He wanted to know, for example, what the Communists were up to. "They are against the President because he sold the electric companies to the Americans; they will not support the President, at least that is what they say," said Julio, an officer of the Costa Rican Army.
"What about the Liberals and the Republican Party?" asked Max. A journalist from El
Diario de Costa Rica answered him: "We are not to worry about them. Calderón has insulted Don Ricardo's followers, including the rest of "El Olimpo." "They will not do anything against us, " added the man from this newspaper. "And the Church?" wondered Aspirin von Bayer, voicing religious and aristocratic concerns. "Not at all," said an Italian merchant, adding: "We are Fascists and Nazis and Falangists, all of us Christians after all, not Communists. The Catholic Church will not support the Atheists. Such is, apparently, the opinion of His Holiness, Pope Pius XII."
"This all may look easy, Baron Karl von Bayer, but it is not, at all," said Max, adding: "A coup d'état is not a child's play."
The aristocrat immediately went pale and said: "Do you doubt that we will prevail?"
Max hesitated, but then, as a born leader he came up with the required answer: "But of course we shall prevail! What I mean to say, Baron Karl von Bayer, is that only to us Arians the most difficult tasks are the easiest to accomplish. We are that universal child mentioned by Nietzsche: Ín command of destiny and innocently playing dice.´ We are ruling the new era. We Germans ride the high tides of the times, organizing the world around us. We are born rulers, are we not, dear Baron?" added Max.
Despite such an eloquent speech, both Germans knew that the real issue was to predict what would the United States do. Max and the Baron considered this issue somehow indirectly.
The first told the Baron that, "we have on our side the tremendous unpopularity of Calderón and thus enjoy a large margin of error." "The Americans don't like him either," said Herr Bayer.
Nevertheless, Max was worried: "But even so, dear Baron Karl von Bayer, we must be careful. Do remember that in 1917, the United States never recognized the insurrection headed by Tinoco. At the end, the dictator was brought down by the Constitutionalists." If the Americans decide not to recognize Cortés, he will last as long as a sunny day in the rain forest," he added.
Despite some reservation, he felt "that now, however, we have a different international scenario from the Great War. Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan and Argentina may provide support to the new Cortés government and the United States does not have a strong position. It is rather trying to appease conflicts in Latin America. Roosevelt has accepted the Mexican nationalization of oil and for all practical purposes, the implications of the Mexican Revolution. The United States holds a "Good Neighbor" policy towards the region. Although increasingly hostile to us, still the Americans overwhelmingly support 242
their neutrality status. They are trying to stabilize Latin America and will avoid a confrontation with Cortés," concluded Max.
"Moreover," agreed the aristocrat: "The United States will not risk to make an enemy of Costa Rica and if Leon Cortés has a second administration, the only difference with Calderón is that the new government will remain neutral. That is all and, moreover, such is the current status quo. We are a new, although vigorous, actor in the Caribbean, whereas the United States and England are the established powers. The United States cannot risk not recognizing the next de facto government of Costa Rica. After all, we are next to the Panama Canal," concluded von Bayer.
The Baron told Max to keep up the spirits: "All will be well, Her Commandant Gerffin."
"Come on," he continued, "let us have a drink to celebrate our triumph," winking an eye.
Max followed him, feeling there was more to be learned from the aristocratic fellow. He was not mistaken. Von Bayer warned him from some individuals, including some of his friends. Max demanded to be told the name of his friend: "I have heard rumors," said the Baron, "that Carlos Dönning has fallen in love with none other than a Jewish girl, daughter of one of their leaders."
"What? What?" -exploded Max, without trusting his ears. "What you heard," said von Bayer, feeling happy because he possessed crucial information: "The son of a bitch is in heat with a girl that works at the market and attends high school. Perhaps that is why Yadira abandoned our Party," he warned.
The news made the Consul cough and spit the drops of whiskey he was drinking. He could not stop and had to go to the bathroom. He threw up all the contents of his stomach and then also had a complete evacuation of his bowels. When he finished he felt empty, but also clean, ready to die when necessary. Wagnerian emotions shook him, combined with a bitter taste of vomit stuck in his throat and a persistent smell of shit.
