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meeting that afternoon.
At ten the Don was waiting for the three men in his office, the corner room of the
house with its law library and special phone. There was a tray with whiskey bottles, ice
and soda water. The Don gave his instructions.
"We made the peace this afternoon." he said. "I gave my word and my honor and that
should be enough for all of you. But our friends are not so trustworthy so let's all be on
our guard still. We don't want any more nasty little surprises." Then Don turned to
Hagen. "You've let the Bocchicchio hostages go?"
Hagen nodded. "I called Clemenza as soon as I got home."
Corleone turned to the massive Clemenza. The caporegime nodded. "I released them.
Tell me, Godfather, is it possible for a Sicilian to be as dumb as the Bocchicchios
pretend to be?"
Don Corleone smiled a little. "They are clever enough to make a good living. Why is it
so necessary to be more clever than that? It's not the Bocchicchios who cause the
troubles of this world. But it's true, they haven't got the Sicilian head."
They were all in a relaxed mood, now that the war was over. Don Corleone himself
mixed drinks and brought one to each man. The Don sipped his carefully and lit up a
cigar.
"I want nothing set forth to discover what happened to Sonny, that's done with and to
be forgotten. I want all cooperation with the other Families even if they become a little
greedy and we don't get our proper share in things. I want nothing to break this peace
no matter what the provocation until we've found a way to bring Michael home. And I
want that to be first thing on your minds. Remember this, when he comes back he must
come back in absolute safety. I don't mean from the Tattaglias or the Barzinis. What I'm
concerned about are the police. Sure, we can get rid of the real evidence against him;
that waiter won't testify, nor that spectator or gunman or whatever he was. The real
evidence is the least of our worries since we know about it. What we have to worry
about is the police framing false evidence because their informers have assured them
that Michael Corleone is the man who killed their captain. Very well. We have to
demand that the Five Families do everything in their power to correct this belief of the
police. All their informers who work with the police must come up with new stories. I
think after my speech this afternoon they will understand it is to their interest to do so.
But that's not enough. We have to come up with something special so Michael won't
ever have to worry about that again. Otherwise there's no point in him coming back to
this country. So let's all think about that. That's the most important matter.
"Now, any man should be allowed one foolishness in his life. I have had mine. I want
all the land around the mall bought, the houses bought. I don't want any man able to
look out his window into my garden even if it's a mile away. I want a fence around the
mall and I want the mall to be on full protection all the time. I want a gate in that fence.
In short, I wish now to live in a fortress. Let me say to you now that I will never go into
the city to work again. I will be semiretired. I feel an urge to work in the garden, to make
a little wine when the grapes are in season. I want to live in my house. The only time I'll
leave is to go on a little vacation or to see someone on important business and then I
want all precautions taken. Now don't take this amiss. I'm not preparing anything. I'm
being prudent, I've always been a prudent man, there is nothing I find so little to my
taste as carelessness in life. Women and children can afford to be careless, men cannot.
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Be leisurely in all these things, no frantic (неистовый, безумный) preparations to alarm
our friends. It can be done in such a way as to seem natural.
"Now I'm going to leave things more and more up to each of you three. I want the
Santino regime disbanded and the men placed in your regimes. That should reassure
our friends and show that I mean peace. Tom, I want you to put together a group of men
who will go to Las Vegas and give me a full report on what is going on out there. Tell me
about Fredo, what is really happening out there, I hear I wouldn't recognize my own son.
It seems he's a cook now, that he amuses himself with young girls more than a grown
man should. Well, he was always too serious when he was young and he was never the
man for Family business. But let's find out what really can be done out there."
Hagen said quietly, "Should we send your son-in-law? After all, Carlo is a native of
Nevada, he knows his way around."
Don Corleone shook his head. "No, my wife is lonely here without any of her children.
I want Constanzia and her husband moved into one of the houses on the mall. I want
Carlo given a responsible job, maybe I've been too harsh on him, and" – Don Corleone
made a grimace – "I'm short of sons. Take him out of the gambling and put him in with
the unions where he can do some paper work and a lot of talking. He's a good talker."
