by Sienna Mynx
“Get out,” she repeated, but the pitch of superiority she usually used with these men was no longer in her voice. Her request sounded more like a plea. The man with the razor blade candy walked out. She was left with the burden of shame. Where was Carlo? Where was Nico? The men who knew her and loved her. The ones who loved Gio? It was then that Catalina looked to her brother. Frozen in his bed, he had a bandaged torso and shoulder. A tube was attached to his mouth, and other lines were connected to him to give needed nutrients or monitor his vitals. He looked like a science experiment gone wrong.
“Gio? It’s me? It’s Catalina,” she said and fresh tears coursed down her cheeks. “Who did this to you? Who?” She wanted to touch him. She had no right. She wanted him to wake and hold her as he often did over the years. Those days were gone. No one was stronger than her brother. It made no sense to see him defeated. She turned to seek one of the men to explain the shooting. The newspaper did so poorly. She needed answers. Why wasn’t Mirabella at his side? Where was the family? Grief and fear made her weak with confusion.
Tears dropped from her lashes. She was wrecked with regret and she sobbed hard. When finally, the crying stopped, she placed her hand on his heart. She didn’t care what the monitor revealed. Catalina wanted proof that he lived. Beneath her hand she felt the strong patter of his heart beat, and a measure of her agony lessened. Catalina was able to find the mental strength to smile.
“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for disrespecting Madre by calling her a whore. I’m sorry for everything I did. Don’t hate me, please. Dominic hates me. I think Mirabella hates me, too. I did something terrible, Gio. I... I killed our cousin. I don't know why. I couldn't help myself. I'm a terrible person. Is this my fault, too? Did I cause this? Tell me what to do? Gio, please? Please forgive me. I’m so scared.”
The plea didn’t work. He didn’t open his eyes. He didn’t speak. Nothing. She removed her hand and leaned in. She kissed his brow. Her wet hair fell over onto him. She drew back, not wanting to contaminate him with her despair.
“I will pray. I promise I will. We all love you so much. Please don’t give up on us. We won't give up on you.”
Catalina gripped the rails to the bed. She knew there was no other choice left to her. She had lost all privileges. She’d killed her cousin, destroyed the man she loved, she couldn’t face her family now. The only redemption she could hope to find was from Giovanni. And in her heart, she began to accept it was an impossibility.
“I want you to know that everything I did, I did it because I love you. I do. I love you. And if that means I need to stay away from you I will.” She leaned over and brushed one final kiss across his jaw. When she drew back she saw eye movement beneath his lids. She put her hand to his heart, and she could swear it felt as if it were beating faster than it was a minute ago.
Was she agitating him?
Saddened, she drew her hand away.
“I love you,” she said softly and touched the bruising on her neck. She'd manage to cover it with her scarf. It had started to fade, but the memory of his anger in retaliation to hers, hurt as badly as it did that day. “Don't blame yourself for my mistakes, Gio. We... we can't help who we are.” She picked up her purse. She turned and left. When she passed the men, she ignored them. Desi, however, fell in step at her side and matched her stride with his own.
“Catalina,” he said.
“Leave me alone, Desi.”
“Wait!” he grabbed her arm. “You need to know what happened to the boss.”
Catalina kept her gaze lowered when she answered him. “Who shot him?”
“No one has said it officially. But we all know. It was Lorenzo. He shot him. We're going to find him and make him pay. We’re looking for Lorenzo.”
“Domi? How is Domi?”
When the young man didn’t answer, her gaze lifted. She saw raw anger blazing hotter than a forest fire in his glare. It burned for her.
“What is it?” she asked in a voice as meek as a child’s.
“Raffaele told me what you did. Don Mancini? You know it's going to cost Raffaele his life.”
“Shut your mouth! You don’t know anything but lies!”
“I know the boss is dying. I know that Dominic is acting crazy in the head. The Donna was here for three days straight crying. She’s alone and confused. This is what happened since you’ve been off with Armando!”
She slapped Desi’s face.
