The Evening News (35 page)

"Rear end or front
?
”

Insen smiled faintly
.”
Which of us ever knows? Anyway, from tonight on
,
you'll anchor anything to do with the Sloane family kidnap which-unless
the President gets shot before air time-will be our lead again. Crawf
will anchor the rest of the news as usual, the point being that all of
us feel we're damned if a bunch of thugs, whoever they are, are going to
dictate how life goes on at CBA
.”

"Fine with me
,”
Partridge said
.”
I presume it is with Crawf
.”

"Frankly, it was Crawf's idea. Like any king he feels insecure if off his
throne too long. Besides which, his staying invisible would achieve
nothing. Oh, another thing-right at the end of the news, Crawf will say
a few spontaneous words thanking those who've sent messages about his
family, or otherwise care
.”

"Spontaneous
?
”

"Of course. We have. three writers toiling over them now
.”

Amused, despite the circurnstances, Partridge said, "You two are managing
to agree for the time being
.”

Insen nodded
.”
We've declared an unspoken armistice until all this is
over
.”

"And afterward
?
”

"Let's wait and see
.”

Almost a mon
th earlier, soon after Miguel hz-0, entered the United States
illegally
,
he had attempted to buy
funeral caskets to be used for tr
anspor
t
ing hi
s two intended kidna
p
victims to Peru. The plan had been developed well before his arrival on the scene and Miguel assumed their purchas
e
could h
e accomplished quickly and quick
ly-a simple matter. He discovered it was not
.
He had gone to a funeral home in Brooklyn, wanting to spread out his
activities rather than confine them to the Little Colombia area of
Queens, his operating center at the
time. The establishment he chose
was
near Prospect Park-an elegant white building labeled "Field's
,”
with a
spacious parking lot
.
Miguel entered through heavy oak doors which opened onto a 1cbby with
golden-beige carpeting, tall potted plants and paintings of peaceful
landscapes. Inside he was greeted by a decorous middle-aged man wearing
a black jacket with a white
carnation, black-and-gray-striped trousers, white shirt and a dark tie
.”
Good morning, sir
,”
the sartorial paragon said
.”
I am Mr. Field. How can
I be of service
?
”

Miguel had rehearsed what he would say
.”
I have two elderly parents who
wish certain planning to be done about their eventual . . . er, passing
.”

With an inclination of his head, Field conveyed approval and sympathy
.”
I understand, sir. Many older people, at the sunset of their years, wish
to be comfortable and assured about their future
.”

"Exactly. Now, what my parents would like
"Excuse me, sir. It might be more suitable if we stepped into my office
.”

"Very well
.”

Field led the way. Perhaps intentionally, they passed several salon-type
rooms with settees and armchairs, one with rows of chairs prepared for
a service. In each room was a corpse, gilded with cosmetics and propped
on a frilly pillow in its open casket. Miguel noticed a few visitors, but
some rooms were empty
.
The office was at the end of a corridor, discreetly hidden. On the walls
were framed diplomas, much as in a doctor's office, except that one was
for "beautification
”
of dead bodies (it was adorned with purple ribbons)
,
and another for embalming. At Field's gesture, Miguel took a chair
.”
May I ask your name, sir
.”

"Novack
,”
Miguel lied
.”
Well, Mr. Novack, to begin we should discuss the overall arrangements
.
Do you or your parents have a cemetery plot chosen and obtained
?
”

"Well, no
.”

"Then that must be our first consideration. We ought to get that for you
right away because it's becoming difficult to obtain a plot, especially
a choice one. Unless, of course, you are considering cremation
.”

Miguel, curbing his impatience, shook his head
.”
No. But what I really
want to talk about . . . 11
"Then there's the question of your parents' religion. What
service will be required? And there are other decisions to be made. Perhaps you would care to study this
.”

Field passed over what resembled an elaborate restaurant menu. It
included a long list of separate items and costs such as, "Bathing
,
disinfecting, handling and cosmetizing of deceased-$250
,”

“
Special care
for autopsied cases-$125
”
and "Clerical assistance in the completion of
various forms-$ 100
.”
A "full traditional service
”
at $5,900 included
,
among other things, a $30 crucifix placed in the deceased's hands. A
casket was extra, ranging up to $20,600
.”
It's the caskets I came to discuss
,”
Miguel said
.”
Certainly
.”

Field stood up
.”
Please come with me
.”

