Tony lay in bed reflecting on last night. What the fuck happened to his life? After dinner, he walked Katherine back to her room. Her personal walls, which were erected so high to keep people like him out, had started to come down. She let loose a bit toward the end of the evening and was fun to talk to. Lying to Katherine was like putting a jackhammer through his moral beliefs. He was raised an honest man who stayed true to his values. Unfortunately, his life had changed, and not in a good way. He now had to make decisions that would help him stay alive, and being with the American tourist would give him the cover he needed to escape Italy. He rolled over and pulled the directory out of the drawer next to the bed.
He would have left right after the accident, but he needed to access the money his family had stashed in a safe at their factory. The factory was still being investigated, which prevented him from reaching it. He would use this time to plan his entrance without being seen.
The accident was still fresh in his mind.
Tony had been at his parents’ house with his two brothers for their traditional Sunday family dinner. His family spent the entire week working hard to keep their olive oil business running. They often worked under high-stress situations, especially around harvesting time. Family dinners were a way to reconnect and enjoy one another’s company.
He remembered the day vividly. It had only been three weeks, but it seemed like yesterday. His mom and sister-in-law were in the kitchen preparing dinner. His dad and brothers, along with one of his brother’s friends, were sitting in the living room watching highlights from the Italian football team, Azzurri. The room was palpable with machismo and exuberance. Tony had spent the day distracted by a fight with his girlfriend, and wasn’t participating much in the discussion.
His cell phone rang. He rolled his eyes and sighed as his girlfriend’s picture popped up on the screen. He quickly stepped outside to take the call. He didn’t want to be razzed by his brothers for yet another failed relationship. His oldest brother, Paolo, was married and trying to start his own family. Tony’s younger brother, Giovanni, was engaged to be married. Tony was the only one who never had a serious relationship, and was considered the playboy of the family.
He listened patiently as Emilia spoke loudly, nearly blowing out his eardrum. She was upset with him for standing her up the night before. He deserved the lashing, but was numb and emotionless. Emilia was not the one. She deserved better than him; he should cut her loose, but didn’t want to be the one to break up with her. He was taking the coward’s way out, and waiting for her to end things.
He had been pacing back and forth around the backyard. Without realizing it, he had ventured a good distance from the house as Emilia ranted about his shortcomings as a boyfriend. She asked if he was listening and he was about to reply when an explosion came from the direction of the house. He hit the ground. After a moment, when no other explosions hit the air, he peered back toward the house only to find it completely engulfed in flames. It was as if time stood still.
Emilia’s voice broke him from his trance, but there wasn’t time to explain or hear more lectures. He jumped to his feet and ran toward the house, but his body seemed to move in slow motion. The building seemed unreachable. Another explosion shook the ground. He dropped and covered his face with his arms until he felt it was safe to pull them away. Then he shot to his feet and continued running. Finally, he arrived at the house.
Heat from the flames singed the hair on his face while he silently prayed. Someone had to survive. But he knew there was no possible way anyone could’ve. His knees buckled; he collapsed to the ground and loud sobs escaped from his chest. He forced air back into his lungs so he could let out a howling and animalistic, “Noooooo! Why me? Take meeeee!” He punched the ground with his fists and rested his head on the cool hard-packed dirt. Everything he had known and loved was gone in a matter of seconds.
He managed to get himself in check. This was no accident; someone wanted his family dead. The fire department would be arriving shortly, but he had to make sure the people responsible thought he died in the explosion as well. He was sure there would be a body count, and his only saving grace was his brother bringing a friend over. The authorities would think it was him, if only for a short while. He ran to retrieve his cell phone, picked it up, and threw it into the flames. For all intents and purposes, he was now dead. He had to act swiftly and find a way to escape the country before the cartel figured out the truth. He took one last look at his family house collapsing upon itself and ran off into the countryside.
His apartment was a short forty-five-minute bus ride from his parents’ house. By leaving his car behind, he would have some time before anyone would go to the apartment to investigate. He remembered he had a fake ID from when he was a teenager trying to get into the bars. The driver’s license looked very legitimate; even his brother, who became a police officer, had a hard time telling it wasn’t real. He would need to travel under a different name, and the name Tony Lupito seemed to be as good as any. He let himself in, and retrieved the identification and some cash. There was clearly a guardian angel looking over him. Maybe his brothers.
Unsure where to go, he decided to stay on the move. His English was good enough that he could pass as a tourist, so he took the northwest train toward the Swiss border.
All he had to do was cross. He would never have to look back. Tony wanted to more than anything. Instead, guilt took over. He couldn’t just leave and not get justice for his family. This act of terror was intentional. The people responsible wouldn’t stop until he was dead too. Tony would always have to look over his shoulder.