Desi wiped the sting from his jaw and smiled. “Before Giovanni was shot he told us to make sure you were gone. I don’t care where you go. But I will honor the boss’s wishes. Stay the hell away.” Desi turned and walked off. Catalina wiped her tears. She fled. Once outside of the hospital she could breathe again. The rain on her face and soaking her hair reminded her that she was alive and not the dead woman she felt inside. She ignored the storm. She entered the car and wiped the last of her tears off her face.
“Where do we go now, Signora?” the cab driver asked.
“What time does the ferry leave for Sicily?” she asked. They were in Salerno and there was a ferry to Sicily that left twice a day.
“An hour.”
“Get me there. Now!”
Chapter Three
A Death in la Famiglia
Sorrento, Italy
The storm seemed never ending. Heavy rain battered the car windows and roof. It washed out the roads. Therefore, the trip home took longer than normal. Driving along the cliff side narrow roads required caution. The side of Mirabella’s face rested against her passenger window. With each passing minute Mirabella was away from her husband she felt the physical drain it put on her body, mind, and heart. All she could think of was Giovanni. At some point exhaustion claimed her. The car braked. She was startled awake and became aware of her surroundings. They had arrived. The car passed the gates and the moment it stopped before the steps of Melanzana men approached. The one with an umbrella opened the door for her.
“Ciao, Donna,” he said with the utmost respect. Everyone looked at her and treated her as if she were a widow. She nodded her appreciation for their concern and held her tongue. Together she and her escort went up the stairs. The moment she passed through the door she was greeted with distraught sounds of wailing and weeping members of her family. Confused she looked to the men who arrived with her. None of them knew the reason. Mirabella didn’t see her children. There wasn’t a familiar face amongst those gathered. Bringing everyone to Sorrento from Sicily to stay in Melanzana was supposed to be a temporary plan. Somehow it felt more permanent. Giovanni had a large family in Sicilia. Many of whom she'd never met.
Mirabella walked through the gathering to the open sitting room to the left. Several of the older aunts were dressed in black. There were some of the women seated in prayer circles and crying. Others were shouting and yelling. And then she saw the person in the most pain. It was Zia Josefina. She was being held by her sister while she screamed in agony.
“What is it?” Mirabella yelled over the raised voices. Had the hospital called with news of Giovanni? Was he...? He couldn’t be! She just left him. The family fell silent. For the first time since she arrived they realized she was with them.
Zia grabbed her arm. “It’s Rosetta. She’s dead.”
“Dead! My Rosie is dead!” Josefina wailed in Sicilian.
Mirabella didn’t at first process the news. Rosetta couldn’t be dead. It wasn’t possible. Zia pulled her aside. But others got in the way. They talked to Mirabella all at once, as if she were a priest, a judge, an enforcer, and a saint to bestow blessings. A few shouted for her to demand vengeance. Others demanded to know what she would do to find Catalina and protect the rest of the family. And there were some who demanded to know what was going on with Giovanni, and why they were banned from the hospital. It was like fighting her way through the press in America after Fabiana passed away. Flashbacks of her terror and despair surfaced and she started to shove people to get them out of her way. It was irrational, and rude, but again s
he was barely able to keep standing. She felt like she was being hit and punched from all directions, even though no one touched her.
“Basta!” Rocco shouted. And his voice boomed as if a gun was fired into the ceiling. Everyone went still, including Mirabella. The crowd of family members occupying Melanzana parted. Rocco stepped forward on his cane. “Control yourselves!”
Rocco was the only one to approach her. He nodded that he understood her confusion and then he passed her to approach Josefina. The old woman looked up at him with pure grief. The kind of a grief no mother should have to bear.
“You behave like heathens in a mob! We are Battaglia! Every one of us! Act like it.” Rocco demanded. He paused for an objection and got none. “We will find out what happened to our Rosie. I promise,” Rocco continued. “But we will not do it in hysteria.”
“I can’t tell Zito. How could I tell Zito his daughter, his baby daughter is dead?” Josefina wept. “They killed my baby and threw her off a cliff to let the birds eat at her eyes. Madonna, aiuta a me (Our Lady, help me). My daughter is dead.”
