The Obedient Assassin: A Novel Read Online Free PDF

But I could give her this assignment.”
    Eitingon glanced away, then took a deep breath and exhaled. He had a vivid memory of Ramón in Toulouse. A week or so after Caridad had driven him from the house with her histrionics, he had gone back to see if there was anything he could do. The other children had somehow drifted away, but Ramón, at his mother’s side, attempting to attend to her, had that shell-shocked look, that haunted gaze of soldiers who had been in battle.
    â€œCaridad isn’t an easy person,” he said.
    Ramón laughed.
    â€œHow old were you when we met in Toulouse?”
    â€œTen, more or less.”
    â€œWhat do you remember?”
    â€œEverything, I suppose.”
    â€œDo you blame me for what happened?”
    Ramón blinked. “No, should I?”
    â€œShe was angry at me. She would have said things. I know I made mistakes. I didn’t understand how sheltered her life had been. I thought she was another sort of woman, had had a more worldly life. And then …” He hesitated. What had happened had been so appalling he couldn’t imagine what that time had been for Ramón, an ambulance coming to the house, neighbors standing at the gate.
    Eitingon gave his wineglass another turn. “I think religion was the problem for Caridad.”
    â€œReligion? She’s an intellectual, an atheist.”
    â€œNot then. She kept talking about the church. That’s what she kept saying, that she was lost because she had abandoned the church. She’s a complicated person. Ramón, all of this Marxist theory, dialectical materialism is mumbo jumbo to me.”
    â€œYes, to me as well. On the front, anytime a group of soldiers got together, they would argue about who was a Stalinist and who was a Trotskyist. And, of the two, who was the true Marxist. And then there were all of the arguments about all of the socialist organizations in Catalonia and which of them were Trotskyist.”
    â€œAnd what did you make of it?”
    â€œI didn’t listen to the arguments that much. As far as I’m concerned Lenin was the father of the revolution.”
    â€œAnd Trotsky?”
    â€œPerhaps he was the spoiled son who made trouble when Lenin chose Stalin to be his successor.”
    Eitingon shrugged. “For Caridad, Marx and the Manifesto is like Holy Scripture. You know she wanted to become a nun?”
    â€œYes, but her parents made her marry Papa because he was rich.”
    The sounds of pots clattering came from the kitchen.
    â€œRamón, I did some things wrong, but I hope you don’t blame me.”
    â€œNo, I was sorry when you left. Particularly after Thorez came.” Ramón shuddered with distaste. “He was cold and distant.”
    â€œI don’t imagine Maurice Thorez was much fun, but I suppose that’s what she needed.”
    â€œYou mean all that theory. I guess I’m not smart enough for it.”
    â€œYou’re smart enough. Theory just doesn’t interest you.”
    Eitingon urged Ramón to take the last oyster, then pushed the tray of ice and shells aside. “We need to talk about your assignment.”
    â€œYes, I don’t really understand what I’ll be doing.”
    â€œThe beginning is the most difficult. We have to study the situation and wait for the right opening. You need to start thinking about your cover.”
    â€œI thought you would assign me a new identity.”
    â€œIt’s much better if you create your own, something you’re comfortable with, something you like.”
    â€œHow do I do that?”
    â€œStay as close to the truth as you can. If you invent too much, then you forget and get confused. For example, you have Caridad in your life. So whoever you become might have a mother who interferes, who smokes too much, perhaps she knits. At the core, that will have truth for you. You can be who you want, just as long as your story fits together. It has to