There was the tiniest note of contempt in the Don's voice.
Hagen nodded. "OK, Clemenza and I will go over all the people and put together a
group to do the Vegas job. Do you want me to call Freddie home for a few days?"
The Don shook his head. He said cruelly, "What for? My wife can still cook our meals.
Let him stay out there." The three men shifted uneasily in their seats. They had not
realized Freddie was in such severe disfavor with his father and they suspected it must
be because of something they did not know.
Don Corleone sighed. "I hope to grow some good green peppers and tomatoes in the
garden this year, more than we can eat. I'll make you presents of them. I want a little
peace, a little quiet and tranquillity for my old age. Well, that's all. Have another drink if
you like."
It was a dismissal. The men rose. Hagen accompanied Clemenza and Tessio to their
cars and arranged meetings with them to thrash out (тщательно обсудить, выяснить,
проработать; to thrash – бить, пороть; /молотить = to thresh/) the operational details
that would accomplish the stated desires of their Don. Then he went back into the
house where he knew Don Corleone would be waiting for him.
126
The Don had taken off his jacket and tie and was lying down on the couch. His stern
face was relaxed into lines of fatigue. He waved Hagen into a chair and said, "Well,
Consigliori, do you disapprove of any of my deeds today?"
Hagen took his time answering. "No," he said. "But I don't find it consistent
(последовательный, стойкий; совместимый, согласующийся), nor true to your nature.
You say you don't want to find out how Santino was killed or want vengeance for it. I
don't believe that. You gave your word for peace and so you'll keep the peace but I can't
believe you will give your enemies the victory they seem to have won today. You've
constructed a magnificent riddle that I can't solve, so how can I approve or disapprove?"
A look of content came over the Don's face. "Well, you know me better than anyone
else. Even though you're not a Sicilian, I made you one. Everything you say is true, but
there's a solution and you'll comprehend it before it spins out to the end. You agree
everyone has to take my word and I'll keep my word. And I want my orders obeyed
exactly. But, Tom, the most important thing is we have to get Michael home as soon as
possible. Make that first in your mind and in your work. Explore all the legal alleys, I
don't care how much money you have to spend. It has to be foolproof when he comes
home. Consult the best lawyers on criminal law. I'll give you the names of some judges
who will give you a private audience. Until that time we have to guard against all
treacheries."
Hagen said, "Like you, I'm not worried so much about the real evidence as the
evidence they will manufacture. Also some police friend may kill Michael after he's
arrested. They may kill him in his cell or have one of the prisoners do it. As I see it, we
can't even afford to have him arrested or accused."
Don Corleone sighed. "I know, I know. That's the difficulty. But we can't take too long.
There are troubles in Sicily. The young fellows over there don't listen to their elders
anymore and a lot of the men deported from America are just too much for the old-
fashioned Dons to handle. Michael could get caught in between. I've taken some
precautions against that and he's still got a good cover but that cover won't last forever.
That's one of the reasons I had to make the peace. Barzini has friends in Sicily and they
were beginning to sniff Michael's trail. That gives you one of the answers to your riddle.
I had to make the peace to insure my son's safety. There was nothing else to do."
Hagen didn't bother asking the Don how he had gotten this information. He was not
even surprised, and it was true that this solved part of the riddle. "When I meet with
Tattaglia's people to firm up the details, should I insist that all his drug middlemen
127
(посредники) be clean? The judges will be a little skittish (норовистый или пугливый
/о лошади/; капризный) about giving light sentences to a man with a record."
Don Corleone shrugged. "They should be smart enough to figure that out themselves.
Mention it, don't insist. We'll do our best but if they use a real snowbird (дрозд-
рябинник; кокаинист) and he gets caught, we won't lift a finger. We'll just tell them
nothing can be done. But Barzini is a man who will know that without being told. You
notice how he never committed himself in this affair. One might never have known he
was in any way concerned. That is a man who doesn't get caught on the losing side."