"It is not possible! It is not possible!" repeated aloud Max, like the Haitian zombie that lost, stolen, his spirit. It took him some minutes to calm down. Still in the bathroom, he sat on the toilet to think things over.
He estimated that his enterprise would be endangered, if the Jewess Carlos was seeing, was precisely David Sikoraś daughter. If the police could obtain evidence about the relation between Carlos and that girl, then Calderón’s supporters would claim that, since Carlos and Max were friends and both members of the German Club, the attempted murder against the President had been a trap prepared by the Nazi Party. The police, or David Sikora, or his daughter, could very well use the portrait of Carlos currently in their house. They would show or give the portrait to the journalists and certainly, immediately the press would publish it.
"As soon as possible," though Max, "anything related to Carlos that may be in that house, must disappear."
243
Still nauseated and feeling both anger and ire, he went to find the Trunk. Together with him, they would return to the Jewish house. "The Trunk says the Sikoras leave early in the morning and return late in the afternoon," thought Max. "He will help me get inside and we will remove the photograph. That Jewish pigsty must not contain anything German,"
concluded Max.
He found the servant in the traditional bar on skid row, called "The Trinity." This night, his man had money and drugs and thus whores and drug addicts surrounded him.
"Some professional, you are!" said Max getting by the bar. "Trunk," he asked, "that photograph that you saw, was it perhaps of Carlos Dönning?"
"Now that you mention it, yes. It was he."
"I forgot him -continued Trunk- because it has been a while since he does not show up in the German Club," putting airs as if he actually was a member of that exclusive institution.
"Shit!" shouted Max: "I was afraid it would be him!"
For a few seconds Max did not say a word because he was trying to order his train of thoughts and for his part the Trunk did not dare interrupt his now enraged boss. Then Max spoke again: "Tomorrow, before you go to do your business at the Parque España, I need you to go back to that house, this time with me."
"Why, boss?" asked the hired gun. "Because we need to remove that portrait of Carlos Dönning."
Once he had a plan prepared, the German diplomat felt better and joined the Trunk and his friends to relax. He asked a whisky. "Do not worry, boss," said the Trunk to his ear:
"Tomorrow we will get in quietly, like cats and nobody will see us."
"All right! All right! There is nothing to be alarmed of. Everything will go well if we do as I tell you," answered Max, who added: "And now, Trunk, please introduce me to your companions here. What I now need is sex. It is the only thing that calms me down."
Max, the Trunk and four women spent the night together. There were rooms on the floor above the bar and the place was conveniently close to David Sikoraś house. At seven in the morning, they were ready to begin their Odyssey. They would take the portrait and then each one would attend to their business. In case something went wrong, the Trunk carried a gun in one of his suit's pockets.
Max got up with a lingering worry, but he calmed down once he drank a cup of black coffee and some "Spanish" bread and butter. "I am hungry if I am tense," he said to the Trunk. Fifteen minutes later, again without the slightest difficulty, the Trunk opened the door to David Sikoraś house.
244
"Where is that portrait?" asked Max.
The Trunk took him to Elena's bedroom and pointed out at the table where there were two photographs, one of Carlos Dönning, indeed and another one, depicting a beautiful young woman.
"That Jewish girl looks really good," thought Max.
But even with her radiant beauty, the girl was his enemy. He said to the Trunk, "I cannot understand how such an elegant and rich German as Carlos, ends up with a woman from a slave race of inferiors."
"But boss," said the Trunk, smiling, "I do not see anything slavish or inferior in her body."
Max would not pay attention to his remark and added: "Let us not waste our time; let us get moving. We both still have much to do today." They proceeded to search letters, drawers, dresses and boxes, but did not find anything more related to Carlos.
Finally, Max went into the room shared by David and Anita. He felt disgusted and repelled by what he saw there. "I do not know how the Jews dare to wear these old rags, instead of fine or good clothes," he commented.
"It is because we the poor do not have enough money to buy good things," responded the Trunk.
"No, no. What they lack is not money, but good taste," insisted Max.
The Trunk felt that since he was also poor, then he did not have good taste either and wanted to change the subject. Max helped him, saying: "Look, Trunky, what a strange, pathetic and decadent painting they have hung on that wall! Balloons and tropical colors,"
he continued: "distorted images and triangular faces. In Germany, we have forbidden this Judeo cubist shit." Then he looked at the photograph of Emma Goldman that Anita had also hanged on the wall, above the bed: "And, tell me, Trunk, is not that a portrait of that communist Jewish witch from New York?" But the Trunk could not follow what Max was saying.
