Finding Angelo (The Wine Lover's Daughter, Book 2) (18 page)

Anton Leonardi stood by the window, gazing at the fog on
Lake Michigan.

It was the end, he knew it. The
jerk who had killed Fred and was to take care of Angelo had disappeared. Of
course, the ass didn’t know who gave the order to assassinate Fred and Angelo. Louie
was trying to find him but so far without success. If Louie got caught, he
would sing. Why wouldn’t he? He would look out for number one, couldn’t even
blame him. Information in exchange for a lighter sentence. Plea bargain.

And Louie had another important
piece of information. He knew that Anton had killed Eppolito. This by itself
wouldn’t be the worst. Anton narrowed his eyes. He still had a couple of close
friends who would back up his story, his alibi, that he wasn’t in California at
the time. He would be arrested, but he still had a chance that they’d let him
go. But at this point, not even a short stay in prison was an option for him.

Not after the news he had just
received. Pancreatic cancer. The death sentence. His own personal capital
punishment.

How did it come to this? Anton
glanced outside again. The fog had lifted over the lake and the Chicago sun
shone faintly through the smog.

“You’re a complete failure,” his father had said. “A
disgrace to the family.” Anton was fifteen, had done some stupid stuff, stolen
some things and sold them, making a profit. Got caught. First-time offender, so
he got away with a warning. But his father’s words followed him. He wanted to
please his dad, but no matter how hard he tried, nothing seemed to impress the
old fart. It got worse when his mother died. She’d been the buffer between him
and his father, had stood up for him. When she was gone, his dad lost all
interest in his son.

Anton tried hard to become
successful, and he succeeded. Started his own trucking business together with a
friend. The money he made, however, wasn’t enough. And then his lucky draw.
Someone approached him with a smuggling deal. Drugs and art objects, in part
from Italy. The money was great. He hesitated but not for long. And the first
deal went through smoothly. It was the beginning of Anton’s criminal life. He
began to build connections with criminal organizations. It all went perfect;
well, there were some slight mishaps. He did some time. But all in all, a
perfect life. Dangerous, yes, but worth it.

Until the day, that stupid idiot,
Eppolito, interfered and began to blackmail him, obviously a newbie to the
‘Ndrangheta
clan. Anton agreed to pay. He suggested a secret location. Either Eppolito was
a bloody beginner in the mob, or he greatly underestimated Anton. You don’t
meet at a secret location to hand over blackmail money. You do it in a public
place. Instead of the money, Anton brought his Beretta to the meeting and shot
the idiot. He deserved it. And then those two guys showed up. They weren’t
supposed to be there to begin with. They had gone to the wrong place to deliver
the goods. Stupid no-good losers.

Of course, they had to disappear.
So Anton did the only thing he could do. Rather than incriminate himself even
more, he ordered his closest and most loyal friend to take care of business.
Hire someone to kill the two idiots and bury their bodies on the family
property. At the time, Anton expected to inherit the Leonardi estate. He was
the oldest son.

It was a shock when Anton realized
that his father had changed the will and bequeathed the family property to his
cousin. He could just hope that he wouldn’t dig up the field and find the
bodies. But years went by and Anton felt safe again. Until Frank, the goddamn
loser, sold that field. Without consulting him. And Frank had promised to share
the inheritance with Anton. “We’re family,” he had said. Yeah, right. Traitor.

And Louie had failed him too.
Hired the wrong guy to take care of business. Stupid son of a bitch. Well,
there was one more thing Anton needed to do. He was not about to end up in
jail. They wouldn’t get him that easily. He still had a few trump cards in his
deck, well at least one.

Anton walked over to his desk,
opened a drawer, and pulled out his gun, the shiny Beretta, a gift from a
friend, dead now. Anton smirked. He played with the gun, twirled it, then put
it down.

Suddenly, he bent over and groaned
with pain, holding his stomach. “Damn it.” He took deep breaths and slowly
stood up straight. Sweat poured down his face, dripping into his beard. He
wiped it away, then picked up the gun again.

There was a knock at the door.
“Anton, lunch is ready,” his wife called. A wife he’d been married to for
fifteen years. He’d loved her once. But that was gone, too.

He caressed the gun. It felt good
in his hand, a perfect fit.

“How did you find Angelo?” Nicholas asked as he and Sofia
got ready for bed. “The last time we talked on the phone you said you were
going to the monastery.”

“Yes, that’s when we found out
that the abbot of the Novalesa Abbey knew Angelo. Remember I told you that Don
Ambrosio mentioned his interest in the religious life?”

Nicholas chuckled. “Oh, yes, I
thought it was the most outlandish statement. My great-uncle, the criminal,
wants to find God. I guess it was true after all.”

“Anyway, the abbot told us that
Angelo worked for a school in Rivalta as some kind of administrator. But he
also worked with troubled youngsters through a program led by the monastery,”
Sofia said.

“Incredible.” Nicholas shook his
head. “Well, he has a lot personal experience in that department.”

Sofia told him that the abbot
didn’t give them Angelo’s address because of privacy issues. But Miriam
suggested they check out Rivalta where they used to hike. There was a cottage
there that Angelo loved. She thought he might be there.

