被預言的謀殺（2）

Rosenberg warned family and friends that the Musa murders would never be properly investigated. The criminal networks would either block the investigation or destroy the evidence, and if a probe somehow proceeded they would frame a scapegoat; finally, if all else failed, the gangsters would threaten to kill members of the judiciary system, who would bury the case. The Musas』 deaths, he predicted, would become just another statistic. Nevertheless, Rosenberg could not let the matter go: Why, he asked, had an honorable man like Musa been 「put down like a dog」? And what had Marjorie, an exemplary daughter, done to deserve this?

　　羅森博格告誡家人與朋友，穆薩兇殺案永遠都得不到妥善調查。犯罪網路要麼阻止調查，要麼毀滅證據，就算調查取得進展，他們也會找到替罪羊；萬一最後這些都不奏效，這幫匪徒還會向司法系統中辦理此案的人員發出死亡通牒。他推測，穆薩父女之死只不過是又一統計數據罷了。無論怎樣，羅森博格都不會善罷甘休：他叩問，為什麼像穆薩這樣德高望重的人會「像只狗一樣被殺掉」？而且，馬約莉這樣的乖女兒，究竟造了什麼孽會遭此下場？

Mendizábal, the longtime friend, says that after the funeral Rosenberg asked him for help, vowing to 「go all the way to find out who killed the Musas.」 Mendizábal was the one person Rosenberg knew who could help him take on the parallel powers that dominated Guatemala. A genteel-looking grandfather, with a silver mustache and birdlike eyes, he was known for making business deals, sometimes with the government, and he owned a clothing shop, in Guatemala City, that catered to a wealthy male clientele. But Mendizábal was no mere entrepreneur. It was whispered that, as in a John le Carré novel, the boutique also served as a meeting place for military-intelligence officers, coup plotters, and death-squad leaders.

　　老友蒙迪扎巴爾說，葬禮之後，羅森博格曾請求他伸出援手，發誓「要不惜一切代價找出殺害穆薩父女的兇手。」羅森博格明白，蒙迪扎巴爾能助他與控制瓜地馬拉的黑道勢力較量。蒙迪扎巴爾老爺子長相斯文，銀色的鬍鬚，鳥一般的眼睛，他在瓜地馬拉城開了一家服裝店，專門服務於有錢的男性顧客。不過蒙迪扎巴爾可不僅是生意人。據密傳，正如約翰·勒·卡雷（John le Carré）在一部小說里描述的，時裝店也是軍方情報官員、政變策劃者和行刑隊頭目的聚會場所。

Mendizábal was Guatemala』s most notorious spy. Relying on an extensive network of orejas, or 「ears,」 he regularly compiled intelligence dossiers, vacuuming up even the most vaporous rumors and searching for patterns in the chaos of information. A former high-ranking U.N. official, who spent years investigating crimes in the country, told me, 「Mendizábal has probably records on everyone in Guatemala. He knows everything: who is the lover of whom, who has money in the Cayman Islands, who has committed a murder. Everything.」 Such information placed Mendizábal in great demand, and he had served as an adviser to several Guatemalan Presidents, including, for a while, Colom. Mendizábal presented himself as a fanatical anti-Communist, but his ideology, apparently, was flexible when it came to business: according to the newspaper El Periódico, he had once been caught smuggling weapons to Communist guerrillas in El Salvador. Mendizábal told me that he had never played both sides of Central America』s civil conflicts, but he seemed to embrace a Machiavellian persona: 「The one who has the knowledge has the power. That』s why some people are afraid of the stuff that I do.」

　　蒙迪扎巴爾是瓜地馬拉最臭名昭著的間諜。依靠「耳朵」這個無孔不入的網路，他定期彙編情報檔案，甚至是最捕風捉影的傳聞都收錄在內，並在各色信息中搜索匹配項。一位花費數年時間調查該國犯罪的前聯合國高級官員對我說，「蒙迪扎巴爾或許有瓜地馬拉每個人的記錄。他無所不知：誰是誰的愛人，誰在開曼群島存了錢，誰參與了謀殺。任何事情都逃不過他法眼。」這些信息讓蒙迪扎巴爾炙手可熱，他出任了幾屆瓜地馬拉總統的顧問，包括也為科羅姆干過一段。蒙迪扎巴爾自陳是狂熱的反共分子，但是，若涉及生意，他的意識形態顯然是靈活多變的：據報紙《El Periódico》披露，他一度因私運武器給薩爾瓦多的共產主義游擊隊而被捕。蒙迪扎巴爾告訴我，在中美洲內戰衝突中，他從未扮演過兩面派，但他貌似信奉馬基維利主義【譯註：一種為達目的不擇手段的政治權術理論】：「誰掌握信息，誰就握有權力。這就是有些人害怕我那些材料的原因。」

