“We’re all in. They raided Venditto’s. Even Giovanni was picked up.”
Carlo didn’t respond. His head didn’t lift. Lorenzo could see dark bruises over Carlo’s arms and knuckles. He had no idea how bad his face must look.
“It was the Triad, Carlo. They kidnapped Mirabella. She’s missing.”
To this Carlo slowly lifted his head. He looked as if he had been kicked in the head repeatedly by a steel boot. Black, purple, red, and yellow bruises and swelling covered the lumps rising all over his face. He turned his head in a stiff motion to see out of his barely opened eyes. Lorenzo felt the urge to rage, weep for his broken brother. In fact his eyes teared up, and his throat clogged with emotion. “I’ll fucking kill them all for you, brother. I swear it. I’m sorry for Ciro.”
“Mirabella?” Carlo rasped.
“I don’t know. We’ll find her,” Lorenzo said in a voice choked with emotion. “We’ll get out of here, and find her, and you will get your revenge. I swear it on my life, brother.”
Dominic sat down on the other side of Carlo. Lorenzo looked up. Men were now standing in a protective circle around them to block their conversation from the cameras.
“Domi? How long will they detain us?” Lorenzo asked.
“I don’t know. I spoke to one of the guards. Bonomo has retired. They have a new Chief Inspector. They said Giovanni has been released.”
“I thought so,” Lorenzo let go a burdened sigh. “I got through to Melanzana. Sent a message to Rocco. He’s already got the attorneys on it.”
Dominic nodded in agreement.
Carlo sat back and leaned against the wall. Lorenzo frowned with concern. “Look at him. He needs medical attention. These fucking bastards have Santo in a hospital and Carlo in here? Where is the fucking justice?” Lorenzo got to his feet.
“Sit down!” Dominic warned.
Lorenzo glared at the cameras.
“Sit down!” Dominic repeated.
Lorenzo slowly sat.
“We keep it cool. Giovanni can handle it,” Dominic said. They all sat and waited. And it was then the name surfaced in Lorenzo’s mind.
**
The
Carabinieri
tailed him for miles. They had several hundred men in custody. He needed to think and regroup. The streets they travelled were quiet. Many store owners closed up their shops early. It was as if the entire
Campania
was in mourning. He knew that behind closed doors the Italians whispered about the kidnapping of his beloved. He knew many predicted his madness would return. Braced for it. Giovanni squeezed his eyes shut and endured.
The walk up the steps to Melanzana was the hardest. He vowed not to return without his Bella. The door was pulled open before he reached it. Catalina stood before him with Gino on her hip. His baby boy reached for him immediately. Giovanni froze.
“Gio! What is going on?” Catalina said with her face flushed from tears. “Where is Mira?”
He took the baby to keep him calm. He kissed his son who hugged his neck. Gino began to cry when Catalina started. His son never responded to his coming home with tears. It wrecked him.
Catalina paced in front of him, and prevented him from walking inside. Her hair was tangled from constantly pulling it and her eyes were red and swollen. “Where is she? Is she okay? Are you going to bring her home? When, Gio? When?”
“Catalina!” Marietta said. She marched toward them. “Take Gino and go find Zia. Now.”
“No! I want to know about Mira!” Catalina shouted.
“Catalina? Look at Gino. You’re scaring him,” Marietta said.
Giovanni bounced Gino and smiled until the boy smiled back. Catalina looked at the toddler with understanding. She nodded. She took the baby from Gio. He kept crying as she walked down the hall.
“Can you tell me anything? If she’s okay?” Marietta asked.
Giovanni lowered his gaze. “I’ll be in Villa Rosso. Have my meals sent there.”
“Wait!” She grabbed his arm. “There’s something you need to know. I called Armando.”
He turned and looked at her with genuine surprise. How could the woman make that leap? To tell the
Mafiosi
his business? His weakness?
“Before you get angry you need to understand, Gio. We had just found out you were arrested. We didn’t know if you were coming home. I’m sorry, but I was afraid. You men have never told us what to do when something like this happens.”
