Torn

by Karen Moore

  He shrugged. “As you can imagine, it was difficult for Dad being in the police, to have a son like Pino. My brother was too deeply involved by then, and it’s not a life you can turn your back on even if you want to – you know too much and would always remain a threat. But Pino showed no inclination to change direction; he seemed to relish the excitement and the danger. And it was lucrative, of course.

  “He must have risen through the ranks to quite a key position. That in itself is quite unusual for someone with family links to the police and the media. He must have denounced his family or lied about his background. And remember, we saw him in the background of one of the videos? God knows what he was doing there. Maybe getting information for a rival clan.

  “Dad tried to track his activities over the years, though I’m not sure what he’d have done had Pino been arrested or jailed, or what effect that would have had on his own career. I hadn’t spoken or seen Pino for quite some time. We never really got on, not even as kids. We were always so different. But he’s still my brother, my own flesh and blood,” his voice broke slightly, “and now he’s dead…”

  When Sergio paused, overcome with emotion, Ceri went to him and put her arms around him. “I knew you had a brother and I’ve always wondered why you didn’t talk about him,” she said. “I didn’t like to ask; I thought you’d tell me about it in your own time. It’s just so awful that it’s in such circumstances.”

  He wiped his eyes with the back of his hands. “Dad’s going to take care of the funeral arrangements so we can concentrate on Eva.”

  Hanna had been listening quietly, wondering what would happen now about getting Eva back but not wanting to intrude on his private grief.

  “I can’t make out what’s going on. We thought that Luciano had been behind the kidnapping but that’s obviously not the case. Any ideas?”

  Sergio sighed deeply, trying to recover his composure. “I can only assume it’s to do with warring clans and their claims for territory. Pino’s clan must have been looking for some way to muscle in on Luciano and somehow learned that you’d left Sicily with information on his business dealings. They managed to track you down, God knows how, ahead of Luciano, and kidnapped Eva as a lever to get their hands on the information. It looks as though they had every intention of handing Eva back once this happened. Until Luciano and co intercepted them.”

  “I suppose it depends on Luciano’s motives: whether he wanted to give the opposing clan a lesson, or whether he wanted to get Eva back, or both,” Hanna said, wondering whether she had ever really known her husband at all. “What can we do now? Should we get the police involved officially?”

  “I think there’s more to it than just getting Eva back,” Sergio replied. “I think we should sit tight for a day or two and see what happens. If he wants something from you, he’s bound to get in touch soon.”

  Hanna’s heart sank. More waiting. But at least she could be reassured that Luciano wouldn’t harm his own daughter. Or could she? Was Eva just being used as a pawn between feuding clans? A lump formed in her chest at the implications of this worrying thought.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  Sicily, Friday 8th December, 2017

  The following morning passed with no further news of Eva or any contact from Luciano. Hanna was frantic with worry, imagining all sorts of possible scenarios. She tried to console herself with the thought that Luciano wouldn’t harm his own daughter. But with no news, she couldn’t even be sure if Eva was even still with him.

  Back in the lounge at the Cefalu apartment, she constantly checked her phone for any messages. She felt shattered, having only been able to sleep in snatches. Unable to face going over the shoot-out again, she sent Rhys a quick text update, promising she’d call him as soon as she had some good news. Sergio hadn’t gone into work again. He, too, was glued to his phone.

  “Sergio, I’m really worried that Luciano’s not been in touch,” said Hanna, her mounting anxiety showing in her tone of voice. “What if he was wounded at the quarry? He might be in hospital, or worse. What would happen to Eva then? What if he doesn’t have my new number? How will he contact me? And what if he doesn’t get in touch? What then? And what,” she added in a whisper, “if he no longer has her?”

  “Getting hold of your number wouldn’t be a problem for Luciano,” said Sergio wearily. “Let’s give it until the end of the day. If we haven’t heard anything by then, we’ll get the police involved officially. They may already have enough on Luciano to warrant closer investigation of his business dealings. This may be the excuse they need to question him more closely.”

  “But I can’t jeopardise Eva’s safety and risk her getting mixed up in any turf wars between clans. Maybe I should contact Luciano directly.”

  “No!” said Sergio firmly. “He’s taken Eva for a reason, and he knows you’ll do everything you can to get her back. Besides, you know too much about his activities. He’ll want to make sure that you no longer pose a risk to him.”

  “Christ, Sergio, you make it sound so damn final,” said Hanna, feeling a sudden knot of fear in her stomach. “If I’m in any danger, shouldn’t we be involving the police anyway?”

  Sergio shrugged. “These things are always… delicate. It’s hard to know which way to play them for the best.”

  Hanna felt her face flush with anger at this vague non-commmital response, but said nothing. Was she doing the right thing listening to him and following his advice? she wondered? Could he be trusted? Did she have any other option?

  She was grateful to Sergio and Ceri for their support and insight, but it was hard to think straight. At times, she felt she might be better off handling it on her own. Don’t be stupid, she chastised herself, what do I know about dealing with such people? Her thoughts were interrupted by Ceri bringing in a tray of coffee.