Mendizábal agreed to help Rosenberg, and they began investigating the case. Shortly after Marjorie』s funeral, Rosenberg obtained a copy of a security video that documented the scene outside the Musas』 textile factory on the day of the murders. Mendizábal, who watched it with him on a computer at the clothing shop, said that Rosenberg played the video over and over, searching for clues. Unlike the escapist movies that Rosenberg had seen at his father』s cinemas, the grainy black-and-white images had the blunt force of unscripted narrative. They showed a truck parked in front of the Musas』 factory. The driver kept getting in and out of his vehicle, peering down the road. Mendizábal told Rosenberg that the man was clearly acting as a lookout.

　　蒙迪扎巴爾同意幫助羅森博格，他們開始調查此案。馬約莉葬禮舉行之後不久，羅森博格獲得了一份監控錄像的副本，這記錄了兇案發生當日穆薩紡織廠外的場景。蒙迪扎巴爾與羅森博格一起在服裝店裡的電腦上看了錄像，他說，羅森博格反覆播放這段錄像，搜尋著蛛絲馬跡。不同於羅森博格在他父親影院中看過的那些逃避現實的影片，這些顆粒狀的黑白圖像可是直擊人心、沒有劇本的敘事。它們顯示，在穆薩工廠前停著一輛卡車。司機在汽車裡出出進進，眼睛瞟著路面。蒙迪扎巴爾告訴羅森博格，這傢伙顯然是在望風。

Rosenberg stared helplessly at the implacable sequence that came next. A silhouette appeared in the corner of the screen: Marjorie, getting into her car. Rosenberg touched the television screen—she was there but not there. As Marjorie drove onto the street, with her father at her side, the car with the assassin raced up behind them, followed by the driver on the motorcycle. (The hit men were obeying a new law banning two people from travelling on a motorcycle—a law that was supposed to curb assassinations, since so many were carried out by hit men riding on back seats.) Rosenberg braced himself. After a flash, Marjorie vanished from the frame.

　　羅森博格無助地盯著接踵而來的那幕令人激憤難平的場景。一個身影出現在屏幕一角：馬約莉上車了。羅森博格撫摸著電腦屏幕——她在那，卻又不在那。馬約莉驅車出發了，身邊坐著她的父親，殺手的車緊跟在他們後面，再接著是那輛摩托車。（殺手倒是遵守了新法律，沒有兩人騎在一輛摩托車上——該法律本是為了遏制暗殺的，因為許多情況下都是坐在後座的人下手。）羅森博格鼓起勇氣往下看。一片閃光之後，馬約莉便從圖像中消失了。

The hit squad had displayed military precision, raising the prospect that the crime was carried out by the state』s security apparatus. The ballistics report indicated that Khalil Musa was hardly a random victim. He had been shot nine times. The bullet that killed Marjorie was a stray—it had apparently passed through Musa』s body before piercing hers.

　　殺手小組下手之精準有如軍人，由此來看，此次犯罪由國家安全機構實施的可能性挺大。彈道報告表明，穆薩並非隨機的被害者，他身中九彈。殺死馬約莉的則是一顆流彈——顯然，它穿透了穆薩的身體，射中了她。

In Guatemala, impunity has created a bewildering swirl of competing stories and rumors, allowing powerful interests not only to cloak history but also to fabricate it. As Francisco Goldman describes in his incisive 2007 book, 「The Art of Political Murder,」 about the assassination of Bishop Gerardi, the military and its intelligence operators concocted evidence and witnesses to generate endless hypotheses—it was a robbery, it was a crime of passion—in order to conceal the simple truth that they had murdered him. 「So much would be made to seem to connect,」 Goldman writes.

　　在瓜地馬拉，有罪不罰曾製造出眾多紛紛擾擾、令人迷惑、自相矛盾的故事與謠言，使得那些強大的利益集團不僅可以掩蓋歷史，還可以篡改歷史。正如弗朗西斯科·高曼（Francisco Goldman）在其一針見血的書《政治謀殺術》中的描述，對於傑拉爾迪主教被害一案，軍方及其情報人員捏造證據和證人，給出的假設沒完沒了——是搶劫，是激情犯罪——目的就是要掩蓋「他們謀殺了他」這個簡單事實。「能扯上關係的真可謂無所不有，」高曼寫道。

Guatemalans often cite the proverb 「In a country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.」 Fighting his way through the political fog, Rosenberg searched for a motive, stubbornly insisting that, if two people were assassinated, then somebody had a reason to kill them. In notes he kept about the case, he reported that authorities had initially suggested the shootings stemmed from a dispute over a fired factory worker. But, by all accounts, Musa had treated his workers well. Were the police and authorities trying to cover something up, spinning another web of disinformation?