Instead of anger he felt another weight of sadness added to his already battered heart. He took Marietta into his arms and hugged her. The action soothed them both. He had never been a fan of hers. Especially recently. But the way she spoke and looked at him for understanding reminded him of his wife. He needed that reminder to calm his fears.
“If I lose her,” Giovanni said, and his voice choked on emotion.
“We won’t lose her, Gio. We’ll figure it out,” Marietta said.
He let her go. “I need you to help Catalina. Take care of the children. Keep her calm and away from me. I can’t stand seeing her in pain,” he said.
“I can do it. I can take care of them. I’ll do it,” Marietta said.
Giovanni wasn’t sure he could trust her, but he had no choice. He forced a smile and his face barely had the strength to hold the action for long. “Send Rocco to Villa Rosso.”
“He’s there already. He’s been there with a few of your men.”
“Grazie.”
“Gio?” she said as he walked away. “Do you know who took her?”
He nodded.
“Kill him. Make them pay,” she said.
He vowed to make them all pay. As he left out of the back doors of Melanzana, and started toward Villa Rosso, several of his men began to follow him. By the time he reached the villa he had twenty of them wanting to offer support. Giovanni went inside and found Rocco seated on the sofa. His uncle used his cane to stand.
“Gio? We just received something,” Rocco said.
The news stopped him. “Received what?”
Rocco nodded toward the open door of his office. Giovanni went inside. His eyes landed on an envelope waiting for him on his desk. Rocco closed the door on the men and joined him. “I sent the attorneys away to work on getting the boys out.”
“When did it arrive?” Giovanni asked.
“The boys stopped a courier at the gate. A kid. He knew nothing. Said a woman gave him a hundred lira to bring it.”
“Woman?” Giovanni asked.
“Yes.” Rocco came closer on his cane. “Is that relevant?”
“Do you know a woman named Isabella?” Giovanni asked.
Rocco chuckled. It was a bitter dry chuckle. “I know a hundred women named Isabella.”
“Yea. Me too.” Giovanni picked up the envelope. There was a red lipstick kiss on the seal. His name was on the package. That was all. He opened it and removed a VHS tape. Curious, Giovanni turned it over. The words PLAY ME were written on the label.
“It’s a video tape,” Rocco stated the obvious.
“Open the cabinet,” Giovanni said.
Rocco did as he was told. Giovanni stared at the tape for several minutes, unable to speak or move. If he played it and it was the death of his wife, he’d never recover. Nothing sent to a boss of his stature in the form of a videotape could be good.
“Do you want me to step out, Giovanni?”
“No.” he snapped out of it. He walked over to the VCR and inserted the tape. He picked up the remote and pressed play.
The image of Kei Hyogo adjusting the video camera came into focus. He tilted the camera so it lifted and zoomed in on his face. Kei took a step back so he could be seen fully. He stared in the camera for a moment. Giovanni’s jaw clenched.
“We meet again, Gio.” Kei smiled. “Are you worried? Panicked? Are you afraid of who could pluck your rose from right under your nose? Blue right? You got a thing about blue roses,” Kei smiled. “You should be. I expect you to run blindly in search of my ghost. I welcome it. As I’ve had to run blindly in search of this revenge. I’ve spent two years preparing for this. How long have you ignored your nagging feeling in your gut that I was coming for you? Did you really think I’d let you take her from me? When I am done with you, everything will be in ashes.” Kei looked behind him. “I thought I’d send you this gift to mark this day. To make you a believer in the Dragon. I will record our reunion for you.” Kei chuckled. “She’s been begging for it all night.”
Giovanni narrowed his eyes on the final statement. The camera was moved. It pointed to the bed. A woman lay with the covers around her waist and her back to the lens. Kei stepped to the bed. He removed his robe. He was nude.
“Turn it off, Gio,” Rocco warned.
“Shut up, old man!” Giovanni said. Kei looked to the camera and smiled. He eased under the covers with Bella and she stirred. She turned into his arms and her body was revealed. Rocco lowered his gaze.
