Page 35 of The Girl from Sicily

35

JESSICA, JULY 2005

Piero drove Jess back to the winery and, at first, she kept her concerns to herself – she was emotionally and physically drained. He appeared to pick up on her mood; he didn’t question her, simply inserted a CD of soothing classical music.

But it did little to dispel the turmoil within her. Eventually, she couldn’t keep silent any more. She had to talk, had to put her thoughts into words.

‘How could a fugitive like my great-uncle have been running Cosa Nostra while in hiding?’ she asked.

‘It’s simple, really. He could count on the members of the organisation to protect him. They’re not just a bunch of violent thugs, you know. They’re also doctors, engineers, politicians. If you can convince people you can kill them at any time and anywhere, even their children, people will do what you want.’

‘That’s awful.’ Jess thought for a moment. ‘Do you know who owns the hut where Dinu was living?’

‘I believe it once belonged to don Nofriu. It was part of his latifondo estate. After the war, the land was divided, but it seems no one laid claim to the hut.’

‘It was in an appalling state.’ Jess shuddered with disgust. ‘The stove in the kitchenette was filthy with baked-on food. He must have been squatting there for months.’

‘Was there a bathroom?’ Piero asked.

‘I think so. Bastianu disappeared into a side room and I heard a toilet being flushed.’

‘Someone must have fixed the place up. I mean, a lowly shepherd’s hut wouldn’t have had plumbing or electricity.’

‘What I don’t understand is why Giovanna and Angelo denied all knowledge of seeing or hearing the motorbike.’

‘Simple answer,’ Piero huffed. ‘They would have known better than to break the code of silence.’

Jess nodded, recalling her conversation with Giovanna a week ago, when Giovanna had told her that Sicilians didn’t talk about anything to do with Cosa Nostra. That conversation should have rung alarm bells, Jess realised now.

‘I know you’ve gone through a horrible experience being held by the police, but at least your great-uncle won’t suspect you of informing on him.’ Piero glanced at her.

‘Oh, God. I hadn’t thought of that. Surely he can’t carry on terrorising people from prison?—’

‘Many a mafioso has run his operations from jail, Jess.’

An icy shiver ran through her as she remembered Bastianu making the cutthroat gesture in the grocery store.

‘I thought I was brave, but I’ve never been so scared in my life as I was when Dinu got his son to tie me up. He was a bit incompetent, giving Bastianu an old, fraying rope, which is why I could get free. I’m kicking myself now. If the police had found me being held prisoner, they wouldn’t have arrested me?—’

‘You were extremely courageous, Jess, trying to escape like that. Most people would have frozen.’ Piero reached across and took her hand, squeezing her fingers before clearing his throat. ‘There’s something I need to tell you, sweetheart. This morning, when I stopped for petrol on the way to Agrigento, I phoned my father. I was suspicious about what your grandmother wrote in her letter concerning Dinu having gone missing. He would have known this area like the back of his hand, and the fact that someone was making their way up to the shepherd’s hut on a motorbike, and Giovanna and Angelo had denied hearing it, made me wonder if the anti-Mafia police should be informed.’

‘Oh my God.’ Jess’s heart thudded. ‘What did your father say?’

‘He told me to leave it with him, that he’d call a friend at the questura .’ Piero exhaled a breath. ‘Later, after you’d called to say you’d been arrested, I called Papà back. He told me his friend had informed him that the anti-Mafia squad was already on the case. They’d found notes, known as pizzini , that your great-uncle sent to a group of his collaborators who’d been arrested last year. Apparently, Dinu frowned upon the use of telephones – far too easy to be tapped – and issued orders and communications, even to his family, in writing. He used a version of the code used by Julius Caesar in wartime – shifting each letter of the alphabet forwards three places, then replacing letters with numbers according to their position in the alphabet.’

‘It’s like something out of a crime movie,’ Jess said, shaking her head.

‘Their enquiries had taken them to Villaurora, and they’d learnt about a stranger in the village who would periodically ride up to the shepherd’s hut on a mountain motorbike. They had started keeping the place under observation and also following the trail of the pizzini .’

