Alencar turned his attention to the phone.
IV
Dito shook the dirt from his clothes. His eyes were still red. They had crossed a long stretch of woods, up to the foot of the hill. No one felt like talking. When they got to the main ascent up into the slum, where there was no more danger of being caught by the snitches and dealers, Manguito decided to break the silence.
âDo you think we should return through the cemetery?â
âNo. We escape by the other side. Only later, Iâm going to show up there. Theyâll have to tell me who shot Pichote.â
They arrived at the bar. Manguito and Smokey went around behind the small shack, while Dito went in cautiously, and approached Crystal who was still playing pool.
âHey, man! I thought youâd forgotten our appointment.â
Dito remained quiet.
âWhereâre your little friends?â
Crystal noticed Manguito and Smokey approaching. He sat on the pool table and began talking.
âItâs gonna be a big job. First some free samples. After, when they are well hooked, things thicken. But in this small job only, you will take five hundred grand. Itâs enough to keep the wolf away from the door for a long time.â
âAnd what do we have to do to get so much money?â Dito asked.
âAs I said,â Crystal answered, âalmost nothing.â
Dito didnât much like this guy, who talked incessantly and acted as if he knew everything, and thought everything would be easy. They hadnât even begun their first job and he was already absorbed with their future.
âAnd where will we get the money?â Dito asked objectively.
âTwo hundred thousand cruzeiros from me and the rest in Sao Paulo. At this address.â
Crystal took a card from his pocket showing it to Dito.
âDo you know where it is?â
âOf course I know.â
âWell itâs there. A big house thatâs ready to be demolished. There is work going on there, but the workers are all part of the group. You go in and ask for Deborah. Then one of the workers will stop what heâs doing and ask you to follow him to her presence. Youâll like it. Fine people, who donât begrudge payments. You might even earn a bonus. It will all depend on you.â
Dito reached for the card but Crystal pulled it away, smiling and gesturing.
âNone of that. Material proof is dangerous. You have to memorize: 1072 Lavapés Street, two houses before the gas station.â
âAnd whatâll we take?â
Crystal pulled small bags from his pockets.
âThis stuff. I will sew them to the inside of your pants myself.â
While this man with strange mannerisms and a pock-marked face, always smiling, fidgeted around, Dito thought about Pichote: his wide-open eyes, his hand unfurled with Starryâs flowers.
âFirst you,â said Crystal addressing Manguito.
The boy took off his pants, keeping his undershorts. Crystal turned the clothes inside out, opened a small box, where there were more little bags, thread and needle.
âI have to make like Iâm a tailor for everything to work out. The goods will be secure like this. Even if they put their hands in your pockets, they wonât find anything.â
Dito continued to observe this man so patient and talkative. When he finished sewing the bags to Manguitoâs pants, it was Smokeyâs turn. Only, he had no undershorts. He was embarrassed to be naked, so Crystal found him a towel.
âWhen you come back, I swear Iâll buy first-class clothing for everybody. Clothes and shoes.â
Dito wasnât worried about that. He was worried about returning through the cemetery and, from there, to try to take the train to Sao Paulo. His thoughts appeared to echo those of Crystal.
âDonât even dream of catching a bus at the bus station. You would be caught, easy.â
Dito said he knew that. Crystal wasnât satisfied.
âThe policewomen