The Blue Line by Ingrid Betancourt Page A

for want of a better solution, their two go-betweens would be Señora Pilar and Rosa. They agreed not to say anything to Theo until they had something more concrete to go on. He had no inkling of danger. He was convinced that by moving to Saavedra he had become like a submarime retracting its periscope.
    â€”
    Everything changed the night Gabriel knocked on their door. It was nearly two in the morning. His face was twisted with anxiety. He had walked nonstop all the way from Posadas Hospital to their place.
    â€œThey arrived in several cars, before midnight,” he explained in a halting voice. “I was heading back from the bathroom; they didn’t see me. Rogelio was at the front desk. They hit him, hard. Then they handcuffed him, pulled a hood over his head, and shoved him into a car. They also took Vlado, who was on the second floor, and Augusto, who was working in the hospital’s print room. He’s a friend; he came to a lot of our meetings with Mugica. Do you remember?”
    â€œI know exactly who you mean,” Theo murmured.
    â€œHe was working later than usual. We were supposed to be going home together. He lives in Mataderos too. The fourth car stayed behind while they searched all the departments. I hid in a basket of dirty linens in the laundry room. I’m sure it was me they were looking for.”
    Theo struggled to pacify his brother. Gabriel showered, changed, packed a bag with some clothes Theo lent him, and took all the cash the three of them could scrape together.
    â€œThe vise is tightening around the three of us. We have to get out of Argentina,” he told them.
    Gabriel knew some French nuns who were assisting people in going into exile. He would go see them. He thought theymight hide him and help get him out of Buenos Aires. Gabriel asked Theo to inform Rosa. She knew where the convent was; he wanted her to join him there.
    When Gabriel had left, Julia spoke openly and for the first time about preparing for their own departure. Mama Fina knew some people at the port and Julia had learned that she had made contact with an Italian network. They needed to make arrangements as quickly as possible. She thought they could probably stow away on a ship leaving for North America or Europe.
    Theo felt terribly guilty about what had happened to his brother. He thought it was his fault. As the head of a Montoneros unit, he had placed his entire family in danger. He had to help them all leave at the earliest possible opportunity.
    â€œI’ll go to the port tomorrow to explore what options there are,” Theo announced. “And I’ll stop by Rosa’s place after work.”
    The thought of having a plan lifted his spirits. Julia chose that moment to tell him she was pregnant. “God willing, our baby will be here in time for the new year.”
    Theo leaped into the air and shouted for joy, taking her completely by surprise. He twirled her in his arms, then drew her into a dance, exactly as they had on the evening they’d first met.
    In the morning they went to work full of optimism conferred by their happy news. Julia was going to drop by MamaFina’s on her way to the pharmacy, and they would meet back at their place to take stock of the situation and make decisions. Theo also wanted to buy a bottle of wine and some flowers for a romantic celebration of the happy news.
    It was early when Julia let herself in at Mama Fina’s. She found her in the kitchen with a pile of papers and maps spread out over the table. Mama Fina had all the details about an Italian escape network. They would be ferried across the Río de la Plata by Uruguayan smugglers; from there they would set sail for Europe with new identities. An entire network of Italian families, especially in the south of the country, had made arrangements to receive the exiles and help them find jobs and somewhere to live. Their new passports and tickets had to be paid for up front, but Mama Fina