Violent Daylight

by Caroline Angus Baker

  The double glass doors opened, and Silvio came running out, followed by the police officer who had been guarding the door moments earlier.

  “Catherine!” the shocked lawyer cried as he tried to pull her off Dane. “Catherine, please, we have to leave!”

  Claudio watched in horror as the officer pulled Canna from Dane. Silvio was pleading in Italian to the uniformed man, who heeded the requests and released her.

  “Do you have the balls to have me charged with assault?” Canna snapped down at Dane, still sprawled on the path.

  Claudio watched Dane shake his head, and Silvio continued to speak in rapid-fire Italian to the officer. Silvio turned Canna away from the pair and in Claudio’s direction.

  “Let me guess, you don’t believe me either?” Canna shot at Claudio, Silvio’s hands still on her shoulders.

  “I… I’m not sure what to believe,” Claudio muttered.

  “Do you believe I spent the night with Dane?”

  “Did you go to Helsinki?”

  “Yes I did, but nothing happened.”

  “You spent months with Dane, and told him that you and I weren’t having an affair,” Claudio countered. “You told him nothing was going on, but we had something going on the whole time! It was never innocent.”

  Canna scoffed. “If you don’t trust me, then you can go to hell, too!”

  Canna charged past Claudio and Silvio followed her, as confused as everyone else over the whole outburst. Claudio turned and watched Canna get into the car with her lawyer and speed off down the street. The sound of Dane’s voice behind him, speaking in Italian to the officer made him livid. He glanced over his shoulder to see Dane there, blood in his teeth, telling the officer he didn’t want to take the matter any further. Dane glanced over at Claudio and smiled again. He had to get out of there.

  Claudio walked the streets of Milan in a vain attempt to find his way back to the hotel. Canna would be there, and he couldn’t be sure he wanted to see her. Dane spent the night with Canna. Canna knew that Dane was her alibi and had tried to hide it. Both she and Dane had been lying for months. Every time she looked at Claudio, she had been a liar. Canna claimed to be at the rehab clinic in Aosta, and she had returned to London so angry. Anger that pushed her straight to Dane. She went to him, not Claudio. Canna arrived in London with a blue gown, one she needed dry-cleaning. Did she wear it as she spent the night as Dane’s date? Claudio mind envisaged Canna being undressed by Dane, just as had happened 100 times before now.

  The walk from the station to the hotel was about one kilometre, but Claudio weaved around little side streets in an effort to clear his head. He didn’t realise tears stained his cheeks, or see the strange looks he received by fellow pedestrians. A grown man, sobbing through the streets of Milan made no sense. Claudio was so cold by the time he reached the Principe di Savoia that he realised he had hot tears in his eyes. By some miracle, the vulture photographers weren’t there.

  Claudio prayed Canna wasn’t in the hotel room; he prayed he didn’t have to face her. He needed to sit on the bed and cry his eyes out, cry about the fact Canna had betrayed him so soon. His fears were realised; Canna was already in the hotel suite, and had already packed his suitcases. As he closed the door and looked at the bags, he frowned in confusion. What was she doing?

  Canna appeared from the bedroom, her arms folded over her chest. Her face spoke of similar heartache; her eyes were puffy and red. They stood eye to eye for a moment, neither keen to be first to speak.

  “You don’t believe me, do you?” Canna said at last.

  “Why should I believe you?”

  “Dane told you that we spent the night, and you take his side?”

  “You ran out of here, to try and suppress whatever he had to say, didn’t you? You knew Dane was here, and you tried to hide the situation from me!”

  “I did! Dane had no need to be here! I was already in the clear. Dane came to Milan for no other reason than to hurt us!”

  Claudio paused and thought of Dane’s vain and conceited expression when he stepped out of the police station. Canna was right; all Dane wanted was to hurt Claudio. Dane wanted him to suffer for stealing Canna away.

  “Blinky, you’ve been lying all this time,” Claudio mumbled. “How can I trust anything you say now? Were you simply never going to tell me about Helsinki?”