“La volonta di Dio (It is God’s will). I promise you, our will, will be done. Va bene.” Rocco stroked her cheek. He looked around. “Lazzaro and Isaia. Get the men to the terrace for a family meeting. Mirabella, we need to speak.” Rocco kissed the top of Josefina's head. He nodded for Zia to have Josefina taken somewhere with her sisters and cousins to grieve with the women in peace. The women all swarmed in under Zia's instruction. Mirabella had no choice but to follow. They went in another room. It was just her and Rocco, and Zia soon followed. Once the door closed she turned on them.
“What happened to Rosetta?” Mirabella asked.
“The polizia were just here,” Rocco said. “A fisherman found her body. She had fallen onto the rocks from La Marinella. Catalina and Dominic’s new place. The one you bought for them. The polizia says she’s been dead for days,” Rocco said. “The idiots told Josefina of her physical conditions.”
Mirabella sat down.
“Catalina? Did they find Catalina’s body in the sea?” Mirabella asked, she felt as if her heart would stop at any minute.
“We told them the girls were together. They have started a search party,” Rocco answered.
“No. My Catalina is not dead,” Zia said.
“Dominic said it was the last place he saw her. She was there,” Mirabella insisted. “Maybe one of Armando’s men found them and killed them, or maybe it was one of the Benicias or maybe...” Mirabella closed her eyes and saw the smiling face of her beloved Catalina, and tears began to seep beneath her shut lids. A sob congealed in her throat, and her heart beat so fast it felt as if it would rupture at any moment.
“I doubt Benicia or Mancini would go for the girls. I think the answer is far simpler,” said Rocco.
Mirabella glanced up at Rocco and his cool demeanor.
“You think Catalina had something to do with this?” Zia gasped. “She could never harm her cousin. No. She would never.”
Mirabella stared into Rocco’s eyes and saw a different truth as he did. She glanced to Zia who looked at them both horrified.
“No! I tell you, my Catalina would not. She’s out there, or maybe in that sea. We have to search for her.”
“Rosetta had done things, caused problems between Domi and Catalina,” Mirabella told them.
“That means nothing!” Zia said.
“Let her speak, Zia,” Rocco tapped his cane. “Go on, Mirabella.”
“Lorenzo, it all goes back to Lorenzo.” Mirabella’s hand tremors were so bad she was forced to clench both into fists. “Catalina found out a secret Lorenzo had been keeping from the family for years. She tried to cover it up. She trusted... Armando to help her do it. Rosetta told Dominic and he ended the engagement. He broke up with her. The two girls were fighting. Madonna, I knew this. I caused this. I should have never forced them to work together. I knew Rosetta was sleeping with Armando. I thought that by bringing her back to us I could turn her around. I set Catalina up. I set my husband up. What have I done?” Mirabella said in a crumbling weak voice.
“What is this secret Lorenzo has?” Rocco asked.
Mirabella wept.
“Rispondetemi - Answer me!” Rocco shouted.
Mirabella spoke, but her words were often garbled by her weakness. There was no point in hiding the truth. The family would learn it soon enough. “Isabella had a taped conversation between Lorenzo and Giuseppe Calderone. Giuseppe killed Patri Tomosino because of Lorenzo. A bargain they made. He ordered the hit in exchange for the same to be done to his father.”
Zia made the sign of the cross over her chest. Rocco’s eyes stretched to the point of bulging.
“Isabella hid this?” Rocco asked.
“She's dead. Giovanni killed her. I think. Or he paid someone to chop her up and toss her bones into the sea. And other people are dead. A kid was taken. It's madness! It's sick!"
“And Giovanni discovered Isabella had this tape. How did he find out? She gave it to him?” Rocco asked.
Mirabella couldn’t look at them while she finished the rest of the tale. “Giovanni heard these tapes. Someone gave them to him. I don't know who. He left to meet with Lorenzo. And he was shot. Lorenzo and Marietta are gone. Catalina is gone. And Giovanni... he’s barely hanging on.”
Zia sat down in tears.
Rocco shook his fist in the air and squeezed his eyes shut as if to hold back on his rage. “Are we sure Lorenzo did this? That puttana could have messed with the tapes. To make him look guilty.”