Sofia told him about their outing
and about what happened during the night they spent at Angelo’s.

When she started talking about the
two criminals, she watched as Nicholas’s eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched.
She toned down the story somewhat and left out the fact that she shot the
policeman, but she’d already said too much.

“Are you out of your mind?”
Nicholas jumped off the bed he was sitting on while Sofia undressed. “I can’t
believe you … and that woman. Why didn’t you wait until Angelo contacted you,
as the abbot said?”

“Well, I was afraid that perhaps
Angelo wouldn’t contact me. We were so close to finding him, and then Miriam
suggested the outing. It sounded innocent. And when we found Angelo, I knew he
wasn’t a killer. We had a long talk. He left because he was afraid, not because
he killed someone. He wanted to protect—”

“That’s not the point,” Nicholas
said, angry now. “You didn’t even know that before you found him. We don’t even
know now for sure. We only have his word. He could be lying. You went ahead and
put yourself in grave danger. Did you even think about me? What if you’d been
killed?” He rubbed his head furiously.

Sofia had never seen him this
angry. They’d had an occasional argument but nothing really serious. But now,
he was livid. Sofia understood that he was worried, but it was over, she was
safe. He hadn’t even acknowledged the fact that she had found their
great-uncle.

“Don’t be so angry,” she said.
“Aren’t you at least happy that Angelo is here?”

Nicholas glowered at her. “And you
knew he had changed his name and didn’t even feel the need to tell me? Or the
police? You withheld important information that could’ve helped us find him.
Instead you went to track him down alone. As if you were some kind of private
investigator.”

“I only found out about the name
change from Don Ambrosio. I tried to tell you several times, but I couldn’t get
through on my cell, and—”

“Don’t lie to me. You could’ve
told me several times. You could’ve sent me a text. Why didn’t you?”

“Okay, I hesitated because … I
wanted to find him before the police did.” Sofia thought it best to be honest.
“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to cause you a dilemma.”

“What dilemma?”

“Shhh. Don’t be so loud. Angelo
can hear us.”

“I don’t care. He’s responsible
for this whole mess.”

“Nicholas, please, now you’re
being unfair.”

Nicholas walked to the window and
stared outside. Sofia followed him and put her hand on his back. She felt him
stiffen. Why was he so angry?

“Nicholas, I held back because I
didn’t want the police to know until I myself knew a little more. I would’ve
told you, but I didn’t want to ask you to keep it a secret. I’m sorry. I know
now this was wrong. But please try to understand. I was so caught up in the
whole thing. I got all this information and I felt compelled to follow through.

“Look, I know this is a difficult
situation. Grandpa has very mixed feelings about Uncle Angelo. But he also
misses him very much. He’s his brother after all. And I also know from
experience what it means to have a broken family. I just wanted—”

“Well has it ever occurred to you
that Angelo is my great-uncle, too? I would’ve loved to know about your
progress. In fact he is
my
great-uncle more than he is yours.” Now, he
sounded whiny.

Sofia glared at him. “What do you
mean, he’s more your great-uncle than he’s mine?”

“Well, you know what I mean. He’s
your great-uncle through marriage, but—”

“Oh, I see. He isn’t really my
great-uncle. I’m just an outsider, your family isn’t really my family?” Sofia
felt bursts of anger rise in her. “You know who you remind me of? You talk just
like my ex-husband did.”

“That’s not true. How can you—”

“I don’t want to argue any longer.
I’m going to sleep.” Sofia pulled the comforter back on the bed and lay down,
her back turned to Nicholas’s side of the bed. Now, she was angry as well. She
could understand him being upset because he was worried about her, because he
felt she had been careless. But Nicholas was jealous of her because she
succeeded in finding
his
great-uncle. How childish was that?

They were lying next to each other
in icy silence. Sofia felt tears prick her eyes. She had accepted Nicholas’s
family as her own and his words stung her. They reminded her of James, her
former husband, to whom she had been married for two short but painful years.
He, too, had made her feel like an outsider in his family.

Too exhausted from the long day to
drown in sadness, she fell asleep.

A sun ray landing on Sofia’s face woke her. She glanced at
the clock; it was close to nine. The empty bed next to her told her that Nicholas
was already up. She sighed, remembering their argument of the past night. His
jealous outburst still rankled her. It was the first time they had gone to bed
and fallen asleep with resentment lingering between them.

The bedroom door opened and the
scent of espresso filled the room. “Good morning. There’s fresh coffee
downstairs. We’re low on groceries. I’m going to town to get some stuff for breakfast.”
Nicholas, fully dressed, a guilty expression on his face, gave her a cautious
look.

“Want me to come with you?” she
asked.

“Not necessary. Angelo is up as
well. Perhaps you can introduce him to the family. I saw Julietta outside,”
Nicholas said.

Sofia got up and followed him into
the hallway. At the top of the stairs, Nicholas turned around. “I’m sorry about
last night. I was just really worried. And I didn’t mean to claim Angelo for
myself. I guess I was a little jealous that you found him and had all those
crazy adventures while I sat at home. I know it’s stupid.” He gave a sheepish
grin. “I’m sorry.” He took her hand.