  “You said you understood we weren’t starting married life with a clean slate,” Canna fired back. “You said you were ready for whatever being married to me meant and that you could cope. Here you are three days in, doubting me.”

  “Then what the fuck were you doing in Finland with your ex-lover? And why lie about it?”

  “I went because I needed a break from everything going on in my life. You left me in rehab, and I was so angry. I went to Helsinki because Danica Porter invited me, and Dane was going through something quite difficult. We had a nice time. After having a chance to relax and gain some perspective, I was ready to come home to you and try again.”

  “Then why lie to me?”

  “Because I didn’t feel the need to justify myself.”

  “Dane bragged around having sex after his sister’s wedding.”

  “He might have had sex, but it wasn’t with me! I walked Dane back to his room, and he kissed me. I punched him in the stomach, and he vomited on me. That’s why I had my dress dry-cleaned in London. I couldn’t soak it clean in the hotel hand-basin. So much has happened since then and it had become so irrelevant until Giorgio’s time of death was calculated.”

  “But it’s not irrelevant. It’s the fact that I can’t trust you!”

  Canna scoffed and threw her hands in the air. “Jesus, I admitted murdering a guy and have been dragged through the mud over another murder. You had a baby with another woman, and I did my best to cope with rehab alone for a third time. Then I pulled out all the stops to marry you. YOU! Me and Dane at a wedding is what undoes us, after so much has happened?”

  “If I can’t trust you, Canna, what am I meant to do? You and I had an emotional affair for months behind Dane’s back, and you denied it. So now, when you say nothing happened, I know what your definition of ‘nothing’ is and it’s not nothing.”

  “Why would I have sex with Dane when I could be intimate with you instead?” Canna implored. “I been physically faithful to you, and my heart, my soul, and my desire to be emotionally intimate with a man, they are all bestowed on you!”

  “But I can’t trust you!”

  Canna sighed; she seemed calm, and that scared Claudio. He could see Canna was hurting, just as much as himself.

  “I can’t undo what I have done,” Canna muttered. “I went to Helsinki with honourable intentions, and they returned to London intact. I love you so much that it hurt me sometimes. I needed a break and a friend. When I was standing there, in Dane’s room, all I wanted was to be with you instead. After everything I’ve admitted to you, everything I’ve let you see… you don’t trust me. I’ve bared everything to you.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” Claudio shrugged. “It’s too raw right now. You’re a hard soul to save.”

  “Our souls may heal easier with an ocean or two between us.”

  “What does that mean? You once said angry hearts distance themselves. Loving hearts speak in silence and come together. Now you want us separated?”

  “I think we will heal from this if we’re far apart.” Canna pointed to his packed suitcases. “I booked you a flight home to London.”

  “What about you?”

  “Your sudden coldness towards me has pushed me away.”

  “Canna…”

  “No!” Canna raised her hand. “This isn’t about you forgiving me. This about me unable to forgive you! If you don’t trust me, then I’m not sure I want anything to do with you. Yes, I’m difficult, and yes, I lied to you. I’m aware of my mistakes. But I did nothing to hurt you, and I didn’t cheat. I want you far away from me.”

  “Are you leaving me? You have the ne
rve to turn me away after this?”

  “Do you want Giancarlo to remove you from my life again?”

  “That man killed Giorgio Savelli. Mark my words.”

  A knock banged on the door behind Claudio, and they both jumped. “Car service,” a voice called.

  “That’s your transport to the airport,” Canna said. “Get out of my hotel room.”

  “For fucks sake, Catherine.”

  “If my declaration of love didn’t convince you, or my anger at Dane’s lies didn’t convince you, then I suppose nothing will.” Canna stepped around Claudio and pulled the door open. The pair stood firm as the hotel staff collected the staircases to be taken downstairs.

  “After everything, you would kick me out?” Claudio asked.

  “After everything, you don’t even trust me with someone as meaningless as Dane Porter. Leave me.”

