On top in the box was a framed photograph of a man, perhaps in his thirties or early forties. Sofia thought first that it was Martin. At closer examination, however, she saw that it wasn’t him. The man in the picture had piercing dark eyes while Martin’s eyes were a soft honey-brown just like Nicholas’s. Sofia gave a quick gasp and her heartbeat increased as she realized that it must be Angelo, the lost brother, and that the box belonged to him or to his wife Elvira.
Sofia stared at the photo for a while. “Where are you, Uncle Angelo?” she whispered. “What have you done? Are you still alive? Are you guilty? Or just afraid?” Sofia knew from experience how a dark secret can hurt and even ruin a family.
She put the photo aside and began to browse through the rest of the stuff. There wasn’t much, a pile of envelopes held together with a rubber band, a blouse, jacket, and a skirt, things that belonged to a woman. At the very bottom, hidden under a blanket, was a notebook or diary. It reminded Sofia of the diary she’d had as a child, but this looked more as if it belonged to an adult. It was of dark-blue leather and had a golden lock. Sofia checked to see if there was a key somewhere but couldn’t find one.
Outside, the wind picked up again. A slamming door downstairs startled Sofia. Then she heard Nicholas’s voice.
“Darn it. It sure blows, knocked the door right out of my hand. Where are you?”
“Up here,” Sofia called back. “Come and look.”
After a moment, she heard his footsteps on the stairs. Nicholas was back from working at the winery together with his grandfather.
He kissed her on the head and knelt down next to her. “What’s this?” He pointed at the box.
“I’m cleaning out the storage room and I found a box that seems to belong to Elvira or Angelo. Most likely Elvira, since these are women’s clothes.” She picked up the notebook and handed it to Nicholas. “This was in it.”
He took it from her and turned it around. “Is there a key?”
“No, I didn’t find one,” Sofia said.
“I’m sure it’s easy to break open.” Nicholas began to fiddle with the lock.
“Shouldn’t we ask Grandpa and Grandma first? It doesn’t belong to us.”
Nicholas stood up. “If it belongs to Elvira, it may be important. It may say something about Angelo. Of course, we’ll give it to Grandpa. But let me see if I have something to open it without breaking the lock.”
Nicholas went downstairs and came back up with a tiny screwdriver with a thin blade. He stuck it into the keyhole of the diary, jiggling it a little. After a few attempts, the lock sprung open. “Not much of a security device,” he murmured.
He opened the book and began to page through it with Sofia peering over his shoulder. They read the first entry, then glanced at each other, stunned.
“It does belong to Elvira,” Nicholas said. “And here she writes something about Angelo.” He handed the diary to Sofia.
“My God,” Nicholas said. “This may tell us something about what happened back then,” Nicholas said. “You’re right, we better tell Grandpa and Grandma. What else was in the box?”
Sofia looked up. “A photo, I think it’s of Angelo. And a bunch of envelopes. Must be letters.”
Nicholas examined the photo. “Yes, this is Great-Uncle Angelo. Wow. That’s how I remember him. He had these black eyes that seemed to burn you when he was angry. Fortunately, he wasn’t angry a lot, at least not at me. I liked him.” Nicholas smiled. “I hope he’s still alive and okay. I’d love to see him again.”
Sofia pulled out the bundle of envelopes. The rubber band broke when she tried to pull it off. It was obviously old. She opened one of the envelopes. There was a piece of paper in it, a letter. Sofia began to read, then stopped. “These must be letters from Angelo to Elvira. Look at the signature and the date.”
“Oh, my … this was in 1988, you’re right, this is from Angelo. Let’s take this to Grandpa and Grandma.” Nicholas looked at his watch. “They’re probably having lunch.”
“Definitely my brother.” Martin stared at the photo. “This must have been before they got married. He still had longish hair. He cut it short later.” He handed the photo to Maria and picked up the diary, paging through it. Maria looked over his shoulder. Nicholas and Sofia stood next to her. Sofia leaned over, trying to catch a glimpse.
