Free Havana Bay by Martin Cruz Smith Page A

dealership in the world was in Havana . When the Revolution came, the road to the airport was lined with Cadillacs and Chryslers left behind. Imagine being a rebel in a free Cadillac."
    "I think I've seen some of those cars."
    "Still, this is not a Black Hole. A Black Hole would be a posting in Guyana or Suriname . There's the music, the beaches, shopping in the Bahamas an hour away." Bugai flashed a golden Rolex on his wrist.» Havana 's sea level and for me that's important. Of course, it's no Buenos Aires ."
    "It's not like the old days, either?" Arkady asked.
    "Not at all. Between technicians and military support we had twelve thousand Russians here and a diplomatic staff of another thousand in attaches, deputies, cultural liaisons, KGB, secretaries, clerks, communications, couriers, security. We had Soviet housing, Soviet schools and camps for Russian children. Why not? We put thirty billion rubles into Cuba . Cuba got from Russia more foreign aid per person than any other country in the world. You have to ask yourself, who did more to bring down the Soviet Union than Fidel?" Bugai caught Arkady's glance.» Oh, the walls have ears. The Cubans are excellent at electronic surveillance. We trained them. The only really safe lines are at the embassy. You just have to stop worrying. Anyway, now we have a diplomatic staff of twenty people. This is a ghost ship. Never mind that we drove ourselves into bankruptcy to pay for this floating circus, that our entire system came crumbling down while they danced the salsa. The point is, relations between us and the Cubans have never been worse and now you tell me that you can't identify Pribluda's body?"
    "Not conclusively."
    "It was conclusive enough for the Cubans. I've talked to a Captain Arcos and he seemed very reasonable, considering he pulled a Russian out of
Havana
Harbor
."
    "A dead Russian."
    "As I understand it, death was caused by a heart attack. A tragic but natural event."
    "There's nothing natural about Pribluda floating in the bay."
    "With spies these things happen."
    "Officially, he was a sugar attache."
    "Right. Well, all he had to do was drive around the island and visit some cane fields and see the Cubans won't make their sugar quota, because they never have. As for secret intelligence, the Cuban army is now moving missiles with oxen instead of trucks, that's all you need to know about that. The faster we get this little episode behind us the better."
    "There is the other little episode of Rufo and me."
    "Well, who knows what you are? We've lost a driver and an apartment thanks to you."
    "I'll stay at Pribluda's. It's empty."
     
    Bugai pursed his lips.» That's not the worst solution. I intend to keep this problem as far from the embassy as possible."
    Arkady discovered that talking to Bugai was much like trying to catch a jellyfish; every time he groped for an answer the vice consul floated out of reach.
    "Before the Cubans even found the body someone here at the embassy knew that Pribluda was in trouble and sent me a fax. It was unsigned. Who could that be?"
    "I wish I knew."
    "You can't find out?"
    "I don't have enough staff to investigate my staff."
    "Who assigned Rufo to me?"
    "The Cuban Ministry of the Interior assigned Rufo to us. Rufo was their man, not ours. There was no one else on hand when you arrived in the middle of the night. I didn't know exactly who you were and I still don't know exactly who you are. Of course, I've called Moscow , and perhaps they've heard of you but what you're really involved in I don't know. Crime is not my specialty."
    "What I'm involved in is identifying Pribluda. The Cubans asked for photographs of him and wanted to come to the embassy. You refused."
    "Well, this is my field. First, we had no photographs. Second, the Cubans always use any opportunity to gain access to the embassy and poke around sensitive areas. It's a state of siege. We were the comrades, now we're the criminals. Punctured tires in the middle of the night.