‘It was such a coincidence they found Dinu, after years of hiding, on the same day I met him for the first time,’ Jess said.

Not once had Piero berated her for going up to the baglio alone, nor had he said she should have accepted his invitation to accompany him to Agrigento. And she was grateful to him for it.

‘Have you heard the expression, “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous”, Jess?’

‘You think it was divine intervention that sent me up there?’ Jess heaved a sigh. ‘I could have been killed.’

‘I’m extremely glad the police arrived in time.’ Piero took her hand and kept it in his while he drove.

‘You can be sure I won’t be going anywhere on my own for the next few days. I never thought I’d be saying this, but I can’t wait to go home to Bristol. At least there I won’t be in any danger.’

‘Don’t tell me this has put you off Sicily, tesoro ,’ Piero said.

‘Hmmm. Can we talk about it another time? I need to think things through.’

‘I’m here for you, Jess. No pressure.’

‘Thank you for coming to collect me.’ She changed the subject. ‘I hope I didn’t disrupt your day too much.’

‘Hell, no. My meeting was already over when you called. I came as fast as I could after I’d rung my dad to tell him what had happened. It was thanks to Papà vouching for you with his friend at the questura that you were released so quickly.’

* * *

Back at the tenuta, Jess declined Piero’s invitation to have supper with him. She thanked him, but pleaded tiredness.

‘It’s been a long day,’ she said, kissing him. ‘And you must be exhausted, too. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?’

‘I’ll hold you to that promise.’ He tilted her chin upward and kissed her on the lips. ‘Have a good night’s sleep and, hopefully, you’ll feel a lot better tomorrow.’

‘I left my rental car at the baglio, with my handbag in it, I’ve just remembered,’ she said with a gasp.

‘I’ll drive you up there after breakfast to collect it.’

Jess thanked him again and, feeling a little numb, went to her accommodation, where she poured herself a glass of wine, then switched on the television.

Dinu’s capture was the first item on the evening news. She gulped as a jostling group of law enforcement officers, in balaclavas and bulletproof vests, bundled him from an unmarked police car into the questura . A crowd had gathered, and people surged forwards shouting, ‘ Bastardo! Assassino! ’ while he was ushered through the gateway and escorted inside.

The Telegiornale went on to mention that the state prosecutors had left their offices in the courthouse forthwith, and had roared straight round to the police HQ to meet their prisoner and make sure everything was in order before transferring him to a maximum-security unit on the mainland. Bastianu would remain in Sicily to face trail on the island.

A sour taste filled Jess’s mouth as she listened to a potted history of her great-uncle’s crimes, all of which were too horrible to contemplate. How could she be related to this monster? She felt totally mortified. Her entire life, she’d wanted to find out about her Sicilian family. Now, she wished she’d never embarked on the quest. Better to live in blissful ignorance than carry the burden of shame.

But when Piero arrived the next morning, Jess’s heart gave its habitual flutter. If she hadn’t travelled to Sicily, she would never have met him. He’d become extremely important to her, and she’d developed powerful feelings for him. The thought of leaving him in two days’ time made her chest ache.

‘ Buon giorno , Jess,’ he said, stepping across the floor in her kitchenette. ‘How are you this morning?’

She told him about what she’d seen on the news last night, how ashamed she felt to be related to Dinu Pavano.

‘Please try not to feel like that.’ Piero wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the forehead. ‘Easier said than done, I know, but you are you, and he is who he is. You are polar opposites.’

Jess pressed her cheek to his chest and inhaled his comforting scent.

‘Would you like a coffee?’ she asked.

‘I’ve just had one, but you go ahead.’

‘I’m good.’ She forced a smile. ‘Let’s go get my car.’

* * *

Piero took the road past Villaurora, and Jess eyed the hill behind the baglio, the memory of what had happened there making her stomach churn.

How would she ever be able to look at that view without being reminded of her villainous great-uncle? She said as much to Piero.

‘Give it time, my darling. I hope you’ll feel differently before too long.’