His gut told him crossing the border was the wrong thing to do. He needed to get some money from the factory safe and find out who killed his family. He suspected the cartel, and if indeed it was, he had a fight in front of him.
Tony clenched his fists envisioning his family dying in those flames. Fortunately, it was quick and no one suffered—no one except him.
He had had multiple conversations with his dad. He’d tried to get his dad to turn over the evidence to the authorities. However, his father insisted the information was keeping their family alive as much as it was keeping Guliani Abatangelo out of prison. His dad had a plan; everything would work out how it was supposed to. Now Tony was wishing he had done better convincing his dad to turn over the evidence.
The clanking of a housekeeping cart being pushed down the hall pulled Tony from his thoughts. He picked up his phone and dialed the number he retrieved from the internet. It only rang once before someone on the other end picked it up. “Ciao, Florence Town Tours,” a woman answered in a cheery voice.
“Ciao, I’d like to see if you have any room in your ten o’clock cooking class tomorrow.”
“Let me check, sir. Please hold.”
“Thank you.”
The woman typed feverishly in the background. “Yes, sir. You’re in luck. Someone canceled their reservation this morning. We have one spot open. Would you like to reserve it?”
“Yes. My name is Tony Lupito.”
He finished booking the reservation, gathered his things, and headed downstairs for breakfast. He wanted to be in the dining area before Katherine. Hopefully, it would be less conspicuous that he was following her. There was no need to make her any more nervous about him than she already appeared to be. Who knew how she would react to his showing up in the cooking class. No, he had to play it cool.
She seemed the type of person he would’ve liked to have known and even considered dating in his former life. Unfortunately, all she could be for him now was a means to the end. No one would suspect him traveling with an American. It was the perfect cover.
He hurried down the stairs two at a time. As he rounded the corner to the dining room, he quickly panned the room in search of Katherine. He didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until the air forced its way from his lungs. Thankfully, she was nowhere to be found.
He found an empty table and placed his backpack on the chair. He walked to the buffet and helped himself to some coffee and a pastry. Once he returned to his seat, one of the hotel employees offered him a newspaper. He accepted it, hoping to catch up on the current events, and to see if there was any more news about the murder of his family.
He read the newspaper from cover to cover without finding any new information. It was as if they had vanished. In a way, he supposed they had. How could something like this not be newsworthy? How could a prominent Italian family, well-known in the olive oil industry, get blown to pieces without the least bit of information in the papers? There wasn’t even a smidgen on the shortage of oil that would be created when the factory closed. There was only one explanation—the cartel was covering it up.
As he got up to refill his coffee, he watched as Katherine made her way toward the dining room. Showtime, Romeo. Tony smiled and winked at her. Her cheeks flushed slightly. She was a beautiful woman, but she too was guarded. She was running from something.
“Good morning, Katherine. How did you sleep?”
“Well, thank you. I see you’re up bright and early this morning.” She smiled innocently, driving a stake through his heart. Damn! What he could do to her. He managed to contain his composure despite the less than savory thoughts going on in his mind.
“Yes, I have some business to take care of while I’m here in town. How about you? Where are you off to today?”
She hesitated before answering. “I’m going to explore some of the museums. I wanted to go see the David.”
Tony could tell Katherine had reconstructed the wall that he began to break down the night before. She wasn’t nearly as receptive to conversation as she had been after a couple glasses of wine. He just had to get her to relax and trust him. “Good choice. It’s quite an impressive statue. The intricate detail carved into David is amazing, especially when you consider that during that time period, the quality of tools was limited.”
Her face lit up like a kid in a candy shop. “Now you’ve even made me more excited about seeing it!”
Bingo, he had her right where he wanted her. “You should also check out the Uffizi Museum. It has an amazing display of paintings from the Renaissance period. But make sure you give yourself several hours. You can lose all sense of time while in there.”
“Thank you for the advice. I got the Firenze pass and hope to avoid the long lines.”
“I’m impressed, Katherine! It seems as though you have this tourist thing down. Would you care to join me for breakfast before you head out?”
“Sure, that would be nice. How does this work? Do I help myself or do they come to serve me here?”
“It’s a buffet, so you can help yourself. I recommend some of the pastries. They are delicious.”
“Thank you, I’ll be right back.” She put down her belongings on the chair at their table and then proceeded to peruse the food.
Tony eyed her backpack in search of anything that could help his efforts. Unfortunately, it was sealed tightly. He needed to accompany her to the museums, but didn’t want to push himself on her just yet. There was still time to nurture this friendship. He wasn’t quite sure what the plan was, but Katherine would definitely be a part of it. He wasn’t about to let her escape his sight.