Hagen was startled. "You mean he was behind Sollozzo and Tattaglia all the time?"
Don Corleone sighed. "Tattaglia is a pimp. He could never have outfought Santino.
That's why I don't have to know about what happened. It's enough to know that Barzini
had a hand in it."
Hagen let this sink in. The Don was giving him clues but there was something very
important left out. Hagen knew what it was but he knew it was not his place to ask. He
said good night and turned to go. The Don had a last word for him.
"Remember, use all your wits for a plan to bring Michael home," the Don said. "And
one other thing. Arrange with the telephone man so that every month I get a list of all
the telephone calls, made and received, by Clemenza and Tessio. I suspect them of
nothing. I would swear they would never betray me. But there's no harm in knowing any
little thing that may help us before the event."
Hagen nodded and went out. He wondered if the Don was keeping a check on him
also in some way and then was ashamed of his suspicion. But now he was sure that in
the subtle and complex mind of the Godfather a far-ranging plan of action was being
initiated that made the day's happenings no more than a tactical retreat. And there was
that one dark fact that no one mentioned, that he himself had not dared to ask, that Don
Corleone ignored. All pointed to a day of reckoning (to reckon – считать, подсчитывать;
сводить счеты, рассчитываться) in the future.
Chapter 21
But it was to be nearly another year before Don Corleone could arrange for his son
Michael to be smuggled back into the United States. During that time the whole Family
racked their brains (ломали голову; to rack – пытать, мучить; заставлять работать
изо всех сил, изнурять) for suitable schemes. Even Carlo Rizzi was listened to now
128
that he was living in the mall with Connie. (During that time they had a second child, a
boy.) But none of the schemes met with the Don's approval.
Finally it was the Bocchicchio Family who through a misfortune of its own solved the
problem. There was one Bocchicchio, a young cousin of no more than twenty-five years
of age, named Felix, who was born in America and with more brains than anyone in the
clan had ever had before. He had refused to be drawn into the Family garbage hauling
business and married a nice American girl of English stock to further his split from the
clan. He went to school at night, to become a lawyer, and worked during the day as a
civil service post office clerk. During that time he had three children but his wife was a
prudent manager and they lived on his salary until he got his law degree.
Now Felix Bocchicchio, like many young men, thought that having struggled to
complete his education and master the tools of his profession, his virtue would
automatically be rewarded and he would earn a decent living. This proved not to be the
case. Still proud, he refused all help from his clan. But a lawyer friend of his, a young
man well connected and with a budding (подающий надежды, многообещающий)
career in a big law firm, talked Felix into doing him a little favor. It was very complicated,
seemingly legal, and had to do with a bankruptcy fraud. It was a million-to-one shot
against its being found out. Felix Bocchicchio took the chance. Since the fraud involved
using the legal skills he had learned in a university, it seemed not so reprehensible
(предосудительный; to reprehend – делать выговор, порицать), and, in an odd way,
not even criminal.
To make a foolish story short, the fraud was discovered. The lawyer friend refused to
help Felix in any manner, refused to even answer his telephone calls. The two principals
(главные виновники) in the fraud, shrewd middle-aged businessmen who furiously
blamed Felix Bocchicchio's legal clumsiness (неуклюжесть, неловкость; clumsy –
неуклюжий, неловкий) for the plan going awry (окончился неудачей; awry [∂ ‘raı] –
кривой; косо, набок), pleaded guilty (признали себя виновными) and cooperated with
the state, naming Felix Bocchicchio as the ringleader (зачинщик) of the fraud and
claiming he had used threats of violence to control their business and force them to
cooperate with him in his fraudulent schemes. Testimony was given that linked Felix
with uncles and cousins in the Bocchicchio clan who had criminal records for strong-arm,
and this evidence was damning. The two businessmen got off with suspended
sentences. Felix Bocchicchio was given a sentence of one to five years and served
three of them. The clan did not ask help from any of the Families or Don Corleone
because Felix had refused to ask their help and had to be taught a lesson: that mercy
129
comes only from the Family, that the Family is more loyal and more to be trusted than
society.