Carrying the photograph of Carlos in one of his pockets and once he was again in the street, Max recovered his good humor and his self-assurance.
"Now you may go to Parque España," he ordered to the Trunk. "Put a bullet on the President's balls. Do not let anyone see you. Remember, you must shoot from behind the bushes. Once you have shot him, run towards the National Liquor Factory. As agreed, there you will find Lieutenant Ramirez. He will hide you."
245
The Trunk had never failed in one of these "businesses," and again assured Max not to worry: "The assassination is going to be a piece of cake, boss."
Max went to the Legation, five blocks away from the Parque España. "I should hear the shots from my office," he thought.
The German diplomat went into his office and asked his secretary to bring some strong coffee. He was tired from the night spent with four different women and the adventure at the Jewish house. He attended to some unimportant businesses, constantly looking at the clock on the wall, at the left side of his mother's painting.
The only noise filling the room was the rhythmic tic-tac. "Nine thirty already," he thought looking at the dial. He felt that his heart was beating faster now. A few cold sweat drops appeared on his forehead. He had participated in numerous crimes, but this was the first time he had organized a coup d'état. "However," he thought, "This is no reason why I should be this nervous, sweating all over my body."
At nine forty, again he looked at the clock on the wall. His sweating increased and was flowing non-stop from his armpits. The morning was not hot and he could not understand why he was agitated so much. Suddenly, he realized there was something wrong. Each time he looked at the clock, Max felt as is he was losing control over his body. He was perspiring so much that now his clothes were also getting wet. He removed the jacket and the tie, but nothing seemed to control the sweating. As he was taking his eyes away from the clock, he finally realized what was the cause of his alarm.
"It cannot be!" he shouted, loudly moaning. His secretary was startled and came into his office. She saw that Max was in a panic.
"What is it, Mister Gerffin, what has happened to you?" she asked, anguished.
The diplomat had fallen to the floor and continued to sweat abundantly. She thought he was having a heart attack and in turn started shrieking, terrorized. Max was not unconscious, though; he lifted an arm and in a weak voice told her to stay quiet.
At about nine fifty, Max finally recovered his bearings and went out hurriedly. Once in the street, he began running like a madman. The pedestrians, leisurely strolling along the quiet streets of Barrio Amón, enjoying the morning sun, let him pass, like a raging San Fermín bull. Max lost all sense of space and time. His only purpose in life was arriving at the Parque España, before ten o'clock.
Meanwhile, the Trunk had already arrived in the park and was hiding behind the bushes.
"Killing a president is easy, here in Costa Rica," he said to himself. Usually, the Costa Rican rulers did not use bodyguards. They went out walking, drank a cup of coffee in any cafeteria, did their daily shopping in the stores and without any concerns or precautions whatsoever, they attended their meetings.
246
Other heads of state in the region, thought the Trunk, were not used to these Costa Rican manners. For example, General Somoza, the Nicaraguan strongman, was normally surrounded by dozens of policemen and guards and he could never get accustomed to the
"insecurity" characteristic of Costa Rica. Thus, when he visited San José, Somoza always brought with him his own security forces.
Actually, the country was an easy and tranquil place, where assassination attempts against Presidents were extremely rare. The more liberal the current president, the more he liked to present themselves as ordinary citizens. In the case of Calderón, he was more concerned about his personal security, but not enough as not to leave windows of opportunity, such as this visit to the Yellow House, headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Relations.
While the Trunk was thus meditating about national security issues, the President was walking toward the Ministry building and the hired gun aimed his pistol directly at his chest.
Some journalists met the President on the steps to the main entrance and surrounded him, asking all sorts of things. Apart from these media people, there were only two guards at the end of the stairs, protecting the big wooden doors of the Ministry. After a few more moments, the journalists began to withdraw, for they had other news to cover. Calderón was chatting with the Minister's secretary and the Minister himself, Don Alberto Echandi, was waiting for him at the door, with his arms open and smiling.