　　瓜地馬拉人時常引用一句諺語「盲人之國，獨眼為王」。羅森博格欲以自己的方式衝破政治迷霧，他尋找著動機，他堅持認為，如果兩人被暗殺，那一定是有人為著什麼去殺他們。他在關於此案留下的筆記里記述道，當局起初暗示槍殺起因於和一個被解僱工人的爭執。不過，大家都說穆薩對工人不錯。是否警方和當局意圖掩蓋什麼，是否他們又在編織一張假情報之網?

Finally, a lead emerged. Mendizábal advised Rosenberg to look into the murky business surrounding two government positions for which Khalil Musa had been nominated in the months before his assassination. The nominations were for seats on the boards of directors of two institutions with strong ties to the state—most notably, the Rural Development Bank, known as Banrural. President Colom has called Banrural 「our Administration』s financial arm,」 and has relied on it to fund major social-welfare programs for the poor. These programs were administered by Guatemala』s First Lady, Sandra de Colom, a powerful politician who is often compared to Eva Perón, and who aspires to succeed her husband.

　　終於，一條線索浮出水面。穆薩在遭暗殺前數月曾被提名過兩個政府位置，蒙迪扎巴爾建議羅森博格去調查下有關這兩職位的黑暗交易。所提名的是兩家機構的董事會席位，而這些機構與政府頗有淵源——最有名的是農村發展銀行，又稱農村銀行（Banrural）。科羅姆總統曾稱農村銀行是「我們政府部門的財政支柱」，並靠它來為面向窮人的主要社會福利計劃籌集資金。而這些計劃交由瓜地馬拉第一夫人桑德拉·科羅姆（Sandra de Colom）管理，科羅姆夫人是一位經常與貝隆夫人相提並論的強權政治家，她志在接她丈夫的班。

Before Musa died, he had talked to Rosenberg about whether to accept the positions. Rosenberg considered entering Guatemalan politics a folly. With friends from law school, he had once started a conservative political party, but he had quit after it joined forces with traditional corrupt hands. Rosenberg told Musa, 「Truthfully, I don』t think it』s a good idea.」 Musa, hoping to help the country, accepted the offers anyway.

　　穆薩生前曾與羅森博格談及是否接受這些位置。羅森博格認為進入瓜地馬拉政壇是愚蠢的。他與法律學院的友人一起，曾經組建過一個保守派政黨，但在該黨與傳統腐敗勢力同流合污之後，他就退出了。羅森博格對穆薩說，「實話實說，我認為這不是個好主意。」穆薩希望幫助這個國家，總之他還是接受了這些提名。

But the nominations, mysteriously, had never gone through. Rosenberg learned from Mendizábal that there had been a fierce struggle over control of the two boards, which, together, manage enormous financial resources. According to Mendizábal, Musa』s uncompromising ethics posed a threat to parties with stakes in these institutions. Indeed, Marjorie』s sister, Aziza, told Rosenberg that, after her father was offered the nominations, he had attended a lunch where officials connected to the institutions discouraged Musa from taking the posts, and even insulted him. Afterward, Aziza recalled, her father sent letters to some of these officials, saying, 「You won』t tell me what to do.」 Musa soon received threatening text messages and calls, including one noting that the farm of a meddling government official had been torched.

　　但詭秘的是，這些提名一直都未獲批准。羅森博格從蒙迪扎巴爾那兒了解到，這兩大董事會的控制權之爭異常激烈，因為它們共同掌管著巨量金融資源。據蒙迪扎巴爾說，穆薩毫不妥協的為人對那些參股兩家機構的黨派而言無疑是一大威脅。的確，馬約莉的姐姐阿齊薩也告訴羅森博格，她父親被提名之後曾出席過一場午宴，席上，與這些機構有關的官員勸阻穆薩放棄這些位置，甚至對他出言不遜。後來，據阿齊薩回憶，她父親發信給其中一些官員說，「你休想指揮我該做什麼。」穆薩很快就接到了威脅簡訊和電話，其中一個口氣強硬，說是一位從中作梗的政府官員的農場就曾遭縱火。

Rosenberg eventually ferreted out from Musa』s papers several documents concerning the appointments. One was a copy of a letter Musa had sent to the head of a group of small coffee growers that had a stake in the direction of Banrural. Musa said that he would not tolerate messages embedded with 「double meanings,」 adding, 「I protect myself from my enemies.」

　　羅森博格最終從穆薩的文件里查獲了一些有關這些任命的文檔。其中一份是穆薩發給一個小咖啡種植者組織負責人信件的副本，該組織與農村銀行的管理存在利害關係。穆薩表示他不會容忍那些嵌入「雙重含義」的消息，並補充道，「我會保護自己，免遭敵人所害。」

Aziza said of her father, 「He always says the truth and I think that is why he was murdered.」

　　關於父親，阿齊薩評價道，「他總喜歡講真話，我看，這就是他被害的原因所在。」

As Rosenberg dug deeper into the subterranean world of Guatemalan politics, he told friends that he had begun receiving threats himself. One day, Mendizábal says, Rosenberg gave him a phone number to write down—it was the number that showed up on his caller I.D. when he received the threats.