“Boy, this is amazing. Thanks for finding this.” Martin glanced at Sofia. “This may be a treasure … not in the usual sense, but it may help us find out what happened to Angelo.
“I’ll read the diary and then you can have it as well. We also have to give it to George Silver.” Martin opened the book again and began to read quietly.
Sofia hoped he was a fast reader. She was really curious about the diary.
“Well here is something.” Martin raised his head. “As I suspected, my no-good brother was involved with a bunch of criminals.”
Chapter 6
Maria sighed. She had hoped her husband would find something positive in the diary, but that had been wishful thinking. She felt sorry for him, knowing that he was torn between love for his brother, sadness at having lost him, and disappointment in him and the way he had conducted himself.
Martin slapped the diary on the table. He looked upset. “This is going to be difficult reading.” He paged through the book. “Fortunately, it’s not too long. I should be able to finish it today or tomorrow, and then you can have it.” He picked up the book again and kept on reading for a little while. Then, to everybody’s surprise, he handed it to Maria and Sofia.
“Go ahead. You two read it first. I don’t have the stomach for it today.” He got up and walked to the window.
“Well, Sofia and I were going to do a little work at the winery,” Nicholas said.
“Come on, I’ll help you.” Martin put a hand on Nicholas’s shoulder. “I can’t sit still right now. Let the ladies do the reading.”
“Okay, Grandpa, if you don’t mind,” Nicholas said. “I just want to take a tour through the vineyards to make sure everything is okay.”
“Thanks, guys,” Sofia said. “I really want to read this, and I’m sure Grandma is curious, too.”
Maria nodded. “Yes, let’s read it together. We’ll take turns and read it out loud.”
Nicholas and Martin left and the two women poured themselves another cup of coffee.
“Why don’t you start,” Sofia said and handed Maria the book. Maria began to read silently. “This is just everyday stuff, nothing alarming,” she said. After a few pages, she looked up. “Here is something.” She read out loud.
Yesterday, Angelo and Fred were out all night again. Working for Fred’s cousin, Angelo said. They have been gone a lot lately. Angelo never gives me any details about this so-called work. He just says that they work for Anton’s trucking company, delivering goods. Why at night? And why can’t he tell me what kind of goods? When I ask questions, Angelo says to stop worrying, that the money is good and we can certainly use it. I told him we have enough money with what he makes on his jobs and my salary and benefits. Whenever I mention my work, he gets angry. He tells me he doesn’t want to live off my money. What an outdated attitude. He is such a male chauvinist sometimes. What’s wrong with the woman making more money? It makes me mad. And I’m really worried.
I’m worried that he’s involved in something bad. I know about his past, about his juvenile record in New York. I’m afraid he’s picked up those bad habits again.
“Stupid male pride,” Maria said, irritated. “He wanted to be the bread-winner, but he didn’t want to do the heavy work of a legal job. Martin and even Robert and his family gave him so many chances. But no, he wanted the fast money, no matter where it came from. Disgusting.” She put the book down and glanced at the meadow in front of their house.
“It must have been so hard for Elvira,” Maria continued. “She was a wonderful person and she really loved Angelo. That’s what made us so angry at him. After messing up so badly, he met this woman and he had the most
wonderful luck. And then he went ahead and ruined it again. And her in the process.” She picked up the diary again and gave it to Sofia.
Sofia smoothed the page, and began to read.
I confronted him again about his being out at night. I asked him if he was having an affair. He seemed genuinely shocked. He told me no, that I should know he loved only me. “Then why all the secrecy?” I asked him. He said he couldn’t talk about it, that it would put me in danger, but he assured me it had nothing to do with another woman.
At this point, the entries stopped for a while. The next entry was a few weeks later. It was more disturbing news.
Angelo told me that during one of the jobs delivering goods, they witnessed a crime. A man was shot. The killer saw them. Angelo didn’t tell me who the killer was.
