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I arrange to meet everyone at the San Zaccaria waterbus stop near Saint Mark’s at ten in the morning, and then we all get back to work.
The afternoon passes swiftly, we’re so busy, and before I know it, it’s six o’clock. Melody and I hand over the day’s takings in cash and credit card receipts to the security officer. Melody sets off for her B&B in the San Polo district and I head down the wide Fondamenta toward the network of calli that will lead me home.
I’ll visit the mini supermarket near my square, I decide, as I step into a dark alleyway. Last night I finished the food I bought on Friday.
Without warning, my skin prickles.
The sound of footsteps echoes on the paving stones behind me.
I press my elbows into my sides and step up my pace.
Under a streetlight on the other side of the passageway, I spin around.
My heart thuds.
The shadow of a man is disappearing into another alleyway on my left.
I need to get a grip on myself. Of course, there will be other people about, going home from their workplaces. So what if there was someone else in the alleyway?
Even so, I walk so quickly I’m nearly running as I hurry to the grocery store. Inside, cheerful music and bright lights dispel my angst. I grab a basket and fill it with fruit, salad vegetables, and a selection of cold cuts from the deli counter before making my way to the checkout.
I exit the mini mart with my purchases and set off for home. Abruptly, I stop in my tracks.
A man is approaching.
A man I recognize.
He stops right in front of me and tilts his pock-marked face.
“Stay away from that poliziotto,” he mutters. “Or you’ll regret it.”
Then he draws a finger across his throat like he’s slicing it with a knife.
I break out in a cold sweat and the blood drains from my face. But I stand firm, planting my feet firmly apart. “Fuck off! Vaffanculo!!” I drop my bag and shake my fist at him.
He laughs, a cruel mocking laugh. “I warned you.”
I stare at his retreating back then race toward my apartment like the hounds of hell are at my heels.
What the fuck just happened?
I enter my building. My cellphone buzzes in my purse. With trembling hands, I reach for it.
MARCO.
“Thank God.” My voice trembles. “Something just scared the shit out of me…”Chapter NineteenMarcoI listen while Sefi tells me what just went down. She sounds incredulous but also terrified, and I don’t blame her. “I’m so sorry. Where are you now? Are you okay?”
“I’m at home, but I can’t stop shaking,” she responds.
“I’ll come right away.” I pause. “I was phoning to ask if you’d like to have dinner with me,” I explain. “Alessio has been called to an urgent meeting in Rome, so I’m on my own. I was thinking of taking you to the Cipriani on Giudecca Island. We could go there first, then you should come back to my place for the night. You’d be safe here…”
“You think I won’t be safe in my own apartment?” Her voice trembles again.
“Maybe it would be a precaution…”
I know Alessio didn’t give her any info about the Mafia connection to the ticket scam so as not to scare her. But I think she needs to know.
I’ll call him and get his okay to spill the beans.
Which is what I do as soon as I disconnect with Sefi, after promising I’ll be with her asap.
“Jesus Christ, Marco,” Alessio’s voice rasps down the line. “I wish I could be in two places at once.”
“What should I tell her?”
“I’ll leave that up to you, amore. Look after her, please.”
“I will,” I promise. “How are the meetings going?”
Alessio’s eldest brother, Luigi, is in the Carabinieri, the military police, working for the anti-Mafia force. Alessio has been helping them and I’m the only person in Venice who knows about it.
“We’re making progress,” Alessio mutters. “The force have enough information to arrest more than three hundred people including politicians and officials in Calabria.”
“But not Venice?”
“Need more snitches to come forward. Framassi has put the fear of God into them.”
“Someone will crack. Eventually.” I inject as much optimism as I can into my tone. “Got to run. Sefi is waiting for me…”
“Get to her as fast as you can, amore,” he barks.
I jump in the elevator, race downstairs, and into my speedboat. Giorgio takes a shortcut to Zattere and turns down a small canal that leads to the square where Sefi lives. All the while, I worry that Framassi’s men will have found her.
I buzz her and she’s downstairs almost immediately. “I packed a bag with some of my shit.” Her face is ashen. “But are you sure this is necessary?”
“I spoke with Alessio and he asked me to look after you. It’s for the best.” I take the bag from her. “Come, let’s go and have dinner. I’ll tell you everything while we eat.”
