Baptiste smiled, displaying a perfect set of pearly white teeth. “Was that not a wonderful punch, Charlie?”

“Very powerful, Mr. President,” answered Marsh. Charlie was a foot shorter and roughly one hundred and fifty pounds lighter than his host. Because he lacked Baptiste’s courage and vicious temperament, it had taken a considerable effort to hide his terror during dinner. Now he gathered what little nerve he possessed and raised the subject curiosity had prodded him to explore ever since Jean-Claude had invited him to sit in the chair usually occupied by Bernadette Baptiste, the only one of the president’s wives to bear him a child.

“Madam Bernadette would have enjoyed your display of virility, Mr. President.”

Baptiste nodded agreement. “Women want a powerful man, Charlie. They know your power will bring them great pleasure in bed, not so?”

Charlie looked down the table at Bernadette’s child, five-year-old Alfonse, who sat next to his nanny.

“I see your charming son is here, but where is your lovely wife?”

Baptiste’s smile faded. “Sadly, she could not join us this evening, but she told me to say hello to you if you asked about her.”

Charlie’s heart seized and it took every ounce of his energy to keep from throwing up.

“Ah, dessert,” Baptiste sighed as a servant rolled a pastry cart next to his ornate high-backed chair. The benevolent and all-powerful ruler of Batanga loved to eat almost as much as he loved to inflict pain, and he scanned the cart eagerly. It was laden with all of the president’s favorites, most of which he’d sampled for the first time in the fast-food restaurants and sumptuous casino buffets of Las Vegas.

“That one and that one, I think,” he said, indicating a huge piece of German chocolate cake and a three-scoop ice cream sundae heaped high with whipped cream, sprinkled with nuts, dotted with Maraschino cherries, and covered with caramel, strawberry, and chocolate sauces.

The president turned to Charlie. He was smiling broadly. “Eat up, my friend.”

Charlie had no appetite but he knew better than to disobey any presidential command, even one as benign as an order to eat dessert. As soon as the waiter placed an enormous slice of cherry cheesecake on Charlie’s plate, Baptiste leaned close to Charlie’s ear and whispered conspiratorially:

“I will tell you a secret, but tell no one else or it will spoil the surprise. After dinner, I have an interesting entertainment planned.”

“Oh?”

“Yes,” Baptiste responded happily. “Its nature is known only to me and Nathan.”

Charlie cast a nervous glance at Nathan Tuazama, who was sitting halfway down the banquet table, next to the wife of the Syrian ambassador. Tuazama was the head of the National Education Bureau, Baptiste’s secret police. The cadaverous black man’s head rotated slowly in Charlie’s direction at the same time Charlie turned toward him, as if Tuazama had read his mind. There were rumors that Tuazama had supernatural powers, and Charlie had not discounted these rumors completely. Tuazama’s thin, bloodless lips displayed none of the president’s joy. Unlike his master, Tuazama had no sense of humor. Charlie wasn’t even sure that he had any emotions.

“After dinner, you will be invited to join me in a most unusual and unforgettable experience,” Baptiste said, flashing his bright smile. “But enough talk. Come, Charlie, enjoy your cake.”

THE BANQUET DRAGGED on for another hour as Baptiste subjected his guests to replays of his favorite fights. Then, a little after one in the morning, he bid a merciful farewell to all but a select group, who had been instructed to stay. Charlie scanned the chosen few and found they included Nathan Tuazama; Alfonse (who could barely keep his eyes open); Madam O’Doulou, the child’s nanny; a justice of the Batangan Supreme Court who’d had the temerity to dissent in a case Baptiste wanted decided in a certain way; and an army general who was rumored to have criticized his commander-in-chief.

“Come, my friends,” Baptiste said cheerfully. “I want to show you something very exciting and much fun.”

Baptiste chuckled and his massive stomach shook. “Much fun, indeed,” he assured everyone.

A failure to laugh when the president said something he deemed amusing amounted to treason, so everyone smiled, except the exhausted Alfonse. As the heir to Batanga, Alfonse was-at least for the near future-exempt from Baptiste’s homicidal whims. When several Batangan Special Forces troops surrounded the group, it took an effort for Charlie to maintain his smile and it took a supreme act of will to look happy when Baptiste led the group to the special elevator that only went to the basement. The elevator’s walls glistened because they were cleaned daily to remove the blood and gore that frequently stained them. No one spoke as the elevator descended. Charlie prayed during the ride and he suspected that he wasn’t the only one begging the Lord to let him return to the surface in one piece or, at least, to die with a minimum of suffering.

The banquet hall’s casino-like décor had been insanely cheerful. Now the elevator doors opened on a dark and joyless world. Flickering low-watt bulbs cast sections of the damp, gray hallway in a sickly yellow glow, while leaving other parts in shadow. Mold grew on the walls and there was a faint smell of feces and disinfectant in the air. Solid steel doors spaced at intervals broke up the monotony of the corridor. As they exited the car, a scream shattered the silence. Alfonse’s eyes widened and Baptiste took him by the hand.

“Do not worry, my lovely child. You are quite safe with Papa. No one will hurt you.”

Baptiste led the procession to a door halfway down the narrow hall. Then he knelt so his face was close to his son’s.

“What happens to boys and girls when they are bad?” Baptiste asked.

Alfonse, who was very tired, looked confused.

“Come, come, my jewel. You know the answer to this simple question.”

“They are punished?” Alfonse answered tentatively.

Baptiste smiled broadly. “Is he not the most intelligent child?” he asked.

Charlie nodded, as the mention of punishment sent his heart rate up.

“Well, Alfonse,” Baptiste said, “your mommy was bad. She was cheating, and you know it is very bad to cheat. It is dishonest, is that not so?”

Alfonse nodded, but none of the adults moved or breathed.

“Do you want to see how we punish a mommy who cheats?” Baptiste asked Alfonse.

His son looked concerned but Baptiste did not wait for an answer. He stood up and nodded to Tuazama, who inserted a key in the lock. When the door opened, Charlie stared into total darkness. Then he felt an automatic weapon press into his back as he was herded into the room.

“Surprise!” yelled Baptiste as Tuazama flipped a light switch.

The nanny fainted. The Supreme Court justice threw up. The general was too stunned to do anything but stare. Alfonse shrieked. Baptiste’s deep, rolling belly laugh almost drowned out the child’s screams.

When the lights flashed on, Charlie’s eyes were drawn to a long metal table that was the room’s only furniture. Bernadette was lying on it on her stomach. She was naked and her long, smooth legs had been spread apart, exposing her to everyone. It took Charlie’s paralyzed mind a moment to figure out what-in addition to his lover being dead-was wrong with the scene. When he realized that the toes of Bernadette’s feet were pointing up and she was staring at him, even though she was on her stomach, Charlie’s knees buckled and he almost passed out.

“There, there, my friend,” Baptiste said as he wrapped one of his huge arms around his guest to keep him from sinking to the floor.

Charlie wished he could faint, but all he could do was stare into Bernadette’s dead eyes; a feat made possible by sewing her decapitated head on backward and propping it up on a pillow. Her legs had also been amputated and switched.