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“Bravissimo, Dante Michangeli!” Gaetano leapt to his feet and threw the papers into the air. “Thank God! Thank Saint Paul!”
“Bravo, Dante Michangeli!” Baron Pisani shot up from his chair, pumping his arms.
“I’m Dante Michangeli! I’m Dante Michangeli!” Dante began jumping up and down.
And he realized that nowhewas crying from happiness.
After they had calmed down,Gaetano looked over at Dante, flushed and happy. “Dante, your baptismal record has your parents’ address, too.”
“Where do they live?”
“In Palermo. Would you like to go meet them?”
Dante felt excited, but tense. “When?”
“How about tomorrow? I would accompany you.” Gaetano turned to Baron Pisani. “Would that be permissible? I could take Dante and return him here.”
“For me, yes,” Baron Pisani answered, beaming. He turned to Dante. “I leave it to you, Dante. I believe you can handle this matter. You deserve to make your own choices from now on.”
Baron Pisani and Gaetano smiled expectantly at Dante.
CHAPTER SEVENTY-THREE
Franco set the candle on the kitchen table, unwrapped the cloth over a wedge ofpecorino siciliano, and went looking for a cheese knife. It was the middle of the night, but he couldn’t sleep. The villa was quiet, and the funeral guests had left. Roberto and Patrizio had gone back to Mussomeli with the Marescas for a visit.
“What are you doing in my kitchen?” Signora Esposito asked, entering in her bathrobe.
“Looking for a knife.”
“Who are you going to kill now?”
Franco hid his surprise. The woman was uncanny. He didn’t know what to say, so he said nothing.
“You went too far.” Signora Esposito took a cheese knife from the drawer, then went for a plate. Her long white braid hung down her back like a fraying rope.
“I don’t need the lecture.”
“I’m telling you what you need to know.” Signora Esposito set the cheese on the plate. “Your men tell you what you want to hear. I tell you the truth.”
“Like you told Roberto?”
Signora Esposito eyed him, her dark irises cloudy. “You should know better than to bring that up. I lied for you before I knew why. You tricked me because I believed better of you.”
Franco felt stung. “I did what was necessary.”
“It was wrong.”
“It’s always wrong.”
“This is different.” Signora Esposito frowned, gesturing with the knife. “Bruna was family. A woman, a mother.”
“What difference does that make?”
“She wasn’t in your business.”
“She threatened my business.”
“She was off-limits. You never make a wrong move, Franco. Now you have.” Signora Esposito sliced the cheese into neat pieces. “You know it, too, deep inside. I hear you, walking around at night. You haven’t told yourself the truth yet.” She looked up sharply. “What would your mother say? It would have killed her to see you break your brother’s heart.”