  Claudio turned away followed the hotel staff member out of the room. He stood stunned in the elevator. The world seemed a blur as he got ushered to a waiting car. As he stood at the door to the black vehicle outside the hotel, he looked up at the room, to see Canna on the balcony. She folded her arms and turned away, retreating from the cold. Canna had crushed him, and yet she was the one turning him away when she should have been begging forgiveness. Canna wasn’t getting anything from Claudio now.

  CHAPTER 43

  MILAN

  Canna sat at her desk in Giuseppe’s office on the top level of Caraceni Industries. It was a type of suspended animation. There were noises out in the hallway; life carried as usual. In one morning, she had been given an alibi for a murder and dumped her husband of three days. Shit, Canna, even that is low for you. Canna kept secrets from Claudio, so he didn’t flip out and draw incorrect conclusions. Was it wise? Of course not. But he had looked at her, in that moment with Dane outside the police station, and believed the story. Claudio believed Canna would cheat on him. With so many possible obstacles in their way, so many problems, and he chose to become a faithless wimp over something as simple as sex with another person. Unbelievable.

  Canna couldn’t recall the last time she felt so calm. Life had just broken open, and the need to cut herself open or pour pills down her throat didn’t exist. Canna went to Helsinki and came back without any regrets. Canna hadn’t done anything wrong, except lying about staying in rehab. That is a pretty hefty lie, Canna. That was a horrible thing to do. This time there would be no begging for forgiveness. This time, Canna wanted distance between her and Claudio, something she hadn’t experienced until now.

  She glanced at her Mickey Mouse watch; the £5 plastic toy told her that Claudio’s flight was somewhere over France. Fuck knows where Dane had gone. She didn’t care; if she ever saw him again, it would be too soon. Canna had to call Fibonacci, to make sure the newspapers got word that the Countess was no longer under suspicion for murder. The details of the alibi didn’t need to get leaked to the press, either. That was the last thing anyone needed.

  Canna turned and looked out over Milan. She had no work to do at Caraceni; everything was running smoothly, despite Giorgio’s absence. Canna almost missed the guy; he was a pain in the ass, but he cared about the company. That made work easier to bear.

  She heard the door open; Canna turned around, and there stood Guillermo Savelli. The old man seemed to have aged significantly since Canna last saw him. “May I come in?” he asked in a gentle voice.

  “Please.” Canna gestured to the chair in front of her desk.

  “I heard you were in the office, so I thought I would stop by for a chat,” Guillermo said as he sat down across from her.

  Canna watched the old man across the desk. He bore a resemblance to his brother Giuseppe, but couldn’t have been more different in attitude. That explained how Giuseppe managed to edge his own brother out of the Caraceni business. “I will be honest, Guillermo, I don’t know what to say.”

  Guillermo threw Canna a dismissive wave. “My son is dead. There are no words for the misery that I am suffering.”

  “I can’t pretend that Giorgio and I were friends…”

  “He was fond of you, though. I’m not an idiot; I know what my son could be like with women. You’re too smart to fall for his tricks.”

  “Plus I was married to his uncle.”

  “Indeed.” Guillermo sat quiet for a moment, his hands clasped on his lap. “Silvio Costa phoned me, to tell me that you’re no longer a suspect in my son’s murder case.”

  “That’s right. I promise, Guillermo, I had nothing to do with Giorgio’s death.”

  “I never suspected you did, Catherine. My suspicions have been on Ernesto Fibonacci the whole time.”

  Canna shrugged. “I suppose it’s possible.”

  “It’s a sad day when you start suspecting people around you.”

  Canna nodded. “I’m so sorry, Guillermo.”

  The man smiled just a fraction. “In less than six months I have lost my brother and my son. I do wonder how people manage to carry on in times of heartache.”

  “We just do. Every morning our bodies engage, and we move around like robots. Your heart gets ripped out, and just a shadow is left behind.”

  “What becomes of people like us, Catherine? Those of us left behind when tragedy strikes?”

  Canna’s eyes began to well up with tears. “We are forced to suffer.”

  “I read you have married again already. You looked happy in this morning’s paper.”