The Trunk steadied the pistol, always aiming at the President's chest. He inhaled deeply before pulling the trigger. But some desperate screams reached his ears at the precise moment. They came from the other side of the park, near where the Metallic Building was.
"Trunk! Trunk!" shouted the German consul, possessed now by a fury similar to that of a tropical storm. Both the hired gun and the Ministry's guards paid attention to the shouts.
The Trunk put away the pistol and began running in the opposite direction. A few moments later, he bumped into his boss. Max was thus able to stop the assassination attempt.
"Pretend to be my assistant and that I was trying to locate you to help me at the Legation,"
was all Max could say before the Ministry guards arrived.
The policemen asked Max what was going on. Max took a deep breath and said, as calmly as possible and smiling: "It is nothing, officer. Please forgive my shouts; but I need my assistant here to run an urgent errand for me." At the same time, he presented them his credentials, something really unnecessary, since everybody at the Ministry knew him well.
President Calderón was totally unaware about the small drama, taking place in the park nearby. He said hello to his Minister of Foreign Relations and went inside the building to discuss the last details for the seizure of the German boats. Meanwhile, Max was walking away with his soul hanging on his shoulder. "But boss, Mister Gerffin," asked the Trunk, a bit scared now: "What happened?"
247
"It is just a change in our plans. That is all, Trunk: We are changing our plans," said Max, still confused.
Julius Cesar’s disappointed emulous returned alone to the Legation and tried to sit at his desk. His secretary did not ask him what was going on, since she realized he was under the spell of an overwhelming anger. Max raised his sight and stared with a pair of sky blue eyes at his mother's painting.
It certainly was a copy of the one he had seen earlier, at the Jewish house.
248
XXVIII
Albert Einstein liked to say that each small change occurring on Earth, even if it was miniscule, had an impact throughout the entire universe. Claudia's painting would not be an exception to this rule. Max could not allow the police to go into David Sikoraś house, only to discover one of his mother's paintings right in the master bedroom. Given this mishap, he first had to inform Reinebeck about the most recent developments. Still, he had to come up with a last minute excuse to justify his failure. "I will tell the Ambassador that Calderón arrived at the Yellow House, earlier than scheduled." Reinebeck was furious. Before abruptly hanging the phone up on him, the Ambassador gave him orders to communicate with the ships and issue orders to have them burnt: "We cannot follow the previous plan and we do not want our enemies to find either the cargo or the documents," he angrily shouted. Max began to say, "Yes, Herr Ambassador, that is the best course of action...,‖ but Reinebeck hung up on him. Max did not suspect this would mark the beginning of his own end.
On March 31, under instructions from their respective Legations, the crews of the two ships burned them. Of course, this fact did not remain unnoticed by the Costa Rican journalists.
On April 1st, the anti-Axis El Diario de Costa Rica, in big headlines informed its readers that, "a few minutes before they were boarded by the Costa Rican authorities, both ships were burnt... and everything suggests that the officials in charge of the vessels were aware, well in advance, of our government's plans." La Tribuna, a newspaper closer to the Administration did not hide its concerns either, informing that the Government suspected the crews were alerted about the police operation in advance, because "telegraphic messages were intercepted by a US vessel stationed some miles away in front of Puntarenas. These messages were probably sent by Nazi spies in San José."
Calderón tried to dismiss the campaign against his administration, declaring to the press that he "trusted" all the officials and the rank and file of the national Army. He also denied claims that any police operation had been aborted, or that the captains at the Fella and the Eisenach had any "previous notice of our plans." However, two days later the scandal expanded, when the Captain of the Eisenach himself, declared that: "Our Legations gave us the orders to burn down the ships, rather than let them be seized by the Costa Rican Police and Army." This spoiled the President's declarations.
But the Costa Rican government not only faced an internal scandal; its international consequences threatened to become even larger. Thus, Calderón wanted the United States to pull his chestnuts out of the fire. Although Reinebeck traveled to San José to defend his fellow Germans, claiming their actions were motivated by "legitimate self-defense,‖ all the crew members were imprisoned in San José, accused of three major crimes, namely: setting fire to the ships, resisting the authorities and attempting against the public order and security. The Government insisted on the need to incarcerate these sailors. On April 25, the Secretary of State of the United States informed President Calderón that he should keep these Germans interned, because "if these individuals obtained their freedom, they would become a threat to your country's security, as well as that of the other American republics."