　　隨著羅森博格對瓜地馬拉政壇的地下世界挖掘得更深，他告訴好友說，自己也開始收到威脅了。蒙迪扎巴爾說，有一天，羅森博格給了他一個電話號碼並要他記下來——接到威脅時，來電顯示里正是這個號碼。

Rosenberg told friends that his apartment was under surveillance, and that he was being followed. 「Whenever he got into the car, he was looking over his shoulder,」 his son Eduardo recalled. From his apartment window, Rosenberg could look across the street and see an office where Gustavo Alejos, President Colom』s private secretary, often worked. Rosenberg told Mendizábal that Alejos had called him and warned him to stop investigating the Musas』 murders, or else the same thing might happen to him. Speaking to Musa』s business manager, Rosenberg said of the powerful people he was investigating, 「They are going to kill me.」 He had a will drawn up.

　　羅森博格告訴朋友，他的公寓處於監視之中，有人跟蹤了他。「每次鑽進汽車時，他都會四下瞧瞧，」他兒子愛德華多回憶道。由公寓的窗口，羅森博格能俯瞰街道，他看到了一家辦事處，總統科羅姆的私人秘書古斯塔沃·阿萊霍斯常在此辦公。羅森博格告訴蒙迪扎巴爾，阿萊霍斯曾打電話給他，警告他停止調查穆薩父女謀殺案，否則同樣的事情也會落到他頭上。在與穆薩的商務經理的談話中，羅森博格提及了他正在調查的強權人物，「他們將要殺了我。」他還擬定了一份遺囑。

Mendizábal says that on Friday, May 8, 2009, he advised Rosenberg to leave the country. Rosenberg promised that he would, but not yet. He felt that he was on the verge of identifying who had ordered the hit on the Musas, and was collecting irrefutable proof, which he intended to present at the International Criminal Court. On Saturday evening, Rosenberg called Marjorie』s sister and told her that he planned to go for a bicycle ride the next morning, to clear his mind. On Sunday, just after 8 A.M., he pedalled away from his apartment building, listening to his iPod. After a few hundred yards, Rosenberg turned onto a service road. A gunman approached quickly, running across a grassy median toward him. No one saw the assassin as he pointed a 9-mm. pistol at Rosenberg』s head and repeatedly pulled the trigger.

　　2009年5月8日星期五，蒙迪扎巴爾建議羅森博格離開這個國家。羅森博格許諾會離開，但現在還不是時候。他感覺就快要找出襲擊穆薩父女的幕後元兇了，他正在搜集無可辯駁的證據，並打算向國際刑事法庭呈交這些證據。星期六晚，羅森博格打電話給馬約莉的姐姐，說他打算明早去騎會自行車，清醒一下頭腦。星期日，8點剛過，他就從居住的公寓樓里蹬著車出來了，一邊聽著iPod。騎行幾百碼之後，他拐上一條便道。一名槍手迅速靠近，穿過一塊綠色隔離帶，直朝他奔去。無人目擊這場謀殺，槍手用9mm手槍指著羅森博格的頭，不斷扣響著扳機。

Not long afterward, Rosenberg』s chauffeur was on his way to Rosenberg』s apartment when he saw his boss lying on the ground, surrounded by paramedics and police officers. He phoned Eduardo Rosenberg. 「He told me I had to go near my dad』s house, about a block away,」 Eduardo recalled. 「He didn』t want to say what had happened. He just told me that I had to go there. So I hung up the phone. I started panicking, trying to get dressed. I picked up the phone again and called the driver. And I demanded to know what had happened. He still didn』t want to say. So I asked him, 『Is my dad dead?』 He said, 『Yes.』 」

　　沒多久，羅森博格的司機前往羅森博格的寓所，途中，他見到老闆躺在地上，四周圍著護理人員和警官。他打電話給愛德華多。「他告訴我，我得趕緊去我爸那，我們大約就相隔了一個街區，」愛德華多回憶道。「他不想說發生了什麼。只是說我必須趕到那。這樣我就掛了電話。我驚慌失措起來，連衣服都穿不好了。我再次拿起電話打給司機。我要求知道所發生的一切。他還是什麼也不說。因此我問他，『是不是我爸爸死了？』他說，『是的。』」

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