  “Anything happened, any news of Eva?” she asked, looking at both of them in turn. She must have sensed the tense atmosphere.

  “No, nothing. We were just talking,” mumbled Sergio.

  “How’s your dad getting on with the funeral arrangements?” Ceri asked, changing the subject as she poured the coffee.

  “It’s all sorted for next Friday. A quiet affair in a small village church in the hills outside Palermo, just the immediate family. Dad tried to track down any other family that Pino may have had, but couldn’t find anyone. There’s no sign of any wife or partner, or any children. No friends or associates either. Either they don’t exist or have gone to ground, afraid of any repercussions. It’s as if he’s been disowned, or never existed.”

  “I could come with you to the funeral if you’d like,” said Ceri tentatively.

  “Thanks for the offer, cara, but it’s better if I go on my own,” Sergio replied. “Just in case.”

  Just in case of what? thought Hanna. Was he expecting trouble at the funeral?

  “Fine, whatever you think best,” Ceri replied. “By the way, I’ll need to pop out and do some shopping later. We’re short of milk and bread and need something for dinner tonight.”

  “I’ll go,” Hanna offered, jumping up, grateful for the chance to escape from the apartment and get some time to herself.

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?” asked Ceri doubtfully.

  “Course I will. Just let me know what we need.”

  “Okay, I’ll make a list. You can take the car if you want.”

  “The shop’s only round the corner, isn’t it? The fresh air will do me good.” She grabbed her jacket from the rack in the hall and followed Ceri into the kitchen.

  Hanna stepped out into the shadow of the street, glad to flee the confines of the apartment for a while. Her joints ached through lack of exercise, her leg still hurting intermittently. Her head throbbed with fear and frustration. She headed for Corso Ruggero, the main thoroughfare in the historic town centre, now bathed in sunlight and busy with afternoon shoppers. She stopped momentarily to admire the Norman Cathedral towering above the pretty little square below frin
ged with cafés and restaurants. It brought back memories of happier times, when life with Luciano had been so blissful and intoxicating. How things had changed.

  She turned off towards the seafront, down a narrow residential street, the mirror-image of the street where she had lived with Luciano. Two and three-storey buildings in muted colours, their balconies strewn with washing pegged out to dry, scooters parked in neat rows, people spilling out of bars and cafés, deep in animated conversation, others hurrying home laden with shopping bags, stopping to greet acquaintances en route. Normal life, she thought with a twinge of envy. She checked her phone: still no messages.

  After stopping off at the fishmongers to buy some fresh mackerel for dinner, Hanna headed to the little alimentari round the corner from the apartment to pick up the basics that Ceri had asked for. She quickly found everything she needed, paid, loaded her shopping into bags, and left the shop.

  Brakes screeched behind her. As she turned, two burly men in balaclavas sprang from a dark saloon and hurtled towards her. She screamed, dropped the bags, their contents spilling across the street. She started to run, pain throbbing in her leg, but the masked men quickly overpowered her. They bundled her into the back of the car which sped off towards the seafront. Hanna quivered as one of the men clamped a sweet-smelling rag over her mouth. She became increasingly dizzy and drowsy. Her head drooped…

  Chapter Fifty

  Sicily, Friday 8th December, 2017

  The sun flickers through the trees, bathing the garden in patchy spring warmth. Eva totters across the grass in pursuit of a squirrel, gurgling with delight, her arms outstretched. I keep a watchful eye on her, laughing at her antics. The toddler stops suddenly as she spies a greater prize. She stoops down clumsily to pick some early daisies before waddling back with her booty, chuckling. “Guarda, Mammina, these are for you!” she says, holding out the little posy. Luciano comes out of the house and gathers us both into his arms for a big bear hug and…

  Hanna came to with a jolt, her breathing shallow and irregular. Her head felt like a lead weight. What the hell was happening? Where was she? She tried to stretch her neck but any movement was restricted by the bulky men sitting either side of her. The car was approaching a large stone house that seemed vaguely familiar. Unable to focus properly and think straight, several minutes passed before a series of brief flashbacks slowly brought her back to reality. She remembered shopping, the car, the men snatching her from the street – it was all coming back now.

  The car came to a halt outside the house and the men bundled her out of the vehicle and up the steps to the front door. She still felt woozy and found putting one foot in front of the other a challenge. The two men ended up half pushing, half carrying her through the front door and into a sitting room, before dumping her in an armchair and taking their leave.

  Hanna felt as if she’d been coshed over the head, so intense were the waves of pain, her eyes only producing blurred images. Slowly she raised her head, her vision clearing. Sitting opposite her was Luciano, glaring at her coldly. His eyes burned with a ferocity that she’d never seen before.

  “You’ve caused me no end of trouble, Hanna. Not only did you have the audacity to take my daughter away from me but you also stole information about my business dealings. Just what did you think would happen? That I’d let you get away with it?”

