“Bruno, it’s me Dario. I need you to come over to my house urgently. I have a serious situation to deal with and I can’t talk about it over the phone.”
“What is it this time?”
“As I said, I can’t say anything ahead of time. Drop whatever you’re doing and come running over.”
“Alright, I’m on my way,” said Bruno, finally appreciating the serious tone of Darius’ voice.”
When he reached Darius’ house he barely got through the door when Dario gave him the rundown.
“Beth is pregnant. She just left. She is frantic, and so am I.”
“What do you want me to do, take Beth to a clandestine abortion clinic? Or I’ll call Uriel back, they get together, then she tells him that the child is his. Problem solved.” he said chuckling.
“This is serious, don’t laugh. That’s actually what I thought of too, but didn’t count on one thing: her husband is sterile. So now she wants the child and so do I.”
“Now things just got more complicated. So, what do you intend to do might I ask?”
“Uriel is always participating in rodeo competitions, right?”
“Yeah. Now he’s in Palmas. There’s no shortage of rodeos in this country, but I really don’t think we’ll be able to keep Uriel from home much longer. Don’t forget, I’ve pulled some strings to delay his return home already. The guy isn’t stupid; he’ll get suspicious if we send him to another rodeo.”
“I thought of a different solution,” said Dario, lowering his eyes.
“What solution is that, Darius?”
“One that is final.”
“Are you crazy? You want to have the guy killed? This isn’t going to work. It could ruin your life and mine at the same time; I think both of us are very aware of that.”
“I thought of something simpler. An accident for example. Get him to ride the Ox Bandit.”
“The Ox Bandit died long ago.”
“Then get me another, preferably a wilder one. Accidents happen every day. The team leader’s one of us, right? If he is, then go talk to him. Give instructions. Look, I don’t want trouble Much less Beth with the child she is expecting. And if the surest way for the pawn is to suffer an accident, then may it be. Unfortunately sometimes you have to die for others to live their lives. And don’t look at me with that alarmed expression on your face, you know very well how the world works,” he said peremptorily.
That same day, Bruno began to meticulously plan the death of Uriel the pawn. First he envisioned a car accident somewhere along the trajectory between the hotel and the arena, but, as it might incur unforeseen consequences, he gave up on the idea. Two days after masterminding their macabre plan he went to Brasilia and caught a flight to Palmas, Tocantins. Once he got there, he sought out Joab, the rodeo team leader. He relayed the drama that Dario was going through, gave him instructions as to how he should act so that, once Uriel falls from the bull, he is trampled to death in the arena in full view of the crowd in order to be sure that no one has any doubt that it was an accident. It wasn’t the first time that Joab attended to one of the boss’ whims. And so it happened.
That very night, Dario received a call from Bruno, who anxiously awaited by the phone.
“I have some sad news,” he said. “Please give the news to Beth that Uriel, her husband, has suffered a serious accident during the rodeo competition. The bull he was riding stomped on him inside the arena. We did everything to save his life, but he did not survive. The body is being sent to Paratiba tomorrow morning, we’re just waiting for the police forensics report.” He hung up the phone immediately after delivering his message.
Beth cried for a month at death of her husband. Two months later she moved out of her house and moved in with Dario, who received her in open arms as if she were his own wife.
(To be continued…)
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