We had dinner that night at a corner table in the hotel restaurant with a small man in his early forties. His name was Polish or Hungarian and he lived in Buenos Aires. He was the man who had alerted Susan to the existence of Menem, and he was the campaign manager, as far as we could make out, although he was not a Peronist and had no background in the movement. It was hard to work out what his background was. I could not even tell whether he was rich or poor. He spoke no English; he said very little, and when he spoke he addressed himself entirely to Susan, and treated Jorge and me as though we were her bodyguards. As the meal progressed, it became clear that he had known Susan for some time, and that he had a determined campaign strategy, and from now on could depend on her full cooperation. When he stood up to go, I noticed that he had a limp. I watched him leave the hotel, and then I turned toward Susan and Jorge. They were watching him too. None of us said anything. We went to the desk in the lobby and collected our keys. I kissed Susan goodnight and nodded at Jorge and went ahead of them up the wide stairs of the old hotel to bed.

AS AUTUMN GAVE way to winter I grew friendly with Federico Arenas. He was always there at the end of any dinner, ready to have more drinks or to go to a club. I went one night across the city with him to a country club where he was warmly welcomed at the door. Inside there was a quiet, darkened bar full of plush velvet upholstery; drinks were served by girls. You could have one of the girls if you wanted, Federico said. We could ask her to join us; there were even rooms upstairs, but you would have to pretend that you were staying the night, this was no two-hour joint. Maybe we could do a foursome, he said. Some night we could do that. He loved calling the barman over and impressing him with talk about money; he loved smiling at the girls and giving them large tips. I was there to witness all his charm and munificence. He treated me as though he were a man of the world and I a mere novice. He showed me photographs of his wife and children, all fast asleep, he said, at home. His wife was a good woman, he said. She knew him and trusted him.