He looked embarrassed and contrite
and Sofia’s anger vanished. “Believe me, I wish you’d been with me. Next time,
we’ll track down missing relatives together.” She smiled.

“Next time? There better not be a
next time,” Nicholas grumbled and hugged her.

Sofia went into the bathroom and
took a quick shower, then pulled on a pair of light pants and a T-shirt. She
had noticed the night before that it was markedly warmer in Tuscany than in the
Piedmont.

Downstairs, Angelo stood by the
open patio door, talking on his cell phone. He gave her a quick smile and
nodded a greeting. Sofia went into the kitchen and poured herself a cup of
coffee. She came back in and pointed at her phone. “You can use our landline.
It’s cheaper.”

“Thanks. I have unlimited calls
within Italy.” Angelo picked up his cup of coffee and took a sip.

“Did you sleep well?” Sofia asked.

“Yes, very well. I was totally
beat and I wasn’t even the one driving.”

Sofia sipped her coffee, then
cleared her throat. “Did you hear our argument?”

A flicker of amusement flashed
across his face. “I heard raised voices but didn’t know what it was about.”

“Well, I told Nicholas how I found
you and about the night at your place. He got really upset that I was snooping
and didn’t tell him everything. He was worried, of course. And then he said
that you were after all
his
great-uncle and what was I doing chasing
after you?” Thinking about the argument made her angry again.

To her surprise Angelo laughed. It
was the first time she’d heard him laugh out loud. He caught himself. “I’m
sorry. I didn’t mean to make light of your disagreement with Nicholas. It just
seems funny to me that anybody would be so eager to claim me as his or her
relative. I’m not exactly the favorite member of the Segantino family.”

“Now you know, we really do care
about you. And whether Nicholas likes it or not, I do consider you my
great-uncle as well.”

“Thank you.” Angelo smiled. “And
I’m delighted to have you as my great-niece.” Then in a more serious tone.
“Nicholas is right. You did put yourself in danger by searching for me. But I
can’t really blame you. You did save my life. You and Miriam. I’m still amazed
how level-headed and brave you two were when you heard those two crooks in my
home.”

“Well, after all, we did bring
them to you,” Sofia said. “Of course, we didn’t mean to.”

They sat quietly for a while,
sipping coffee and glancing at the landscape. The sun lit up the flowers in the
garden and the field of poppies nearby. There was a knock at the door and Sofia
got up to open.

Julietta stood outside. “You’re
back? I saw your car. Nicholas got here the day before yesterday,” she said,
all excited. Sofia and Julietta hugged.

“Oh, my God,” Julietta called out
when she came inside. “Is this
zio
Angelo?”

Angelo gave her an amused look, “
Si,
I’m afraid so.”

“This is fantastic.” Julietta
hugged him. “
Benvenuto.
” She turned to Sofia. “Where did you find him?
You have to tell me all about it. I have to let
Mamma
know.”

“Okay,” Sofia said. “Nicholas will
be here right away and then we’ll come over to say hello.” She didn’t want to
exclude him and get him upset again about her monopolizing
his
great-uncle.

Julietta left and a few minutes
later, Nicholas showed up with a bag of groceries. He carried it into the
kitchen and unpacked some salami, rolls, eggs, and fruit.

“Were you able to get a hold of
Grandpa?” Nicholas asked Angelo.

Angelo shook his head. “Haven’t
tried yet. But I did get a hold of Larry,” he said to Sofia. “Fabio was
arrested. I guess they had some other stuff on him, aside from the fact that he
tried to kill me.”

Nicholas stared at Angelo. “Who is
Larry … and Fabio?”

Oh, no. He feels left out again
.
“Fabio is one of the gangsters I told you about yesterday,” Sofia explained.
“Larry got into trouble because of him. Well, you better tell him.” She motioned
with her head in Angelo’s direction.

Angelo gave Nicholas a brief
summary of the role Larry played in their adventure. Nicholas seemed satisfied.
“But what about Grandpa? He needs to know you’re here.”

Angelo exhaled deeply. “I know.
I’m a coward. I’m simply afraid to talk to him after twenty years. I know I
have to do it and I want to.”

“It’ll be fine,” Nicholas said.
“He’ll be so happy to hear that you’re okay. Whatever happened twenty years
ago, he loves you.”

“Why don’t
you
call him
first, Nicholas?” Sofia suggested. “You can prepare him and it wouldn’t be such
a shock. What do you think?”

“Maybe you’re right. Let’s get it
over with.” Nicholas picked up the phone and gave Angelo a questioning look.

Angelo nodded. Nicholas dialed and
glanced at his watch. “He must be home by now. I hope he’s not in bed yet.”
After a few seconds: “Well, hello there, Grandpa. How are you? I got some news
for you.” He grinned at Angelo. “Are you sitting down? Good, okay. You want to
talk to your long-lost brother?”

Sofia saw Angelo’s face pale. He
got up. His body looked stiff and his hand trembled lightly as he took the
receiver.

“Let’s give him some privacy,”
Sofia whispered.

They went outside and sat down on
the chairs on the patio.