“Apparently Marietta knew about it. And so did Catalina. They’ve known and conspired to hide the truth from me for a long time. Lorenzo must have confessed to them, or they wouldn't have gone so far to cover it up. Dominic tells me that Armando was there when Giovanni was shot. He could have done the shooting. Right now, we don’t know much. We have to find Catalina. It’s not safe for her out there.” Mirabella looked to Zia who was openly weeping. “I don’t believe she’s dead, Zia. Whatever happened on that cliff, Catalina is alive.”
“Where’s Domi?” Rocco asked.
“At the hospital. Where I need to be.” Mirabella wiped her eyes and face with her hands. “The kids?”
“Cecilia has them. I believe they are upstairs in the playroom. They keep asking for you. We wanted them to visit Gio,” Zia said. Tears ran down her cheeks. She didn’t say anything about the accusations, or crimes committed by her niece and nephew. But Mirabella saw the distress on her face.
“No, Zia. I’m not letting him have any visitors while he’s still so weak. I don't want my children to see him that way.” Mirabella stood. A wave of dizziness overcame her and she nearly dropped back down in the chair.
“You need to rest,” Rocco said.
“I’m fine. Trust me. I’m fine.”
“You aren’t fine.” Zia agreed. “Rocco can handle the family and our poor Rosetta. Domi can handle Giovanni. If you don’t get sleep you won’t be any good for us. Go upstairs. Lay down. Rest.”
“No. No,” Mirabella sighed. “I have to go back to the hospital.” She tried to rise but felt so weak in that moment she barely lifted from the chair. Her body was crashing down on her since she was home. The adrenaline had all but left her veins. “Oh God! Please! Please make me stronger!” She looked at Rocco and Zia who were now closer, protective of her. “Don't you understand? I have to be with him. I can't be away from him.”
She struggled to fight back her exhaustion, but the more she cried the weaker she felt. Zia put her arm around her waist to offer support to stand. “Rest, then take me with you to the hospital. I want to pray for him. We need you strong. He needs you strong.”
Zia too was crying. They clung to each other. It was a shared bond that helped. Mirabella looked to Rocco. He was red faced. He averted his gaze. There were no tears on his face. It wasn’t hysteria or sadness that he suffered in that moment. It was a look of rage. She let Zia help her and together they started out of the room headed
for the stairs.
The station house was smaller than the one in Napoli. However, the routine was the same. He was taken to the offices and left in a windowless room. A tactic often used to cause stress and anxiety for a criminal. What they didn’t know was his stress and anxiety levels had already peaked. There was nothing left in him but numbness now.
Dominic closed his eyes. Where was Catalina? Was she safe? If he knew she was safe then he could put the rest of his mind together.
The door opened.
Dominic opened his eyes. The men that walked in were all the same rank. He sat back and waited. Generale di corpo d'armata was the last to arrive. His name was Geovani Altoviti. But most that knew him called him Generale. Dominic knew of his thirst to rid the Campania of the Camorra. He’d defeated several attempts by the Generale to bring the family to the high courts for crimes that covered the spectrum of their underworld. And the Generale refused to give up. Even the inspector who investigated the family before him had thrown in the towel.
“Dominic, you look like shit.” Generale Altoviti said.
“You look the same,” Dominic said with just a hint of a smile.
The Division Generals surrounding their boss all tensed. But Altoviti chuckled. He nodded to his men to leave. They left out one by one. Dominic glanced to the camera posted up high near the ceiling in the corner of the room.
“Don’t worry. Nothing you say is ever held against you in our courts.”
Dominic gave a wan smile. “Why was I summoned?”
“I have been patient. You test my patience for sport. But it looks like this is my game now. Your leader, how is he?”
“You don’t care about who shot Giovanni.” Dominic said.
“True. I don’t. But I care about this.” He pushed the folder across the table. Dominic refused to open it. The General did so. There were several pictures of bodies pulled out of the explosion. There was also the seizure of many boats found in the canals loaded with heroine. And then more of the slaughtered and gunned down corpses of the Benicia clans all through Napoli.
