by Alec Peche
"That's all right dear. You don't have to pander to me. I know you wanted to know about this product. We all knew that, but we were warned not to talk. Mr. Denaro actually eliminated the man who told your friend about the lotion. One day he was in the village and the next we never saw him again. We were all warned if we said anything, we would find ourselves dead too. That's why I'm leaving. I can't live with that kind of threat. Besides, this is a great product. All of Sicily and Italy should use it."
"I'm surprised that they don't. Why is that?"
"We all used to make it ourselves to put on our family members."
"You made it in a pot like a pasta dish, but this was a lotion?"
“Yes. There's a plant that only grows in an area south of Palermo that you have to process when it's freshly picked. So if anyone took the leaves of the plant to the mainland, it died before they could make something with it. So well we've known for decades about the lotion, it's just been something we use here."
"Your daughter in Germany doesn't use it?"
"No. Because the product is not endorsed by a famous company or celebrity, she doesn't have faith in our folk remedy."
Angela had managed to send the text with the photo to Jill so she could get working on it.
"I guess your daughter's thinking there is much less sun in Germany than in Sicily so less opportunity for damaging rays of the sun.”
“Yes, that is true my dear.”
“I'll definitely go get some of that magic lotion. I live in a location with similar weather to Germany, but one could never have too much skin protection. So who is this Mr. Denaro and why did the town listen to him?”
Sophia Carlucci leaned back to look at Angela, studying her.
"Ah, you cannot know what it's like to be under the invisible force field of Mr. Denaro. He has spies everywhere. He knows what every citizen and business is doing his empire. And profits from a million small things. I've watched businesses go under, unable to pay his protection and then the island dies from a thousand small slices from him and his gang. I've given up. It's never going to get better. So I locked up my house which will just rot, packed everything I needed and wanted into the single suitcase, and notified my daughter of my pending arrival time in Hamburg.”
Sophia paused to wipe away a tear and Angela leaned in to give the woman a hug. Her heart was breaking over giving up her island and having to start her life over elsewhere.
Angela offered, "Maybe I can help. Maybe my group can see Mr. Denaro arrested for organized crime, if not for the murder of your friend.”
“I don't think so. Many of us lived in hope he would go down with this special task force or another, but no one can take him down. So I've given up, I just want to take this parting shot on my way out of my homeland,” Sophia said with fierce resolve.
“You've already helped. We knew there was a medicine of some sort used by some people in Sicily that would be of benefit to the world. We were even sure we had the right plant for this medication. We just had not figured out how the plant was used, or for what ailment. Do you know why the mob wants the plant? Preventing skin cancer does not seem like it would interest the Mafia."
“Oh, it doesn't dear. They discovered another use for it. It can be crushed and smoked apparently. It gives you a high that some people say is as good as cocaine. Mr. Denaro has plans to take on the mainland mob with this drug. I've heard he says that he will be able to lift this entire island out of poverty. Of course, half the population will be hooked on his awful drug and their lives destroyed."
“One moment," Angela muttered texting Jill with this information.
Angela finished the conversation with Sophia and they had moved on to the older woman's memories of growing up in Sicily. Angela was watching the time knowing that the Taormina stop was coming up. The train was slowing down when a man exited the car in front. Angela noticed Sophia stiffen and then she said something low under her breath. The man continued toward them but before he arrived Nathan blocked the entry into the two chairs facing Angela and Sophia.
The man was nearly a foot shorter than Nathan. When he could no longer make his way closer to the two women, he reached for something in his pocket. Just as the man's hand exited his pocket Nathan let loose the quickest of jabs causing the man's cell phone to fly through the air. Angela scrambled over the seat grabbed the phone and quickly opened the window to toss it. She didn't want him calling for help.
The man must've gotten on at the last station to search for Sophia. She moved back to sit next to the terrified woman.
Angela leaned in and whispered, “He's my bodyguard and he'll protect you as well. Let's get off at the next stop and we'll get a police escort to the Naples airport. We will make sure you arrive alive and ask the Italian police to notify the German police so you have protection there. We could even move you all the way to Wisconsin as I'm sure Mr. Chen's company would want your expertise with the lotion. In fact, I could arrange that now if you want to skip Germany and head to the United States."
Sophia Carlucci was stunned over the series of events in the last ten minutes. She thought she was going to escape the mob, then she knew she was going to die before she reached Naples, then an American man came to her aid and now she was being offered life in America. She knew what she had to do – save herself and her daughter. If she went to Hamburg, her daughter would be in danger. By heading to America, hopefully she could hide in that big country and not be found. Eventually she could go to Hamburg after the heat died down. And she would help launch a product that would save people from skin cancer across America.
She took a deep breath and said, "I trust you. Send me to this place in America. My daughter will be safer without me in Germany."