They pulled up in front of the farmhouse and she went inside for one last look, sighing as she stepped into the courtyard, its loveliness still filling her with awe. She walked up to the trinacria and touched her fingers to the cool ceramic. Closing her eyes, she imagined Lucia and Gero living here. Her grandmother wrote that they’d been so happy and she wanted Jess to find happiness in the baglio like they’d done.

But how could she do that after what had happened with Dinu?

‘Shall we go back to the tenuta, Jess?’ Piero approached and took her hand. ‘You look tired.’

‘I didn’t sleep well last night,’ she said. ‘I couldn’t stop thinking about yesterday.’

‘With good reason, tesoro . Stay with me today, please. I want to look after you.’

She looked down at her hand in his, and a feeling of deep affection spread through her.

They went outside just as Angelo and Giovanna arrived in their Fiat Panda. Jess’s chest tightened at the sight of them. The events of yesterday were still fresh in her mind, and they were the last people she wanted to see.

Giovanna leapt out of the car and rushed up to her.

‘Did you hear the news?’

‘I was there,’ Jess said through gritted teeth.

‘What do you mean?’

‘I was in the hut when Dinu was arrested. You might have warned me?—’

‘I’m so sorry,’ Giovanna said, clearly at a loss for words.

‘What happened?’ Angelo asked.

‘Some other time, Angelo.’ Piero held up a hand. ‘Jess is heading back to the tenuta now. She’s exhausted.’

* * *

On Jess’s last evening in Sicily, she was sitting in Piero’s courtyard, dining by candlelight under the stars, having enjoyed a replica of the wine and food tasting she’d experienced soon after she’d arrived here. Except, this time, she was alone with Piero, and Stefania had tweaked the menu to offer a different dessert.

‘So delicious,’ Jess said, savouring the taste of the biancomangiare , a delicate pudding made from almond milk and gelatine, sprinkled with candied fruit.

Piero poured her a glass of passito sweet wine, and she took a sip before lowering her hand to give Cappero a stroke.

‘I’m going to miss him,’ she said as the dog snuffled by her feet. ‘And you too, of course.’ She swallowed the sadness in her throat.

‘My brother and his wife phoned today. They said you promised to visit them in Monreale. So you’ll have to come back and do that.’

Jess smiled sorrowfully. Yesterday, she’d told Piero that she’d decided to put everything on hold, including renovating the baglio, until she felt up to it.

If she ever did.

‘No sweat,’ Piero added. ‘But you’re not getting rid of me easily. I’m coming to visit you in Bristol as soon as I can.’

‘That would be wonderful,’ she said, her spirits lifting. ‘I’d really love you to come and stay.’

‘Good.’ A smile lit his hazel eyes, and he glanced at his wristwatch. ‘It’s time for bed now, sweetheart. You have an early start in the morning, don’t forget.’

Jess’s vision blurred and her heart felt heavy as Piero held out his hand and she placed hers in it.

Up in his apartment, he kissed his way down her face to her neck, making her tingle all over. They undressed and tumbled onto the bed, kissing slowly, passionately, hungrily.

Piero slid into her, and their bodies rocked together. Soon he was pushing her beyond pleasure into such ecstasy that she was no longer herself, but a part of him. The force of his release tipped her over the edge, and she climaxed, calling out his name.

He kissed her gently, beautifully, then gazed deep into her eyes.

‘I’m falling in love with you, Jess.’

‘Oh, God, Piero. What are we going to do? I think I’m falling in love with you as well.’

‘I was worried you didn’t feel the same.’ He kissed her on the nose. ‘We can give each other the gift of time. I know it’s a cliché, but time heals most wounds?—’

‘I hope you’re right.’ She drew him into her arms.

Piero rolled onto his back and lifted her on top of him.

Jess took a moment, savouring this amazing man, sliding her hands up his toned chest. She did love him. Loved how intelligent and considerate he was. Loved how he was always there for her. If only they didn’t live in separate countries. She sighed.

‘Something wrong?’ he asked, stroking her arms.

‘No, nothing wrong.’

He gave her a questioning look and seemed about to say something, but she placed a finger on his lips.

‘Shush,’ she said. ‘Let’s not spoil our last night together with depressing talk.’