The Evening News (74 page)

The signal came and Jessica spoke, trying to keep her voice even
.”
We have all been treated well and fairly. Now that the reason we were
taken has been explained to us, we understand why it was necessary. We also
have been told how easy it will be for our American friends to ensure our
safe return home. To have us released
"Stop
!”

Miguel's face was red, his features working angrily
.”
Bitch! You are reading like you would a laundry list
without expression
,
trying to be clever, making it sound unbelieving, as if being forced . .
.”

"I am being forced
!”

It was a flash of spirit which, an instant later
,
Jessica regretted
.
Miguel signaled to
Ramon
who applied his hot cigarette to Nicky's chest
,
prompting another scream
.
Jessica, almost out of her mind, was on her feet, pleading
.”
No! No more!
I'll do it better! . . . The way you want! . . . I promise
!”

To her relief this time, there was no second bum. Miguel put a fresh
cassette into the Camcorder and waved Jessica back into the chair. Once
more Gustavo gave her water. Moments later she began again
.
Steeling herself, she did her best to make the opening phrases sound
convincing, then continued, "To have us released, you must simply
follow--quickly and exactly-the instructions which accompany this recording
. .
.”

Immediately after the word "recording
,”
Jessica moistened her lips with her
tongue. She knew she was taking a risk, for
herself and Nicky too, but believed the action would seem natural and pass unnoticed. The absence of objection proved her right and she had now confirmed to Crawf and others that the words she was speaking were not her own. Despite all else that had happened, she felt a thrill of satisfaction as she continued reading from the cards Gustavo held
.”
. . . but be sure of this: If you do not obey those instructions, you
will not see any of us, ever again. We beg of you, do not let that happen
. .
.”

"at were the instructions-the price of their release which the kidnappers
were asking? Jessica could only wonder, by now knowing better than to ask
.
Meanwhile, only a little time remained, and how about her other message?
A choice must be made . . . left earlobe or right . . . Which?
It was tru
e the people here were armed and perhaps well organized, but
security was lax at times, and often at night their guards fell asleep;
sometimes one or the other could be heard snoring . . . Making her
decision, Jessica reached up and casually scratched her left earlobe. It
was done! No one had noticed! She continued with the closing words
.”
We will be waiting, counting on you, desperately hoping you will make the
right decision and . .
.”

Seconds later, it was over. As Jessica closed her eyes in relief, Miguel
switched off the floodlights and stepped back, a small smile of
satisfaction on his face.

It was an hour before Socorro came, an hour of pain for Nicky and of
anguish
for Jessica and Angus, who could hear Nicky moaning softly on his bed but
could not go to him. Jessica had begged the guard on duty-using words and
gestures-to let her leave her cell and join Nicky in his, and it was clear
the man, while not speaking English, understood what she was asking. But
he had shaken his head and insisted, "No se permite
.”
An overpowering sense of guilt seized Jessica. She told Nicky through the
screen, "Oh, darling, I'm so desperately sorry. If I'd known what they
would do, I'd have
made the recording right away. I
never even thought
.
. .
“

"Don't worry, Mom
.”

Despite his pain, Nicky had tried to reassure her
.”
It wasn't your fault
.”

"No one could have believed what those savages did, Jessie
,”
Angus had
called out from his cell on the far side
.”
Does it still hurt a lot, old
chap
?
”

"It's pretty bad
.”

Nicky's voice quavered
.
Jessica appealed to the guard again
.”
Get Socorro! The nurse! You
understand? Socorro
!”

This time the man took no notice. He was seated, reading what appeared
to be a comic book, and did not look up
.
Eventually Socorro came, apparently of her own volition
.”
Please help Nicky
,”
Jessica asked
.”
Your friends burned him
.”

"He probably deserved it
.”

Socorro signaled to the guard to open Nicky's
cell and went in. As she saw the four bums, she made a clucking sound
with her mouth, then turned away and left the cell, the guard locking it
behind her
.
Jessica called, "You are coming back
?
”

For a moment Socorro looked as if she would make another sharp answer
.
Then she nodded curtly and left. A few minutes later she returned
,
carrying a bowl, a jug of water and a package of what proved to be folded
cloths and gauze
.
Watching through the screen, Jessica observed Socorro gently bathe the
bums with water, Nicky wincing as she did, though he did not cry out
.
Socorro blotted the bums dry with a cloth, then placed a gauze pad over
each, securing the dressings with adhesive tape
.
Jessica spoke warily
.”
Thank you. You are good at that. May I ask . .
.”

“
They are second-degree burns and will heal. I will take the dressings
off in several days
.”

