by Karen Moore
“Since we first met, I mean. In our tour guide days,” Ceri continued. “We’re not the same people we were then.”
“Guess not,” Hanna agreed. “We didn’t have a care in the world in those days. “This place has changed us both.”
“You make us sound like two old biddies!” Ceri replied, giving Hanna a playful punch in the ribs.
Hanna smiled. “We’ve grown up. Learned not to take things at face value.”
“That’s for sure.” Ceri frowned as she contemplated the bay.
“You’ve got something on your mind, haven’t you?” Hanna asked. “I can tell. C’mon, tell me.”
Ceri hesitated, playing with the straw in her coffee. “Well, Sergio and I have been discussing the future. We were both pretty cut up by what happened after the wedding. So was Vincenzo. He’s decided to retire from the police, get out of Palermo, find a place by the sea somewhere and spend some time with Marta while he can.”
Hanna raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Really?” She sensed there was more to come.
Ceri shrugged. “As for Sergio and me, we can’t live our lives permanently looking over our shoulders. And we can’t jeopardise our chance of having a family.”
This was sounding familiar. Hanna looked at her expectantly.
“So, we’ve decided to move away and go to the mainland. Sergio has accepted that job offer in Rome. It’ll be better for his career, but more importantly it’ll be better for us.” Ceri paused, as if unsure how Hanna would take the news.
Hanna sprang out of her chair and wrapped both arms around her friend and hugged her tightly. “That’s amazing! I’m so pleased for you both!”
Ceri grimaced. “Hey, watch out for my stitches!”
“Sorry, I forgot,” said Hanna, withdrawing slightly.
“Yeah, I think it’s the right decision,” Ceri said, wriggling out of the embrace, looking a little embarrassed. “You saw yourself how badly Sergio reacted to the shooting and losing the baby. Then, when his dad announced his decision to retire, it was as if the last obstacle had been removed. Without being so involved with the police, Sergio’ll no longer be a potential target. And Rome’s not a million miles away from Sicily; we can always come over and visit Vincenzo and Marta.”
“Fabulous! And we’ll have somewhere to stay when we come to Rome!” Hanna teased.
“Yeah, a ready-made holiday home!” Ceri gave a wry smile and slowly shifted back in her chair.
“How soon will it be before you can make the move?” Hanna asked.
“Just need to get the trafficking story out of the way. You know how these media stories can drag on, with different angles and so on,” Ceri replied. “Maybe a couple of weeks? I should be fully recovered by then. They’ve got a rental apartment waiting for us, apparently.”
Hanna looked out to sea. She could just make out the blurred shape of a ferry on the horizon. “I’ll have no reason to come back here once you two are in Rome. I’ll miss all this when I go back to Wales,” she said, a touch wistfully, gesturing with her hands, “but not necessarily for all the right reasons…”
Chapter Fifty-Nine
The early afternoon flight was half–empty, and Hanna had the row of seats to herself. She watched through the window as the plane taxied down the runway and soared effortlessly into a perfect azure sky. The sea below glimmered enticingly in the sun and the mountains rose majestically behind Palermo. A stunning view. Shame the island had such a rotten pervasive core. She felt relieved to be leaving it all behind.
She sighed and settled back in her seat, unfurling the morning edition of La Gazzetta della Sicilia. Sergio’s exclusive was splashed across the whole front page of the broadsheet, accompanied by several photographs of the arrests.
POLICE BUST MAJOR PEOPLE TRAFFICKING RING, the headline screamed.
Police in Sicily have arrested 54 people, including several alleged mafiosi, in a number of dawn raids, believed to be one of the largest drives against people-trafficking on the island. The arrests are the result of a wide-scale investigation involving several European countries. Further arrests are understood to have been made in Britain, Germany, France and Sweden.
Two Mafia clans are believed to be at the centre of the smuggling network: the Cortazzo and the Mancuso families. The two clans, once in violent conflict, are believed to have ended their turf wars and traditional activities to form a trafficking ring in collaboration with a Nigerian gang based in Palermo. The operation is described by the police as being ‘extremely lucrative’.
Most migrants and asylum seekers arrive in Sicily by sea, taking the dangerous route across the Mediterranean from Tunisia and Libya, often arranged by unscrupulous people-smugglers. Many migrants travel without papers and make the crossing in appalling conditions in overcrowded and unseaworthy boats, paying an average of 440 euros for the privilege. Lifejackets and fake documents may be available at extra cost.
Almost 25,000 migrants arrived in Sicily in this way last year – of those, nearly 2,300 were reported as dead or missing at sea. On arrival, many of the women are forced into the sex trade, while some of the men are coerced into low-level crime and drug-dealing.
Before she could read any more, she experienced an overwhelming feeling of nausea. She rose unsteadily to her feet and made a dash for the toilet, only just making it in time to retch over the basin. Her reflection stared back in the mirror, and she realised with a shock how wan and bleary-eyed she looked. Stress, she thought, or was it something more? Several times that week she had felt like this. She wondered if she might have some underlying condition. Don’t be silly, she admonished herself, you’re worrying unnecessarily. It’ll be nothing.
She rinsed her mouth, splashed cold water on her face, dried it with a paper towel and staggered back to her seat. She picked up the newspaper and continued reading:
Although the number of migrants is reported to be lower than in previous years, profits are kept high due to the increasing demand for minors. Girls as young as twelve or thirteen have been found working the streets of Palermo and other Italian and European cities.
Among those arrested in the raids by members of the paramilitary carabinieri and Guardia di Finanza financial police were the heads of the two clans, the leader of the Nigerian gang, and several public officials, including a local MP, a mayor, and the director of one of the island’s largest migrant reception centres.
The network is believed to be the largest trafficking ring on the island, and the arrests will effectively bring its nefarious activities to an end.
“We are determined to stamp out this insidious traffic on our island once and for all,” said Paolo Randazzo, head of the Palermo police flying squad. “We will be seeking maximum prison sentences for all those convicted.”
Hanna leaned back in her seat, her heart pounding, thinking back to her last conversation with Vincenzo. He’d just been discharged home from hospital, and Hanna had popped round to say goodbye. He too had assured her that the prosecutors would be looking for maximum sentences.
“This will be a high-profile trial case,” he’d said, clasping her hands in his. “The first time we’ve been able to bust a people-trafficking ring at this level. The prosecutors want to send a clear message to other traffickers that Sicily isn’t a free-for-all, and the police will crack down and make offenders pay. The eyes of Europe are upon us with this case. We don’t want to make a brutta figura – show ourselves up in a bad light.
“You’ll see, mia cara. This time, they’ll lock up the Cortazzos and throw away the key.”
“I certainly hope so,” Hanna had replied with a smile. She wanted to be convinced, but yet…
Pull yourself together, she told herself. Time to put the past behind you and move on. Time for a new beginning. Release at last.
Her hand flew to her mouth as she realised what might be making her feel nauseous.
Oh my God, if only…
That would be simply perfect, she thought, a warm, fuzzy feeling s
preading through her body.
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