Wow, Angela thought. She'd been spontaneous with her job offer, and Brenda had been very interested in the product and she hoped she could talk her into hiring Mrs. Carlucci. She nodded then began making phone calls when she was sure that Nathan had the gangster under control. Angela made one call to Jill while staying on the train intent on protecting the brave Sophia Carlucci. The mobster got off in Taormina, and no one joined their car and the train set off for Messina.
After many phone calls, and some help from the embassy of the United States in Naples and the Italian embassy in Chicago, Angela knew by the time they reached Messina, that Sophia Carlucci was safe and employed. They were met by the financial police at that station and they would escort Mrs. Carlucci to Naples. Brenda had made arrangements for her plane to be met in Chicago. They would handle some paperwork with immigration and then escort the woman to a new apartment in Green Bay, Wisconsin where she would begin a new life.
Chapter 24
It had been a wild morning as the information began flowing in from Angela. Brenda had worked to employ a woman, she knew little about other than she had the secret to Randy's next great product. Based on Angela's description, it should be a blockbuster. Having the woman work for the firm as they tried to understand the plant and the lotion these Sicilian women were cooking up in their kitchens would be an adventure.
Jo and Marie had missed the excitement until Brenda needed Marie's help starting the process for a work permit for the woman. Jo was disappointed that she hadn't played a bigger role in helping to solve the case. While money was at the heart of it for the mob, there were no accounting records she could look at to help them.
Jill was amazed by the activity of the past hour. She had found the secret folklore solution that she'd been searching for . While everyone hustled to see Sophia Carlucci on her way to the United States, she had sat back and wondered if she could still solve Randy's murder? Was there someone responsible in the mob who ordered his death, and could she find the someone who actually carried out the orders?
While everyone went to work on Angela's information, she did a search on Salvatore Denaro. Knowing more about the mob boss might steer her in a new direction. She also wanted to visit the cave close to where the plant grew. Maybe they might find
some forensic evidence near the plant that would link Randy's murderer, though Jill had to admit it seemed far-fetched, but she was going to try that strategy tomorrow.
Nathan and Angela returned in the early evening, confident that Sophia Carlucci was safely on a plane to the United States. After conversations with the company and Marie, Brenda packed her bags and met the woman in Naples to join her on her trip to Wisconsin. She would serve as the woman's escort to see that she was safely settled and helping the company fulfill Randy's dream of producing the skin cancer prevention lotion.
Marie and Joe would be leaving in about twenty-four hours to return home and resume their day jobs.
"So is our work done?" Marie asked.
"Not exactly. We were hired to find Randy's killer. We know why he was killed and likely who ordered the hit, but not who actually killed him. So while his company will get the product that so intrigued Randy, this killer will get away if we close this case now."
"So what you want to do tomorrow? It's not like you can go knock on the door of Mr. Denaro's house and ask him if he ordered the hit on Randy," Jo said.
"Especially after today's activities on the train," Angela added.
"I want to make one final attempt at looking at what I think is the site of Randy's murder. Mrs. Carlucci gave you precise details on where to find the plants. Let's all head over there tomorrow and look around. If nothing else we'll see more of the island.”
Jill was looking at her friends as she suggested the journey. She could read that her friends thought her idea was a waste of time, but they were willing to follow her on this last idea.
"I can read in your faces that you all think my idea of visiting the plants is bad, but you're willing to follow me anyways. Thanks, I appreciate the support. We were hired to find Randy's killer and we haven't succeeded with that. I feel like a failure for not finding more information on Randy's killer.
“Wait a minute, I think you should celebrate all that you have achieved,” Jo said. “Especially in light of finding Mrs. Carlucci and getting her on a plane to Wisconsin. She's going to be the key to creating an incredible revenue source for Randy's company and his family. Furthermore, you did find Randy's killer, you just don't know who in the mob did it. You may have to accept that they do things differently here and you got as far as you could go. I think you should be impressed that you managed to draw the Italian law enforcement in on the case – that's was no easy feat!” Jo said.
“Yeah, I suppose. This is our third case outside of the United States and I'll admit that the cultural differences of law enforcement agencies and boundaries always frustrate me. I know how to get things done at home, but everything is longer and harder here to accomplish.”
“Do you think the Italian police will go after Mr. Denaro? Mrs. Carlucci mentioned the other murder, so they have evidence to follow up on. I would also think they should be deeply worried about another street drug being created. There are enough illicit substances in the world already. I would hunt the man down, destroy any manufacturing plans he had and perhaps go so far as to destroy the plants that are the source of this new street drug,” Marie said.
“That's a frightening scenario with one mob trying to take on another via a new street drug. I would think this would have implications for the rest of the world. No one wants to see another drug like cocaine created and unleashed,” Nathan added from the kitchen where he was busy cooking them another Italian masterpiece. “Ladies, if you would like to focus on something happier, today's wine samples have now breathed enough for you to begin tasting.”
The four women got up and approached the kitchen counter where Nathan had poured samples of five more wines for the Nero d'Avola. He also laid out glasses of water and breadsticks to cleanse their palates between samples.
