. We’re the ones who don’t.”
Da Silva found a better rationale. “There’s one way that makes sense, though,” he said thoughtfully. “That’s if the judge knows exactly what’s going on. If he heads up the gang.”
“Which is ridiculous on the face of it.”
“Why?”
“Because in that case I’d scarcely trust those reports you’ve got in that folder,” Wilson said flatly. “Remember, they came from the police up there. I doubt if they’d give any facts you could hang them with.” He thought a moment. “Anyway, why would the judge — or a death squad — or anyone else for that matter, knock off people from different parts of the country? What’s the matter with Paraíso? Is it so clean they have to import victims?”
Da Silva looked at Wilson and smiled. “I didn’t say I had all the answers.” He crushed out his cigarette. “Well, it looks as if we have our work cut out for us. First, we have to check on Torres and Bethencourt; then we have to find out what brought them to Paraíso in the first place, and why anyone wanted to kill them in the second. Also Chaney.” He frowned. “Did he do anything locally to irk somebody?”
“You still disregard the fact that if Chaney was killed by a death squad, he’d be the first foreigner killed by one? You also disregard the fact that it’s senseless for the judge to be the head of the courts and also the head of a death squad?”
“I’m not disregarding anything,” Da Silva said patiently. “It’s just that the death squad is the only thing that does make sense. As far as the judge is concerned, it’s true he could bring whatever sentence he wanted; but first he had to have a crime committed in his jurisdiction. And there were no charges that I know of against these men.”
“But—”
“And it isn’t just the Death Squad signs, either,” Da Silva went on steadily. “The victims weren’t robbed. They were all killed with the same gun. My guess is that they were all types a death squad could consider criminal. Now, can you give me any other explanation?”
“Not at this time.”
“And as for Chaney,” Da Silva went on, “and the fact that he was a foreigner; well, he could have been a case of mistaken identity. Although the thought of mistaken identity with someone who doesn’t even speak the language is hard to picture. Unless—” He paused and glanced over at Wilson. “Did he speak Portuguese?”
“I doubt it,” Wilson said, “but it’ll be easy enough to check out. The people at the Beira Mar would know. You check out Torres and Bethencourt, and have one of your men talk to the hotel staff; I don’t have the men. I’ll telex Washington this afternoon and see what I can get on Chaney from them. Maybe they can pick up something more on him in Vegas.”
“Good enough,” Da Silva said. “At least it’s the start of a program.”
“There’s just one thing,” Wilson went on, thinking about it. “From what Minister Wanderlay said, all a death squad would have to do to avoid exposure would simply be to go out of business. How they were wiped out in Rio and São Paulo?”
“They were wiped out,” Da Silva said soberly, “because some of the members simply got sick of the whole business of the senseless killings and reported it. In writing, naturally, and anonymously, as you can well imagine. They gave names, dates, and locations of past killings and accurately predicted future killings, which enabled us to be on the spot. Once we got a few of the top people, the organization fell apart.”
Wilson frowned unhappily.
“Are you saying that if this is the work of a death squad — and I’m still not convinced — that the only way we’re ever going to find out and nail them is to wait until one of them chickens out and blows the whistle?”
“Maybe,” Da Silva said, and shrugged. “I didn’t expect it to be easy.”
“Although,” Wilson added, “I suppose if we can get them to go out of business, whether we catch them or not, the Minister should be satisfied. The important thing to him is to have the killings stop.”
“But not to me,” Da Silva said harshly. “It would be like living with a bomb hidden someplace, waiting for it to go off.” He dismissed this solution with a brief wave of his hand, as not being worth discussing. “One of us will have to go to Paraíso and see what he can dig out up there, while the other one stays in Rio, at least for the time being, and tries to find out what connection these four men had with Paraíso, or the police up there, or even with each other if it comes to that.”
“And possibly the one who goes up there might also earn a nice sign around his neck, just for being nosy?”
“I’d recommend that whichever one of us gets the assignment,” Da Silva said dryly, “would try to be a little intelligent about his nosiness.”
Wilson laughed. “I gather you mean he should not go up there wearing his Interpol bowling shirt, and that he should use a safety pin to hold up his pants rather than his police shield—”
“Right,” Da Silva said, and smiled.
“I also gather, since your suggestions usually take the form of instruction, that I’m the one who drew the short straw?”
“I think so,” Da Silva said seriously. “I have the organization here to check out these men, and that part is better handled from Rio. You—” He paused a moment in thought and then nodded. “You can go up there as, say, the representative of some American industry who is considering locating in Paraíso. That would have a couple of advantages-you could meet Judge Magalhães without any suspicion, since he’d be a logical person to contact regarding possible land sites for your factory; and you’ll also be able to innocently ask him about those death squad killings that are upsetting your principals. That might be one way to open something up.”
Wilson nodded his approval. “That’s an idea. Tell me, do I speak my perfect Portuguese, or pretend I don’t know any? Like that time down in Urubuapá, with those two lovely brothers and that miserable snake? Of course that time you were my translator, and a pretty flakey one at that. Remember?”
“I don’ no never forgot heem, meester,” Da Silva said with a grin, and wiped it off. “No, this time you go in with your standard Americanized Portuguese. You’ll be the representative of one of the Stateside banks in Rio, representing the interests of an American manufacturing company which does not wish to be identified at this time. You ought to know enough people to arrange yourself a decent cover.”
“No problem,” Wilson said cheerfully. “And when will you be up?”
“When I get something to come up for,” Da Silva said. “Right now the job for me is in Rio.”
“Good enough. Anything else?”
“I don’t think so,” Da Silva said. “I’ll put people on Torres and Bethencourt as soon as I get back to the office today. And before you go up to Paraíso, instruct your office to let me have whatever comes in on Chaney.” He frowned. “It would make more sense if we could find some connection between those four victims...”