Operation Robe Washing

By Norberta Silva

Washing Robes Operation

The romance between Attorney General Roberto Nascimento and his beloved Nina enters a new stage. They'll have to fight hard to be together and start their longed-for family. Many troubles are yet to come. Roberto's personal life will undergo twists and turns and his fate may end up influencing Pindoretama's policy. Police operations continue in full throttle, only this time, even leading figures of the Judiciary will be targeted by the National Police. The role of Attorney General led Roberto to make many enemies in politics. 

What he didn't expect, however, was for someone else to become his great enemy, bringing with her secrets that even the prosecutor did not know. Many other things that were dormant in the past will also appear not only in Roberto's life. 

The third book in the Pindoretama series brings many surprises and personal issues arise in Roberto's life that led him to question his masculinity and the way he relates to the women in his life. On the other hand, however, Pindoretama's policy will have an unexpected outcome.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BadPress
• Release date: Jun 17, 2021
• ISBN: 9781667404202

Book preview

Prologue

Nina was in a calmer phase after two parties, Miguel’s one-year party and her marriage to Roberto. Despite this, her pregnancy was progressing well, without any major hiccups. Her son’s birthday party had only been for the closest people, in São José dos Mascates. The wedding ceremony didn’t have much luxury either. The post of Attorney General of Roberto, however, imposed on them the fulfillment of certain inescapable formalities. They were almost obligated to invite all kinds of influential politicians and business people in the country. Nina had to settle for a wedding divided into two ceremonies, one religious, in São José dos Mascates, more restricted to close guests and the other, the civil wedding, in Tuperatama, to which people who didn’t enjoy their intimacy were invited but were the highest authorities of the powers of the Republic.

Nina had moved to Tuperatama with Miguel since discovering her second pregnancy. She left her mother in São José dos Mascates in the care of a company that guaranteed caregivers twenty-four hours a day. It also hired a monitoring system with cameras installed throughout the apartment. Thus, she could observe the professionals who were taking care of her mother from a distance. This fact, like everything she did, caused controversy on social networks. Some said that she shouldn’t have left her mother in the care of strangers, that it was too impersonal, etc. Others defended her attitude, saying that this way she could have her life as a mother and wife, without neglecting her own mother.

This question of who is responsible for caring for the elderly is on the agenda of many societies. With the increase in life expectancy, many people achieve a longevity that a few decades ago was unthinkable. Current technology allows remote monitoring of everything that happens inside a home. On the other hand, communication by electronic means has its limits and does not replace the physical contact in interpersonal relationships. This is a discussion that still has a lot to talk about in contemporary societies.

Chapter One

While Nina dealt with issues of her personal life, Pindoretama’s policy was in full swing, impacting the professional life of the Attorney General. Presidential elections were approaching, and the future of the nation was on the line. The politicians were in turmoil. Many feared they wouldn’t be reelected and lose the special jurisdiction due to the prerogative of function. They were being accused of crimes such as corruption, money laundering, unrecorded funds from campaigns and many others.

President Ricardo Almeida was not a candidate for reelection, despite the popularity he had achieved since taking office after the ex-president Manoel Lucena’s impeachment. Behind the scenes, however, the pre-candidates competed for his support. He wasn’t sure yet who he should support.

Meanwhile, one of ex-President Lucena’s lawsuits was on trial in the second instance. He had been convicted by the first-degree judge, Saulo Madureira, and was being accused of several other crimes, ranging from illicit enrichment, unrecorded funds from campaign, corruption, as well as participation in the attempted murder of Attorney General Roberto Nascimento.

Despite this, its popularity was still high. Many people believed that the charges against Lucena were a coup by his opponents to seize power and undo the achievements from the working classes during his years as president.

On the other hand, there was also resentment on the part of the population because of all the corruption scandals that unsettled the country. Many people wanted to vote for someone who represents this feeling of resentment among the population. Political analysts were afraid that this delicate situation could result in the election of an opportunistic president who could bring those resentful voters around him. There was an imminent risk that a savior of the country would appear and get the sympathy of the people, with an easy speech that he would be able to solve the nation’s serious problems. As long as there was a political uncertainty about the main candidates for the highest office in the country, that was a possibility.

