Town Hall

Andrés complained about me not going to the ceremony that confirmed him as the new Mayor of Taurinos. I said I was sleeping and didn't want to get up early. I wouldn't go anyhow. I had been appalled at the Mayor's crucifixion episode and all of the circumstances around it. In my view going would only celebrate the miserable state the ex-Mayor was still in in hospital. But I told him he was welcome and that I really wanted to talk to him. Told him about the incident the night before with Kid Abelha and he said he had "seen" and "heard" it all.

"Well so you know the hell we went through. The mayhem. It was only me and master Danilo putting out the fire from the Obscure Police. The musicians were desperate, not knowing what in the world was going on."

"And in the end Anderson realized it", the new Mayor noted (so he had been watching us as we watched the starry sky and talked), "he realized he could have killed three real people."

"Even if they were only projections of them and what not, who can assure they weren't going to be shot here and appear there in Rio with eight holes on the head each as it happened to the guys from Santos that came to get me?"

"Hell… We need to talk to them, Miss Grisam", said Andrés, seeming alarmed.

"We need to sit down and talk, I have always said this has to have a limit. Weren't I there with master Danilo the three could be dead right now, Andrés. It's three people well-known by the media, not the rats that came for me. Picture it spreading through the media and drawing people like crazy bastards here. It would be a hell of a defeat of their own purpose."

I made an effort to make Andrés understand that we should convince the two that drawing more people here would end up doubling or more their workload for a week. Besides, it'd create an unwanted mystic aura to town, like what happened to São Thomé das Letras, a town very near here.

"On the current course of action we might end up as a stop for the Royal Road."

"Heaven forbid", and Andrés crossed himself.

We discussed the issue of the Obscure Police at the Town Hall. Attending the meeting were the Mayor, the Mayor's elder brother, the two policemen, master Danilo and me. The policemen glared at me with a certain hint of hate in their eyes. To them, I was complaining about their performance at the hard task of protecting me and the town.

"Renan, you didn't have to do all that", guaranteed the Mayor, closely supported by master Danilo, "if you can test them with coarse salt, then how much coarse salt do you need?"

Renan had that sulky expression, but said a grain of salt was enough for a test. Said the behavior of the entrant was different than that of a common person and that coarse salt would be used only in the cases that caused a lot of doubt, since the mere presence of the salt already denounced the entrant.

"So why submitting the musicians to an embarrassment like that? I mean couldn't you notice they were real people, not entrants of any kind?", I questioned the tiny police officers.

Renan and Anderson were silent; their eyes sporadically beamed their hatred at me.

"Renan or Anderson, Miss Grisam is asking any of you a question", Andrés reminded them.

"We're not deaf, Mr. Mayor of Taurinos", Renan was dry.

"So if you answer my question we'll know you're not mute either", I put pressure on them.

"We'll test anyone we have the slightest doubt about", declared Renan, while Anderson was divided between looking at us and at his partner.

"And look, be polite as you get to people's houses. I have told you I don't want the Police on horses on my land, much less pointing shotguns at people who are with me. This was and is abuse of authority. The action you carried out was by far unnecessary and uncalled for. It was me who took them in, foreseeing the trouble it'd be when you two arrived. They were here but meant no harm to anyone, were just lost and wanting to find a way out of town."

We say things in the hope they'll make a difference. Mere illusion of mine, I guess. The policemen still glared at me with a certain hint of hate in their eyes. To them, I was nevertheless complaining about their performance at the hard task of protecting me and the town.

And the Obscure Police went to surround me at home in a kind of anti-repressive lobby. Just what I needed now, the two little pestering pitbull police officers now complaining directly at home.

"So you think you'll be in the Internal Affairs Division now?", snarled Renan is affective (and effective) way.

"And what if I'm really in?", I snarled back at him paying him back with his own medicine.

"Why didn't you say this to us last night as we watched the sky? Why did you have to be the tell-tale…"

"Renan, firstly Andrés "saw" and "heard" it all. I talked to him because I knew he would have already "seen" and "heard" that, I was never the tell-tale. Secondly, I wanted to relax after all that mess and talking about it there would only make me more nervous. And I'll tell you more: you're pretty silly if you think you can do something here that the town won't be commenting on the following day."

Renan said nothing, but almost ended up pouting. I felt like hugging and cuddling him tight when he had that expression on his face, that sulky handsome little face. But sometimes I couldn't be too fuzzy and warm towards him or he'd think that was a good excuse to carry out other thrashing actions like that. So I didn't hugged or cuddled him, but was enjoying discreetly his little pout. He looked like a butterfly looking for food.

Anderson came too but was silent. He too pouted at me but never said a thing. They'd usually play the game of "see how much I suffer to protect you". I knew what it was. There were times at which I could guess their game, their intention, the eternal conflict of interests in town. There were times at which nothing ever made sense (not even in light of their game, their intention or the eternal conflict of interests in town).