“And Suzanna is gonna run Ernesto’s old crew? They’re gonna take orders from a woman?”
“They’re gone, Nat. The old crew. Nowhere to be found.”
“Shit. Not Paolo, too.”
“Yeah. We’ll be long gone before they find their bones. Gianni brought back the old guys. People he trusts.” Lola pulled on an emerald drop earring. “The other rumor isn’t so pretty either, but I feel like I gotta tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Tina didn’t kill herself.”
“Who are they saying did it?”
“Nobody’s sure. The baby’s father maybe. Maybe one of the cousins. Doesn’t matter. The girl was a problem to the family, had been for a long time, what with falling for a Carabiniere and refusing jobs and all. She wanted out. Talked openly about stuff she shouldn’t. Criticized. People warned her. She wouldn’t shut her mouth.”
“Poor kid just wanted a life.”
“Yeah, well. You don’t leave the family so easy. I could see the writing on the wall, Nat. It was gonna end bad for her one way or another. Then the poor fool gets pregnant and comes home. Why she took Pino’s weapon … she might as well have shot herself. It was like the thing with Ernesto. It couldn’t go on. Mama tucked her daughter in that morning and went to Mass. When she came home, it was over.”
“I wish we could have done something.”
“Listen! Come to the doggie parlor? It’ll take your mind off it. Dominick won’t be home till later. We can have some girl time.”
“No, I have to go. Thanks anyway.”
“You sure? You look kind of shaky.”
“I’m fine.”
“Oh. Tough lady. Listen, call me—anytime. Okay?”
“Will do, honey.”
“Ciao, Captain.”
“Ciao, bella.”
“Love you.”
“And you.”
Natalia took the stairs slowly, pausing on the landings. Lola would make her move soon and rise even further. If she linked up with Suzanna, in a year or two she’d be the equal of any capo or don or madrina in Naples.
As Natalia adjusted to the blaring brightness of the street, a woman shifted her pillow on the window ledge and rested her ample chin on her arms in time to get Natalia firmly in her sights.
A falling sensation dropped through Natalia into the pit of her stomach. The clock had begun. It was just a matter of time before she’d have to decide whether she could live up to the oath she’d sworn. If Lola asked or needed her to look the other way, what would she do? For the first time in her career, she’d done something dishonest. She hadn’t lived up to the code. If the situation presented itself in the future, would she do it again?
She stopped for coffee in the piazzetta across from Santa Maria la Nuova. A nun stood in the cool of the vestibule. Below, a cluster of young women milled about as they waited to pick up their children left in the nuns’ care. Just then, the bells chimed noon, and several tiny creatures made for freedom.
For a moment, Natalia imagined what it would feel like to scoop one of them into her arms. The way her life was going, it seemed unlikely she ever would.
She was sorry Lola had told her the rumor about Tina and the child she carried being murdered. Cruelty knew no bounds. There were some mysteries she wished would remain shrouded and unsolved and far from her thoughts. She flashed on the other baby mystery that kept churning in her. Who fathered the baby Antonella Cavazza had lost? She turned the question over in her mind, willing herself not to dwell on Gianni and Antonella, star-crossed lovers but for the war.
Pino believed you would live multiple lives multiple times. She’d become convinced of the opposite. That you had the life you were born with, and that was it. You didn’t get a second chance at the wheel.
She paid her bill and crossed the plaza. Even the pigeons had taken refuge from the heat. They cooed from the dark bell tower as she disappeared into the narrow alleys of Naples.
Acknowledgments
With gratitude to Juris Jurjevics for his brilliance, and help, and much thanks to Mark Doten and the staff at Soho.
A Few Drops of Blood Page 25