Most parties had old school politicians on their staff. They didn’t want structural changes in the old politics. The old chiefs did not want to relinquish their privileges, which in some cases could mean the difference between remaining an influential politician and being arrested and even convicted by Judge Madureira, responsible for Operation General Cleaning. None of them wanted to lose the privileged jurisdiction. For all these reasons, these elections would go down in Pindoretama’s history.

Many people within the political class still believed that they could continue to deceive the population, saying things that voters wanted to hear, but behind the scenes, continuing to articulate in the same way, doing the old politics.

The fear of many scholars and journalists was that people who would emerge new to politics but would form alliances with those old chiefs. There was a fear that there would only be a replacement of a group that had been in power in recent years, with one that looked like a new one, but that was trying to climb the ladders of power. Not to mention that the collapse of the image of a wing of politics, like the left represented by Lucena, brings the possibility for extremist groups to take advantage and occupy their space on the political scene.

The forthcoming elections would be crucial for the country’s future. Furthermore, the next president could either be someone capable of unifying the country or polarizing the people even more. All options were on the table, and the role of the Attorney General in this was vital. One slip could put a lot to lose. Would Roberto be ready for such responsibility? He believed so, especially if Nina stayed by his side. Even more so now that she was expecting his child. She and Miguel were living with him in Tuperatama. Thus, he no longer had to divide between two cities, as he had been in the past.

Chapter Two

Nina no longer had to travel from one city to another to be with Roberto; César, as his private secretary, was the one who traveled here and there. He went to São José to take care of her business and support her mother, hence her pregnancy, she shouldn’t travel due to medical recommendations. So, César traveled either to São José or to Tuperatama. He hated going to the federal capital. Not only because of nosy passersby who recognized him in public places such as airports, but also because of Mariana.

From the first casual encounter at Roberto’s flat, she approached Nina and ended up friends. When César was in the city, she almost always showed up under the excuse of seeing Nina and Miguel. Mariana was invited to the boy’s birthday party in São José. This really troubled Caesar. She didn’t disguise her interest in him. In turn, he kept her at a distance. He didn’t want to get involved with anyone; he preferred to live his life as a single man. He thought this way as to avoid suffering because of a woman. In the past, a person had broken his heart, he did not want to go through this pain again. It was not the time to touch that wound.

While César was torn between his emotional dramas and his work, Mariana was determined to break the barriers he imposed between the two. She wanted to talk to him about what had happened to make his heart close like that. She knew she shouldn’t be doing this directly, as it could take him further away. She had to be canny and patient to wait for the right moment to approach him and finally make him open up to love again.

******

The National Attorney General’s Office opened yet another selection for interns from various higher education courses. It was the chance that Mariana was waiting to get what she wanted so much. As an intern, she would have the chance to show service to the Attorney General and get even closer to the family. She fulfilled the necessary requirements to enroll, which was to be studying law from the fifth period and have a good resume. She had personal and professional reasons to dedicate herself to this opportunity. Therefore, he concentrated all his efforts on studies, in preparation for the post. She participated in events, seminars and debates whenever he had the chance. This helped her to become well-regarded within the class and also gave her the complementary knowledge needed for objective tests.

Nina was rooting for Mariana because she had become attached to her since they met. She knew the young woman’s interest in her cousin, but she also knew the reasons why he didn’t want to give a woman a chance. She wanted to help her cousin overcome the pain of a broken heart; however, she had to be careful not to scare him. He could react by giving up being his private secretary and going back to São José and ending Mariana’s hopes of approaching him. It was a delicate situation. One false move, and Nina could trigger an even tougher situation to handle. César’s heart had been broken by a young woman, when he was still a teenager; that person was his first and only love.

*****

César and Nina’s family originated in a city in the countryside of Para Nabuco. Thus, they always traveled there on holidays, vacations, and even on common weekends. Since childhood, César loved to spend his free time in Santo Antônio do Brejo. It was also there that they spent the four festivals of the year: Carnival, Holy Week, St John’s Day