  Hanna gulped. “I… er, was scared… for Eva. After the three silver bullets…”

  “But you left without any warning and didn’t give me a chance to explain or work things out. I can understand that your first consideration was for Eva’s safety. I completely get that. But you have to understand that this is a life that you can’t just turn your back on, even if you wanted to. Too many people are involved, including my family and several influential people in high places. Then there are my enemies, people who want what I have created. If I turn my back on all this, I’d be finished, ruined, or dead. I’m too old and set in my ways to start up somewhere anew. Besides, they’d find me…” He paused briefly.

  “The silver bullets raised the stakes but I’d have dealt with it. I’d have done anything to protect you and Eva, you know that.” His tone was softening, almost apologetic now.

  But his words filled Hanna with fury. “Christ, Luciano, they were a death threat! Just how would you have ‘dealt’ with that, for fuck’s sake? And I didn’t have a clue about the true nature of your business dealings. You never mentioned anything. I accepted what you told me. The award-winning family winery. I took it all at face value. How stupid was I? Quite the naïve little English girl. You really played me for a fool.” She shook her head and laughed bitterly.

  “I thought you’d be shocked by the truth and I’d lose you…”

  “And I wouldn’t be shocked to find out by accident and once we’d had a death threat?” Hanna rose to her feet in anger. She felt light-headed and her leg had begun to throb.

  “Sit down, Hanna,” he said calmly. “I’m truly sorry it’s come to this. We need to talk about Eva. And the future.”

  “Where is she? What have you done with her? Is she here? Is she okay?” Hanna looked around wildly. Now that the woolly feeling in her head was clearing and she was able to focus again, she suddenly realised that this was her house, where she had lived with Luciano when Eva was a baby.

  “Don’t worry, she’s fine,” he replied. “She’s somewhere safe and will be returned to you shortly. Once I have assurances that you won’t hand over the information you have on me.”

  “How do you know about that?” Hanna asked, realising she needed to be calm rather than angry.

  He shrugged. “I couldn’t rely solely on the encryption to protect the files. I had hidden cameras installed around the house for security purposes. I saw you copy the files.”

  “And how did the rival gang know I had the information?”

  “Remember Silvia, the cleaner we used to have? We caught her on camera rifling through my office. She must have been working for them. I can only assume that she’d been spying on us all along and must have seen you copy the files off my computer.”

  “Really? I wouldn’t have thought that of her. She was such a quiet little woman.”

  Hanna shook her head, amazed at how gullible she’d been throughout her relationship with Luciano. Had she realised that something wasn’t quite right but chosen to ignore it?

  “And did you know where Eva and I had gone when we left Sicily?” she asked.

  “Of course. My people were keeping an eye out for you. It took a while to track you down. We have contacts on Anglesey because of the ferry route to Ireland. We use it for another arm of the business.”

  Hanna shuddered, wondering who the contacts might have been. Ottavio’s father, perhaps, who she’d seen at nursery, or the men who’d followed her? It didn’t matter now but it was chilling to think that she and Eva had never really been safe in Wales.

  “But Pino and his associates beat me to it before I could intervene, and they kidnapped Eva,” continued Luciano. “Even without that, you and I would have needed to sort this out eventually. I couldn’t afford to run the risk of you ruining me. I knew you’d always want to protect Eva at any cost, whatever happened. And I know how strongly you felt about the refugee situation.”

  He shrugged, his dark eyes sorrowful. Hanna felt a lump in her throat, but was unsure why. Was it a sense of loss, or did she still harbour some feelings for Luciano and what they’d had together, despite all his lies?

  “I’m really sorry that it had to come to this, Hanna. But this is who I am. I can’t change and you won’t accept me as I am. Maybe I should have been honest with you from the start but I didn’t want to scare you off. But it’s about survival, Hanna – mine, yours, and Eva’s.”

  Hanna sat back in the chair, her head spinning, trying to take all this in. She had been an idiot, burying her head in the sand instead of dealing with the situation straight away. Why hadn’t she acted sooner? Maybe at some point she’d still had some
feelings for him, or blind hope that things could return to their previous state. But not any more.

  “If your people were keeping an eye on me, how come Eva was kidnapped? What was all that about? And what happened at the quarry? Two men got killed, for Christ’s sake. One of them was Sergio’s brother, you must know that?”

  Luciano nodded. “We have a long-standing feud with the clan that Pino was involved with. They wanted to take over our business interests. We’d had clashes with them in the past but nothing serious. Things changed with the migrant situation. They smelt an opportunity to make big money. At the same time, they were coming under pressure from immigrant gangs who also wanted a piece of the action. The kidnapping was a way to get their hands on my computer files so they could blackmail me or turn me in. God knows how they managed to track you down in Wales. We underestimated them; they must be more intelligent than we thought.”

  Hanna saw red again. “This is the life of your daughter you’re talking about so glibly,” she yelled. “It’s not just a business transaction. Don’t you have any feelings, any scruples at all?”

  Luciano sighed. “Of course, I do, cara. Why do you think we arranged to snatch her back?”

  “To save your own skin, more like. You’ve used her like a bargaining chip.”

  “While we were snatching Eva back, I had another group of associates retrieving the information from the other clan’s headquarters. So I didn’t use her as a bargaining chip, it was a question of honour.”