I was terrified. I asked Angelo why they didn’t go to the police. He said they couldn’t. They wouldn’t believe him. The killer was a powerful man. And the work Angelo and Fred did was illegal. They didn’t know it at first but found out later. So if they went to the police they would end up in jail as well.
Maria lifted an eyebrow. “They didn’t know it was illegal? A likely story. Of course they knew.” She took over the reading again.
Then who was it? I asked him. Was it Anton? He said he had already told me too much. He warned me not to tell anybody about this. If I did, I and the whole family could be in danger. He also told me that he might have to disappear for a while and to not worry about him.
But I’m so worried. I wish I could tell somebody.
That was the last entry in the diary. Sofia and Maria looked at each other stunned.
“Too bad, Elvira didn’t find out who the killer was,” Maria said.
Sofia closed the diary. “We definitely have to give this to the investigator.”
“Give what to the investigator?”
Maria flinched at the booming, angry voice. She and Sofia turned. Frank Leonardi stood in the doorway.
“I knocked and nobody answered. I heard voices. The door was open.” He entered and stood next to Maria, his heavyset body looming over her.
Maria glared at Frank. “You still could’ve tried a little harder to get our attention. You don’t just barge into somebody’s house.”
“Yeah, especially when the people inside do something illegal.”
Maria’s anger flared at Frank’s rude behavior and his accusations. “We haven’t done anything illegal.
“What’s that?” He pointed at the diary.
“This is something we’re going to give to George Silver,” Maria said.
“I want to see it. Give it to me.” Frank’s voice sounded threatening.
“You’ll get it in time.” Martin stood in the doorway next to Nicholas. “Now please leave and never talk to my wife and great-niece like that again.”
“This isn’t over with.” Frank shoved past them and stormed outside.
“You’re damn right, this isn’t over with,” Martin called after him in an unusually loud voice. He let himself fall into a chair. “I’ve had it with that guy.”
Chapter 7
“How would you like to go on a short vacation to New York City?” Nicholas murmured. Sofia glanced at his face in the diffuse sunlight that shone through the blinds in the early morning. “You know, we never had a real honeymoon. Too busy working,” he continued.
“New York for a honeymoon? Doesn’t sound very romantic. Why New York?” Sofia moved closer to Nicholas’s side of the bed.
“Well, okay, I have an ulterior motive as well.” Nicholas kissed her. “I thought we could also visit the Segantino family in New York. The last time I saw them was … well a long time ago. I was there once with my parents as a child.”
“Ah, now I get it. You want to snoop around and ask them about Angelo.” Sofia touched his smooth chest. “Good idea, actually. Grandpa hasn’t been the same since we found the bones. He’s worried. He must miss his younger brother. I mean even if he wasn’t a model citizen, he’s still his brother.”
“I know. That’s why I thought we could do a little investigating. Besides, I really want to go back to the city once again. I mean it is an interesting place. All the museums, art galleries, skyscrapers, the Village, Rockefeller Center. It would be fun.”
“Why don’t we coordinate the visit with my trip to Italy?” Sofia suggested. “I can book the flight so I have a stopover in New York.”
“Oh, yeah, that should work. I’m going to miss you when you go to Italy.” Nicholas sighed. “I wish I could come with you, but work, you know.”
“Yes, I know. I won’t be gone for too long. But I’ll miss you, too.” Sofia snuggled up to him. “I’m so looking forward to having Julietta with us in the fall.”
“I agree, that will be great. I hope she’ll like it at Cal Poly,” Nicholas said.
“I’m sure she will. She was all excited when she saw the pictures of the campus. It will be very different from the more or less purely functional university in Italy she’s attending right now.” Sofia stretched and yawned. “We probably should get up.”
“Not yet, weren’t you saying something about a romantic honeymoon. I mean we can create romance right here.” Nicholas put his hand on her breast and gently squeezed her nipple. A zing of desire shot through Sofia’s body. She wrapped her arms around him.