“Gio, turn it off. I beg you,” Rocco said.
His uncle’s advice was solid. He should listen. He knew he should but he couldn’t look away. Kei kissed wife and she moaned with pleasure. He rolled on top of her and she parted her thighs for him. When his kisses traced from her cheek to her neck, Mira’s head tilted back as if she enjoyed it. Kei lifted the remote and pointed it at the camera. The tape ended.
Giovanni staggered back. He stared at the static on the screen. “Give me a minute,” he said to Rocco. When his uncle left he set the remote down on his desk. He went to his bar. He reached down to the bottom shelves and removed his aged Scotch. He didn’t bother with a glass. Instead he walked over to the sofa and sat. He put the bottle down in front of him. He came close to losing his Bella twice. The first time he lost her, he turned to the bottle. He killed and avenged his broken heart until he was numb. The second time, when she nearly died in childbirth, he drank and sulked until everyone around him had to help him stand. And then he enjoyed the slaughter of the Mottolas.
He stared at the bottle.
His men were in jail. His children were scared and missing their mother. The enemy was at the front and back door. His empire rumbled with the threat of implosion. And all he had was the bottle before him. He could rage. His anger felt like lava pumping from his heart, soldering his bones into steel, preparing him for war. He had enough hate in him to burn on rage for the rest of his life. The only love he truly believed in was that of his wife. He put his head in his hands. He closed his eyes. If he prayed would God listen? Would he find him worthy this time? And then he knew the truth. This time he had to stand alone. He had to swallow his fears. He had to fight against his nature and keep a cool head.
He lifted his head from his hands and looked to the screen. He looked to the bottle. He felt his breathing shorten. In his head he screamed until he heard nothing. He picked up the bottle unscrewed the cap. Before he brought the bottle to his lips. The strong liquor aroma wafted under his nose. His throat went dry with the thirst. There was a knock at his door.
Giovanni paused. He set the bottle down.
“Come in,” he said.
Rocco opened the door. Mateo Benicia, the younger brother of Don Benicia walked inside with another man.
“Giovanni,” Mateo said with a respectful nod.
“Have a seat,” Giovanni said. Mateo joined him. He sat across from Giovanni on the sofa chair. Rocco went to the bar on his cane and got a glass. When he placed it on the coffee table Giovanni poured Mateo a drink.
“My brother is in the hospital. They have the
polizia
in his room and won’t let any of us in to see him.”
“It’s unfortunate Benicia and I argued. I regret it,” Giovanni said swallowing a measure of pride.
“What’s done is done, Gio,” Mateo said.
He looked up into Mateo’s eyes, and two seconds into the stare Mateo lowered his eyes first. “He told me we are to help you in any way we can. We’ve already started canvasing fishermen. We know Santo washed up from the sea.”
“Forget Santo for a moment. Forget the raid at Venditto. We will deal with these things later.” Giovanni said. He looked to the bottle of Scotch and then away. He reclined and crossed his legs. His face rested in the palm of his hand. “Do you know a woman by the name of Isabella?”
Mateo frowned. “My wife’s name is Isabella, I have a sister as well.”
“The fight was arranged by Santo. Ciro trained under Father Nicosia. I need one of your men to go with mine and find that priest. He has to be in Napoli somewhere. If he’s returned to Bergamo then I want you to bring him back.”
“I know the priest. You think he has answers?” Mateo asked.
“There’s a woman by the name of Isabella who is working for the Triad. Someone has to have known or seen her. I need men to head to
Piazzia Bagnoli
. She’s been spotted there. My guess is she’s gone now. Still send them. And I want boats from here to Sicilia. Canvas the sea. As much as you can.”
Mateo drank down what was left in the glass. “We can do all these things. But I am here to tell you that the deal you made with my brother needs to be sealed first.”
“First?” Giovanni arched a brow.
“Half our men are either dead or in jail. The Benicias will assume a lot more risk than the Battaglias. We don’t have your powerful friends, Giovanni. No disrespect. If we are to do this, the family wants guarantees on the distribution. The deal of a forty percent split.”