In any case, Felix Bocchicchio was released from prison after serving three years,
went home and kissed his wife and three children and lived peacefully for a year, and
then showed that he was of the Bocchicchio clan after all. Without any attempt to
conceal his guilt, he procured a weapon, a pistol, and shot his lawyer friend to death. He
then searched out the two businessmen and calmly shot them both through the head as
they came out of a luncheonette (закусочная, буфет ['lΛnt∫∂’net]). He left the bodies
lying in the street and went into the luncheonette and ordered a cup of coffee which he
drank while he waited for the police to come and arrest him.
His trial was swift and his judgment merciless. A member of the criminal underworld
had cold-bloodedly murdered state witnesses who had sent him to the prison he richly
deserved. It was a flagrant flouting (вопиющее глумление, выказывание презрения;
flagrant [‘fleıgr∂nt] – ужасающий, вопиющий; to flout – презирать, попирать,
глумиться) of society and for once the public, the press, the structure of society and
even soft-headed and soft-hearted humanitarians (гуманисты) were united in their
desire to see Felix Bocchicchio in the electric chair. The governor of the state would no
more grant him clemency (милость, помилование) than the officials of the pound
(загон /для скота/) spare a mad dog, which was the phrase of one of the governor's
closest political aides. The Bocchicchio clan of course would spend whatever money
was needed for appeals to higher courts, they were proud of him now, but the
conclusion was certain. After the legal folderol (= folderal – бессмысленная болтовня),
which might take a little time, Felix Bocchicchio would die in the electric chair.
It was Hagen who brought this case to the attention of the Don at the request of one
of the Bocchicchios who hoped that something could be done for the young man. Don
Corleone curtly refused. He was not a magician. People asked him the impossible. But
the next day the Don called Hagen into his office and had him go over the case in the
most intimate detail. When Hagen was finished, Don Corleone told him to summon the
head of the Bocchicchio clan to the mall for a meeting.
What happened next had the simplicity of genius. Don Corleone guaranteed to the
head of the Bocchicchio clan that the wife and children of Felix Bocchicchio would be
rewarded with a handsome pension. The money for this would be handed over to the
Bocchicchio clan immediately. In turn, Felix must confess to the murder of Sollozzo and
the police captain McCluskey.
There were many details to be arranged. Felix Bocchicchio would have to confess
convincingly, that is, he would have to know some of the true details to confess to. Also
he must implicate (вовлекать, впутывать) the police captain in narcotics. Then the
waiter at the Luna Restaurant must be persuaded to identify Felix Bocchicchio as the
murderer. This would take some courage, as the description would change radically,
Felix Bocchicchio being much shorter and heavier. But Don Corleone would attend to
that. Also since the condemned man had been a great believer in higher education and
a college graduate, he would want his children to go to college. And so a sum of money
would have to be paid by Don Corleone that would take care of the children's college.
Then the Bocchicchio clan had to be reassured that there was no hope for clemency on
the original murders. The new confession of course would seal the man's already
almost certain doom (рок, судьба; осуждение, приговор).
Everything was arranged, the money paid and suitable contact made with the
condemned man so that he could be instructed and advised. Finally the plan was
sprung and the confession made headlines in all the newspapers. The whole thing was
a huge success. But Don Corleone, cautious as always, waited until Felix Bocchicchio
was actually executed four months later before finally giving the command that Michael
Corleone could return home.
Сhapter 22
Lucy Mancini, a year after Sonny's death, still missed him terribly, grieved for him
more fiercely than any lover in any romance. And her dreams were not the insipid
(безвкусный, пресный; вялый, неинтересный [ın'sıpıd]) dreams of a schoolgirl, her
longings (сильные, страстные желания, стремления; to long – страстно желать,
стремиться) not the longing of a devoted wife. She was not rendered desolate by the
loss of her "life's companion," or miss him because of his stalwart (стойкий, верный,
решительный ['sto:lw∂t]) character. She held no fond remembrances of sentimental
gifts, of girlish hero worship, his smile, the amused glint of his eyes when she said
something endearing (to endear [ın’dı∂] – заставить полюбить, внушить любовь) or
witty.