"Can you do something for the pain
?
”

"This is not a hospital. He must endure it
.”

Socorro turned to Nicky, her
voice edgy, her face unsmiling
.”
Lie still today, boy. It will hurt less
tomorrow
.”

Jessica decided on one more appeal
.”
Please, may I be with him? He's
eleven years old and I'm his mother. Can't we be together, even if only
for the next few hours
?
”

"I asked Miguel. He said no
.”

Moments later, Socorro was gone
.
There was a silence, then Angus said softly, "I wish there were something
I could do for you, Nicky. Life isn't fair. You don't deserve any of
this
.”

A pause. T
hen, "Gramps
.”

"Yes, old son
?
”

"There is something
.”

"That I can do? Tell me
.”

"Talk about those old songs. And maybe sing one
.”

Angus's eyes moistened. It was a request that did not need explaining
.
Anything about songs and music fascinated Nicky, and sometimes on summer
evenings at the Sloanes' lakeside cottage near Johnstown in upstate New
York, the grandfather and grandson would talk and listen to songs of
World War Il which, two generations earlier in other arduous times, had
sustained Angus and many like him. Nicky never seemed to tire of those
exchanges and Angus struggled now to remember words and phrases he had
used beFore
.”
Those of us who were flyboys in the Army Air Forces, Nicky, cherished
our collections of seventy-eight r.p.m. records . . . Those
,ieventy-eights disappeared long ago . . . bet you've never seen any
. .”

"I did once. The father of one of my friends had some
.”

Angus smiled. As Nicky knew too, an identical dialog had taken place a
few months earlier
.”
Anyway, we carried those records personally from air base to air base
and because they were so breakable, no one would trust anyone else with
transporting them. And every BOQthat's Bachelor Officers Quarters-was
alive with music of the big bands: Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn
Miller. And the singers were young Frank Sinatra, Ray Eberle, Dick
Haymes. We'd hear their songs and sing them ourselves in the shower
.”

"Sing one now, Gramps
.”

"My goodness, I'm not sure. My voice is getting old
.”

"Try, Angus
!”

Jessica urged
.”
If I can, I'll join you
.”

He groped in memory. When they had done this before was there a special
song Nicky liked? He remembered-yes, there was. Steadying his breathing he
began, though glancing first toward the guard, wondering if he would
enforce the oppressive silence rule. But the man seemed not to mind them
talking and was turning pages of his comic book
.
Angus had had a good singing voice once; now, like the rest of him, it was
w
eak
and quavery. But the words were clear in his mind, their recollection
sharp . . .

I'll be seeing you
i
n all the old familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces all day through

Jessica joined in, her memory finding the lyric from somewhere. A moment
later, Nicky's young tenor was added.

In that small cafe
,
The park across the way
,
The children's carousel
,
The chestnut trees, the wishing well
.
I'll be seeing you
In ever
y lovely summer's day
,
In ev
e
rything that's light and gay
,
I'll always think of
you that way
,
I'll find you in the morning sun;
And when the night is new
,
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing
you!
For Angus, the years fell away. Jessica's spirits lifted. For Nicky
,
briefly, the anguish from his bums was eased.

From the moment on Wednesday afternoon when Harry Partridge announced his decision to leave for Peru early the following day, the CBA News special task force moved feverishly into high gear
.
Partridge's accompanying decision-to open the floodgates of information
some thirty-six hours after his departure-resulted in meetings and
consultations during which a priority program covering the next three
days was structured and approved
.
Immediately ahead, to be written and partially recorded overnight, was
a report anchored by P
artridge which would dominate th
e National Evening
News on Friday. This would contain all that was known concerning the
Sloane family kidnapping, including the latest information about Peru and
Sendero Luniinoso; identification of the terrorist, Ulises Rodriguez
alias Miguel; the caskets and the undertaker, Alberto Godoy;
Amazonas-American Bank and the alleged murder-suicide, now suspected to
have been a double murder, of
Jose
Antonio Salaverry and Helga Efferen
.
However, before any preparations began, Harry Partridge visited Crawford
Sloane in the anchorman's office on the fourth floor. Partridge still
felt that Sloane should be among the first to be informed of any new
development or plan
.
Since the kidnapping thirteen days earlier, Crawford Sloane had continued
to work, though at times it seemed he was merely filling each day and his
heart and mind were not immersed in work at all. Today he appeared more
gaunt than ever, his eyes more tired, the lines on his face even deeper
than a few days earlier. He was conferring with a woman writer and a male
producer and looked up as Partridge appeared
.”
You need to see me
,
Harry
?
”