At the completion of the wine tasting, Jill said, “Since we've been here in Sicily, I think we have sampled roughly thirty to forty bottles of this grape and I think I have a good sense of what makes a good vintage. I think we have been more successful with the grapes, than the murder case.”
“We've had more clues on what makes the best wines, than we have for Randy's murder,” Angela replied.
That generated smiles all around, then Jo asked Jill, “Do you think as a botanist that the Italian government might make the move to destroy a plant that could become the next illicit drug?”
Jill thought for a while and replied, “I don't think so. If the plant is proven as a source of an anti-cancer drug, that value would far outweigh the worries about a new designer drug. Besides, I can think of other plants that are used for both legitimate and non-legitimate means. Take the poppy plant – even after five hundred years of use, the poppy is still used to create morphine and heroin. Granted it would be very hard to wipe all the poppy plants off the face of the earth, but there are many plants that straddle the line between good and bad. Can you imagine if we tried to eradicate grapevines because people got drunk on wine and did bad things?”
“Not in my lifetime!” Marie replied.
“So back to the question of what the police are going to do next in this case, what do you think is their next step?” Jo asked curious to see if Jill had figured out the Italians.
“They have to get at Mr. Denaro – he's been implicated by Mrs. Carlucci. I'm sure that during the police escort to the airport, that they took extensive interview notes which will allow them to identify who threatened whom, but Mrs. Carlucci had the will and financial resources to leave the island. I wonder how many of her fellow villagers are in a similar position? I bet the police are met with more silence unless a friend is killed and the villager is fed up and speaks up. From what I've read since we arrived, the silence around the mob is what keeps it alive and well. I also have to think the economy plays a role as well. With high unemployment, perhaps you need approval by or connections to the mob to get a well enough paying job; that would buy a lot of silence in addition to the death threats.”
“Yes, I can see the economic incentives to stay quiet are enormous,” Jo agreed.
“And just think, we're only dealing with a single mob family at the moment. I believe that there are five or six on the island. It must be hard to live outside of their orbit. I admire Nathan's winery for trying and I hope with his help, he can help them rise above it all here.”
“I've taken pains to disconnect my work from your name, Jill, on this island. As you can imagine, you're persona non grata here. I created a new moniker as an artist to distance myself from my true name and yours,” Nathan said.
“I hadn't thought about that. Isn't it hard to build a new reputation in this country?” Jill asked shocked that the impact of one of her cases would be Nathan's professional status.
“Generally, yes, but I've been making small inroads all over the island while visiting wineries. At first, I really hadn't wanted to generate any business here as my plate is already full and this is a long way from California. However after visits to about thirty wineries, I'm more anxious to help than I ever expected. These vineyards have fantastic grapes, and I think if organized, the wine industry could lift the economics of the entire island and I want to do my share to see that these growers get there through hard work, good grapes, and some marketing magic rather than through favors with the mob.”
“Oh sweetie,” Jill said as she walked over to him to wrap him in a fierce hug whispering love into his ear.
Chapter 25
Salvatore Denaro was again leaning against the wall surrounding his estate thinking about his future. A month ago, it had all seemed so brilliant. He had a factory being built, a ready supply of raw material, and a new designer drug about to be unleashed. His income estimates had been so high, he thought it would enable him to elevate his family above all others in Italy. Today he was tottering on the precipice of the end as the family leader. How had his fortune changed so fast?
He had his family meeting as planned. He and his men had discussed what to do with the American doctor. They though
t they had locked the territory down with the code of silence. Sources inside the Carabinieri said they had nearly run out of clues. None of the villagers had talked with them when they visited Contessa Entellina and Campofiorito. The day was successful and the risk of exposure to his new product was low. Then at the last minute he'd got word from his contact that one of the villagers was meeting someone on a train and was going to tell all. He'd scrambled all of his men to all of the train stations in his region as well as posting people in Catania and Palermo. His man in Catania had been delayed in reporting back to him and by then the damage was done. The villager, an older woman, had escaped his net and was in protection and on her way to the United States. He could still reach her there, but he had bigger problems to contend with at home. He tripled the bribes for news from inside the financial police and met with his men late into the evening until he knew what the police knew. He was still safe but his drug manufacturing plan was at great risk.
The police would be searching for his manufacturing source and if they visited the building on his property all they would find was wine barrels and a bottling and grape crushing enterprise. In the ceiling of that building was a hidden drying area just under the roof where they could dry the plant's leaves. Then underneath a rack of wine barrels were stairs to an underground lab that would turn the dry leaves into a powder to be distributed for a high beyond heroin. He used migrant laborers from Nigeria to build the facility and then let his men dispose of them offshore in the Mediterranean when he was finished. He had no fear of news of his building plans coming from the depths of the Mediterranean. Now he was waiting to hear about the next steps of the police and the American. Even though the villager had presumably spoken about the plant, they still had no link to him concerning the death of the American, so he was watching to see if the Americans left his island within the next few days.