She looked at him and nodded, then turned to Betty Schneider.
"Would my children be safe at the ceremony in the cathedral?"
"The head of SIDE, Mrs. Masterson-" Castillo began.
"If you don't mind, Mr. Castillo, I asked her."
"Excuse me."
Betty exchanged a glance with Charley, who nodded, and turned to Mrs. Masterson. "Mr. Santini and Mr. Castillo are better equipped to answer that, Mrs. Masterson, than I am."
"Still, I'd like to hear what you think, please."
Betty nodded, and then after a just-perceptible hesitation said, "The Secret Service is pretty good at protecting people, Mrs. Masterson, but it's not perfect. President Reagan was shot. A crazy woman shot at President Ford twice."
"Let me put it this way: If they were your children, would you take them to the cathedral?"
"Fortunately for me, I don't have to make that choice. And I certainly wouldn't presume to advise you what to do."
"Thank you. I appreciate your honesty," Mrs. Masterson said, and then looked at Castillo. "My children and I will attend the ceremony at the cathedral. I want them to have that memory, of their father being honored. And Jack-and my father-would see it as my duty."
Castillo nodded.
And again, no mention of the brother.
"Send in your colonel, please, Mr. Castillo," Mrs. Masterson said. "I'd like to be able to tell my children what's the agenda."
Castillo nodded again, and left the room.
El Coronel Alfredo Munz was standing in the corridor with Colonel Torine, Jack Britton, and Tony Santini.
"She has decided to attend the ceremony, with the children," Castillo announced. "And she wants to go home."
"Give me thirty minutes," Santini said.
"I told her an hour," Castillo said. "Which will give me a chance to take a look at her house before we send her out there."
"Everything's in place, Charley," Santini said evenly.
"I'd like a fresh look myself," Munz said. "I directed some modifications to the plan."
Well, maybe that got me off the hook with Santini, who understandably wonders who the hell I think I am to be checking his work.
"Tony, what this probably is is me covering my ass, but I want to see for myself the arrangements at the house and at the cathedral," Castillo said.
"Your call, Charley."
"And I want you to get Schneider a cell phone. I want the number of mine on an autodial button on it, and I want the number of her phone on mine."
Santini reached in his pocket and came out with a cellular telephone.
"I already gave one to Jack and one to Colonel Torine," he said. "And if you'll give me yours, I'll put their numbers in it."
Castillo handed him his telephone and then looked at Britton. "I'm presuming you've met Colonel Munz."
"Yes, sir. He's offered, when you're finished with me here, to send me to his headquarters and show me the investigation so far."
Castillo turned to Munz. "Thank you, Alfredo. Will it be possible for us to get a copy of the investigation report?"
"Of course. It may take some time to get it translated."
"You give me the report, I'll translate it."
Munz nodded.
"Colonel, why don't you go in there and tell Mrs. Masterson about the travel plans?"
"When do you want to go wheels-up, Charley?"
"What I'd like to do is go directly from the cathedral to Ezeiza," Castillo said. "I haven't asked her-or the ambassador-but shoot for that."
"You're not going in there with me?" Torine asked.
"I have the feeling she'd rather I just went away," Castillo said. "But yeah, just as soon as Tony gives me my cellular back, I'm going in there. I've got to get you some wheels." [FOUR] Dr. Jose Arribena 25 San Isidro Buenos Aires Province, Argentina 1035 24 July 2005 Major C. G. Castillo stood in the middle of the residential street in front of the Mastersons' property in the upscale San Isidro neighborhood. He pulled out his cell phone, punched an autodial button, and Special Agent Schneider answered on the second ring.
"Schneider."
"Hello, baby."
"Yes, Mr. Castillo?"
"I love you."
"So I have been led to believe."
"And vice versa?"
"That is my understanding of the situation. Where did you say you were, sir?"
"I'm standing on the street in front of the Masterson house."
"And you're satisfied with the security arrangements, sir?"
"I'd like to have a couple of Abrams tanks and a couple of twenty-millimeter Gatlings, but yeah, I am. Since you're all business, I'll let you know what to expect."
"Please."
"The whole area-maybe ten blocks on a side-is cordoned off. Provincial cops stop everybody trying to get in. They demand identification and want to know where everyone is going. Then they search the car. There's a second ring inside the outer one, this one manned by the Gendarmeria National. More military than cops. They're armed with submachine guns. Same routine, more thorough. This is an upscale residential neighborhood, people have to get to-and out of-their houses."
"And the house itself, sir?"
"I'm not finished, Special Agent Schneider."
"Sorry, sir."
"On the block the Masterson house is on-it's in the middle of the block-the street is blocked off with barriers, cars, and whatever they call those strips with steel points on them to blow tires."
"I know what you mean, sir."
"Plus more Gendarmeria National and SIDE people and our guys. Now the house itself sits behind an eight-foot brick wall topped with razor wire. The wall completely surrounds the property. In the rear, there is a service road-for deliveries, garbage, et cetera. That's been blocked off.
"The house is three stories, masonry, and all the windows except two in the attic are barred. Heavily barred, and they don't open. The front door looks like a bank vault, and the rear door is steel. The gates in the fence- two in the front, one vehicular, one for people, and two in the back, ditto-are steel, decorative but heavy-duty. The vehicular gate in the front slides on tracks when a switch inside the front door is pushed. The one in the back has to be moved by hand. Closed, it's locked with a huge padlock, keys kept in the kitchen. The people gates are opened with a solenoid, switches by the front door and in the kitchen. The front and back yards are illuminated by floodlights, triggered by motion sensors, or they can be turned on and left on.
"We have two of our guys and two SIDE guys inside the house. There are two telephone lines, plus a dedicated line for the burglar alarm. And everybody has cellulars. I can't think of a thing to add, except maybe the Abrams tanks I mentioned."
"That sounds pretty secure, sir."
"When are you going to leave the hospital?"
"In the next couple of minutes."
"If you tell me you love me, I'll tell you where I'm going from here."
"That would be very difficult at this time, sir."
"Well, if somebody's listening to us, then why don't you say 'Wiener schnitzel' and I'll understand."
She giggled, then said, "Wiener schnitzel."
"And same to you, love of my life."
"Where will you be, sir?"
"We-Munz, Jack, and me-are going from here to the cathedral. After that we're going to SIDE headquarters. I'll call again. Better yet, when you've got Mrs. Masterson in her house, call me."
"Yes, sir."
"And be prepared to say, 'Wiener schnitzel.' "
"Whatever you say, sir."
"Wiener schnitzel, baby." [FIVE] Catedral Metropolitana Plaza de Mayo Buenos Aires, Argentina 1130 24 July 2005 C. G. Castillo answered his cellular telephone on the second buzz.
"Castillo."
"Schneider, sir."
" 'Wiener schnitzel Schneider,' that Schneider?"
"Yes. sir. I called to tell you we're in the house in San Isidro."
"No problems?"
"No, sir. Went off like clockwork."
"I've just had a tour of the cathedral, led by Sergeant Roger Markham. He dazzled Colonel Munz; he knew more about the cathedral than Munz did."