  “Happiness is such a fleeting experience.”

  “Who is this new husband of yours?”

  “His name is Claudio, he is a Spanish opera singer who lives in London. He went home this morning.”

  “You must love him, to marry at this difficult point in life.”

  “We didn’t have a wedding, but we did get married. I couldn’t face a wedding. Life is hard enough. I needed to get married; I needed to know I had the love and trust of the most influential person in my life right now.”

  “I understand. My grandson, Gabriele, will graduate from the best school in Italy soon, but I’m not sure he will even finish now. He is devastated about his father’s death. He and Giorgio weren’t close, but still, the death has overwhelmed him.”

  “That poor boy.”

  “Tatiana has lost her husband. She and Giorgio married young, and Gabriele followed a few months after the wedding. Little Grazia, she was the icing on the cake. I was never close to my son, but my grandchildren gave me a second chance.”

  Canna nodded but didn’t speak. She thought of Giuseppe, frustrated by the lack of the family he had himself. He had wanted a son so much. Giuseppe and Guillermo had been raised by cold heartless parents, and both wanted a better life. Guillermo worked hard on his family, and Giuseppe became a hard-nosed businessman instead.

  “Gabriele will be finished university in about five years or so,” Guillermo commented. “I’m not so old, I could work at Caraceni for another decade until Gabriele is ready to take over.”

  “Perhaps your granddaughter Grazia will be able take over Caraceni. Women are capable. She is twelve years old now, but one day she will be a Countess in her own right.”

  “You sound like my wife, she says the same thing. How old are you, Catherine? Your birthday is Christmas Day, isn’t it?”

  “It is. I will be 31 this year.”

  “Is that too young to be in charge at Caraceni?”

  “It is for me. Giorgio had been ready for years, and perhaps Gabriele will be also.”

  “I would hate to see everything Giuseppe worked for go to waste, even if he did his best to side-line me.”

  Canna took a deep breath. “Now isn’t the time to worry about such things.”

  “It keeps me going, Catherine. Without this, all I have is my grief.”

  “I know the feeling.”

  “You went sailing as soon as Giuseppe died, didn’t you?”

  “I did. It’s my stress relief.”

  “It is beneficial to have something. I know you weren�
�t happy with my brother, despite how much he lied to us about the state of your marriage.”

  “We had an honest marriage, if not a volatile one. Be assured, I married your brother because I loved him.”

  “I know my brother caused the bruises you bore all too often. We all knew, and never said anything.”

  “I may not have admitted it if you had confronted me. I was full of pride. Even now, I get ridiculed for taking up with other men as soon as my husband died, and I can’t admit Giuseppe hurt me. Not to shield him, but to shield me. I feel ashamed for what Giuseppe did to me, and I always will, even if I didn’t deserve it.”

  “You shouldn’t be ashamed.”

  “My pride often gets in the way.” Canna felt another round of tears and couldn’t hold them back.

  “Why are you still here in Milan?” Guillermo asked. “You have no need to be.”

  “I’m locked into the Caraceni business, and the family’s secrets. I have no choice, Giuseppe made sure of that.”

  “What if I offered you a way out? I am in change of Giorgio’s stake of Caraceni now. I could release you from all this, for the right price.”

  Canna paused as she wiped her tears. “Are you buying my stake, or my discretion?”

  “Both. Surely you need time with your new husband.”

  “Like I said, he went back to London.”

  “My wife,” Guillermo said, “she is devastated at the loss of her only child. Giorgio was a real Mama’s boy. I love Rosa so much. We married young and had Giorgio soon after the wedding. We were unable to have any more children. Rosa is the other half of my heart.”

  “That’s beautiful.” Canna’s felt a whole new wave of tears begin to bubble.

  “I’m sorry, Catherine, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “I’m married to the man who is the other half of my heart,” Canna sobbed. “That seems to be equal joy and pain.”

  “True love is both. Unfortunately, it takes tragedies to realise our priorities. Such as, how far are you willing to go to ensure this Claudio’s safety?”