249
For his part, Max organized the German and the Italian communities. His best weapon now was to generate chaos. The campaign in favor of the jailed sailors included several components, such as the promotions of disturbances in the streets, the distribution of propaganda against the Government and also the collection of donations and presents for the incarcerated seamen. One of the pamphlets attacked the alliance between Costa Rica and the United States: " But the policy of total and unconditional submission, followed by most of the Latin American rulers towards the yanqui State Department... made us realized that, sooner or later, Washington would force these submissive puppet governments, to adopt measures that destroy the tranquility and the hospitality characteristic of the Latin American people."
While the Calderón administration faced its worst crisis yet, other actors played their cards.
One of these was Miguel Pop, who had returned to San José with The Duster. The robust and attractive African American union leader knew Max better than anybody else and was aware of the businesses that led in his brother's assassination. On March 30, he met with Manuel Mora, the leader of the Communist Party, to warn him about a possible coup by León Cortés. But Mora did not pay enough attention to this information: "I am not convinced that Calderón is any better that Cortés, nor that he is worthy of our support,"
argued Mora, who added: "Taking advantage of the war, the big merchants and importers disguise their real costs and, moreover, they hide away the goods, just to manipulate the prices. This is a government for and by the rich," concluded the General Secretary of the local Communists.
But by April 1st, the communist leader had reconsidered his stance. Mora finally agreed that the open Nazi participation in the burning of the ships in Puntarenas and the demonstrations against the Government (incited by Max), indicated the seriousness of the situation. The Marxist leader accepted that Miguel had an interview with representatives from the Government, to offer them the Communist support, "in exchange for benefits for the working class." If the regime changed its position toward the workers, the Communists would mobilize the masses in support of President Calderón. Mora clearly pointed out to Miguel, that the "negotiation" required initial good will gestures from the part of Calderón.
These included that Calderón promoted new social laws that would be known as "Social Guarantees," and which contained measures such as: a minimum salary; an eight-hour working day; the recognition of the workers' unions; the right of the workers to a decent house; minimal hygienic and security conditions at the workplace; reasserting the State's duty to provide free education for all; and that the national workers would have priority over foreign ones.
A second result was a change in the Costa Rican Catholic Church. Since the end of the XIX
Century, Liberals such as Don José Sanchez had taken away from the Church, much of its former power. The Church monopoly over the wastelands, as well as its own taxes (the tithe or tenth part of harvests), were regarded by the Liberals as barriers against capital accumulation and, therefore, against the development of capitalism. In the 1830s, the Government confiscated those lands to give them to new coffee growers. In 1884 declared that all the education from now on would be secular. That same year, an executive decree 250
limited, with a few exceptions, parading religious images outside the churches. Finally, the creation of the civil marriage and the civil divorce consolidated this anti-clerical legislation.
Monsignor Victor Sanabria, the head of the local Catholics, had been educated in Europe and held advanced social ideas. The Catholic Church had much to recover and thus Monsignor Sanabria was yet another important player that decided to help the Calderón administration in exchange of political dividends since like the Communists, although for different reasons, the Catholics rejected the Liberal State. To Sanabria, the burning of the German ships was a clear evidence of an impending coup d'état and that Cortés would then regain the power. "We do not need another anti-clerical President. I must get in touch with President Calderón and make a deal with his government. But Calderón must pay a price for the support of our Holy Church. He must abolish the Liberal legislation," thought Sanabria. In turn, Calderón wanted and needed the Catholic support and would agree to their demands. In order to make a new ally, the President decided to turn the country, once again, into a Catholic nation.
Obviously, Calderon's and Hornibrookś political positions became closely entwined after the burning of the German ships. Anxious to provide the much-needed military support, the United States government presented Calderón with relatively moderate demands, namely, expelling from the Government the most conspicuous Nazis.
Calderón went beyond the American request, expelling from the national territory Baron Karl von Bayer and his family. He also dismissed Max Gerffin, Alberto Fortuniak and Wilhelm Hannekamp from governmental positions. Hornibrook was satisfied with these changes and explained to his Department of State that Calderón took such measures because he feared these individuals were "organizing a coup" against him.