“Oh, no, it’s getting late,” Sofia said as she woke from dozing off again. The sun had fully risen and was bathing the bedroom in a golden light. Sofia stretched and yawned, got up, and gave the still sleeping Nicholas a playful slap on the behind. “Come on, sleepyhead. I bet you Grandpa is already at the winery.”
Nicholas groaned, then pushed himself up with his arms and gazed at the window. “Darn it, you’re right. He must think we’re a bunch of lazy bums.” He brushed through his tousled blond hair. “Well, I guess since the vineyards belong to us now, we can decide how early we start with the work.” He grinned. “But around Grandpa I still feel like the apprentice who has to prove himself. Although I really have no reason; he never put a lot of pressure on me … not like my father.”
“Was your father strict?”
“Not really, but he was a doer. He was … well, still is … all action. Grandpa is more relaxed, but he’s also a hard worker. He just doesn’t push you all the time.”
In the kitchen, Sofia filled the espresso pot with water, pushed the button on the coffee grinder, and inhaled the smell of freshly ground coffee. After a while, the kitchen filled with the aroma of dark espresso.
After a quick shower and a cup of coffee, Sofia poured the rest into a thermos and grabbed a couple of granola bars for breakfast. They walked the short path down the hill past the vineyards to the winery.
“Sure enough, there he is.” Sofia waved at Martin who was making his way slowly through one of the rows of the vineyard with the Sangiovese grapes, checking the vines.
Since there was no grass planted along the rows of the vineyards, walking on the soft dirt and sand was somewhat of a challenge, but it helped to conserve the precious water. Martin had decided not to plant grass long before the drought became a problem. He had always felt that it was an unnecessary waste since grass and lawns needed to be watered regularly.
After a while, Martin joined Sofia and Nicholas at the winery. Sofia and Nicholas were in the process of racking the wine from the Nebbiolo grapes. They had attached the hoses from the barrels with the aging wine to the fermentation tank. The juice without the sediments was siphoned into the tank and stayed there overnight. In the meantime, the empty barrels needed to be cleaned and sanitized thoroughly so no unwanted yeast or bacteria collected, which could spoil the wine.
Three of the now empty barrels were sitting on a contraption with a large container to catch the water underneath. Nicholas and Sofia were each cleaning one of the barrels with a high-pressure cleaning device. Martin took hold of a third one and proceeded to clean it.
“Thanks, Grandpa,” Nicholas said. “We kind of over
slept.”
Martin smiled but didn’t say anything, and Sofia felt herself blush.
“New York?” Martin asked after Nicholas told him of their plans. “What do you want in New York?”
“Sightseeing, mainly,” Nicholas said. “A short vacation before Sofia goes to Italy. Besides, we could visit our relatives once again. I was only there once with my parents, and I remember they seemed to be a bunch of funny, slightly nutty people.”
Sofia watched the old man’s serious expression.
“This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with finding out about Angelo?” Martin asked.
“Well, it wouldn’t hurt to ask if they have any news,” Nicholas said.
Martin shook his head. “I don’t think they do. I called them right after we found the bones and asked them.”
“Oh, really?” Nicholas said. “So you thought that the bones might have something to do with Angelo?”
Martin sighed. “I just had a bad feeling about it. As it turns out, I was right. Not about the bones possibly belonging to my brother, which I feared at first. But he is somehow involved, as we found out from Elvira’s diary.
“Anyway, if you’re going to New York because you think you can find out something about Angelo, you’d probably be wasting your time. When I tried to find Angelo years ago, my relatives weren’t of any help. Either they didn’t know anything, or they had no intention of telling me. They knew Angelo and I didn’t get along.” Martin paused. “Problem is, at least one of my cousins was less than clean when it came to the law. I blamed him in part for leading Angelo astray.”
Finding Angelo (The Wine Lover's Daughter, Book 2) Page 3