No. She missed him for the more important reason that he had been the only man in
the world who could make her body achieve the act of love. And, in her youth and
innocence, she still believed that he was the only man who could possibly do so.
131
Now a year later she sunned herself in the balmy Nevada air. At her feet the slender,
blond young man was playing with her toes. They were at the side of the hotel pool for
the Sunday afternoon and despite the people all around them his hand was sliding up
her bare thigh.
"Oh, Jules, stop," Lucy said. "I thought doctors at least weren't as silly as other men."
Jules grinned at her. "I'm a Las Vegas doctor." He tickled the inside of her thigh and
was amazed how just a little thing like that could excite her so powerfully. It showed on
her face though she tried to hide it. She was really a very primitive, innocent girl. Then
why couldn't he make her come across (признаться, все выложить)? He had to figure
that one out and never mind the crap about a lost love that could never be replaced.
This was living tissue here under his hand and living tissue required other living tissue.
Dr. Jules Segal decided he would make the big push tonight at his apartment. He'd
wanted to make her come across without any trickery but if trickery there had to be, he
was the man for it. All in the interests of science of course. And, besides, this poor kid
was dying for it.
"Jules, stop, please stop," Lucy said. Her voice was trembling.
Jules was immediately contrite (сокрушающийся, кающийся ['kontraıt]). "OK, honey,"
he said. He put his head in her lap and using her soft thighs as a pillow, he took a little
nap. He was amused at her squirming (to squirm – извиваться, корчиться;
чувствовать неловкость, смущение), the heat that registered from her loins and when
she put her hand on his head to smooth his hair, he grasped her wrist playfully and held
it loverlike but really to feel her pulse. It was galloping. He'd get her tonight and he'd
solve the mystery, what the hell ever it was. Fully confident, Dr. Jules Segal fell asleep.
Lucy watched the people around the pool. She could never have imagined her life
would change so in less than two years. She never regretted her "foolishness" at
Connie Corleone's wedding. It was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to
her and she lived it over and over again in her dreams. As she lived over and over again
the months that followed.
Sonny had visited her once a week, sometimes more, never less. The days before
she saw him again her body was in torment (мука ['to:m∂nt]). Their passion for each
other was of the most elementary kind, undiluted (to dilute [‘daılju:t] – разжижать,
разбавлять) by poetry or any form of intellectualism. It was love of the coarsest nature,
a fleshly love, a love of tissue for opposing tissue.
When Sonny called to her he was coming she made certain there was enough liquor
in the apartment and enough food for supper and breakfast because usually he would
not leave until late the next morning. He wanted his fill (хотел насытиться) of her as
she wanted her fill of him. He had his own key and when he came in the door she would
fly into his massive arms. They would both be brutally direct, brutally primitive. During
their first kiss they would be fumbling at each other's clothing and he would be lifting her
in the air, and she would be wrapping her legs around his huge thighs. They would be
making love standing up in the foyer of her apartment as if they had to repeat their first
act of love together, and then he would carry her so to the bedroom.
They would lie in bed making love. They would live together in the apartment for
sixteen hours, completely naked. She would cook for him, enormous meals. Somtimes
he would get phone calls obviously about business but she never even listened to the
words. She would be too busy toying with his body, fondling it, kissing it, burying her
mouth in it. Sometimes when he got up to get a drink and he walked by her, she
couldn't help reaching out to touch his naked body, hold him, make love to him as if
those special parts of his body were a plaything, a specially constructed, intricate
(запутанный, замысловатый, сложный ['ıntrıkıt]) but innocent toy revealing its known,
but still surprising ecstasies. At first she had been ashamed of these excesses on her
part but soon saw that they pleased her lover, that her complete sensual enslavement
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