This time he led the way down a stairway to a basement. They entered a
display room where the carpeting was red and Field went first to the
$20,600 casket
.”
This is our very best. It's of 18-gauge steel, has three
covers-glass, brass and quilted brass-and will last and last and last
.”

Elaborate ornaments adorned the casket's exterior. The inside was lined
with lavender velvet
.”
Maybe something a little simpler
,”
Miguel told him
.
They settled on two caskets, one smaller than the other, priced at $2,300
and $1,900
.”
My mother is a tiny lady
,”
Miguel explained. About the size
of an eleven-year-old boy, he thought
.
Miguel's curiosity had been piqued by several plain, simple boxes. When
asked about them, Field explained, "They are for religious Jews who
require simplicity. The boxes have two holes in the bottom, the theory
being 'earth to earth.' You are not Jewish
?
”

When Miguel shook his head
,
Field confided, "Frankly, that is not the kind of repository I would
choose for my own loved ones
.”

They went back to the office where Field said, "Now I suggest we go over
the other matters. The burial plot first
.”

"That's not necessary
,”
Miguel said
.”
What I would like to do is pay for
the caskets and take them
.”

Field looked shocked
.”
That isn't possible
.”

"Why not
?
”

"It simply isn't done that way
.”

"Perhaps I should have explained
.”

Miguel was beginning to see that this
might not be as simple as expected
.”
What my parents would like is to
have their caskets now, in their present home, placing them where they
can be seen each day. That way they can get used, so to speak, to their
future accommodation
.”

Field appeared devastated
.”
We couldn't possibly do that. What we arrange
here is-if I may use that word-a 'package.' It would be possible for your
parents to come to view the caskets they will eventually rest in. But
after that we would insist on keeping them until the need arose
.”

"Couldn't you . .
.”

"No~ sir, absolutely not
.”

Miguel had sensed the other man losing interest, even possibly becoming
suspicious
.”
Very well. I'll think about it and perhaps come back
.”

Field escorted Miguel out. Miguel had not the slightest intention of
coming back. As it was, he knew he'd already left too strong an
impression
.
The next day he tried two more funeral homes farther afield, making his
inquiries shorter. But the response was the same. No one would sell him
caskets separate from "the package.,
,
At that point Miguel decided the attempt to move away from his operating
center had been a mistake and he returned to Queens and his Little
Colombia contacts. After a few days' delay they sent him to a small, drab
funeral home in Astoria, not far from Jackson Heights. There he met
Alberto Godoy
.
In terms of funeral establishments, Godoy's was to Field's what K mart
was to Tiffany-geared to a down-scale clientele. Not only that, but
shabbiness prevailed, extending to the proprietor himself
.
Godoy was obese, bald, with nicotine-stained fingers and the bloated
features of a heavy drinker. Food stains were conspicuous on his
undertaker's uniform of black coat and gray
striped pants. His voice was
raspy and punctuated by a smoker's cough. During the meeting with Miguel
,
which began in Godoy's tiny, cluttered office, he smoked three
cigarettes, lighting one from another.

"My name is Novack, and I've come for information
,”
Miguel had said
.
Godoy nodded, "Yes, I know
.”

"I have two elderly parents
"Oh, is that the line
?
”

Miguel persisted, repeating his earlier story while Godoy listened with a
mixture of boredom and disbelief. At the end his only question was, "How
will you pay
?
”

"Cash.,,

Godoy became a shade more friendly
.”
This way
.”

Once more a basement provided the setting for sample caskets, though here
the carpeting was dull brown and worn, with the choices fewer than at
Field's. Expeditiously Miguel found two suitable caskets, one of average
size, the other smaller
.
Godoy announced, "For the regular size, three thousand dollars. For the
child's, twenty-five hundred
.”

Though the "child
”
reference ran counter to his story and was dangerously
near the truth, Miguel ignored it. Also, while convinced the $5,500 total
was at least twice the normal price, he agreed to it without discussion
.
He had brought cash and paid in hundred-dollar bills. Godoy asked for
another $454 for New York City sales tax which Miguel added, though he
doubted that the city's coffers would ever see the money
.
Miguel backed his recently acquired GMC truck to a loading dock where
,
under Godoy's watchful supervision, the caskets were wheeled aboard. Miguel
then took them to the safe house where they were stored until their later
transfer to Hackensack
.
Now, almost a month later, he had returned to Alberto Godoy's establishment
in search of one more casket.