“And you have been very cooperative,” Buda said.
Buda and Burim shook hands across the table, and in turn all four men shook hands, making the agreement as binding as any legal document in Albanian tradition and logic. The men finished their meal quickly, and with the takeout in hand, they left. Burim, having left three twenties on the table as a tip, was detailed to follow Buda, who would lead the way in a motorcade of sorts.
As Burim walked out of the restaurant, he patted his pocket with the fresh bulge of cash and smiled, thinking it was going to be an interesting and profitable evening.
61.
GREEN POND, NEW JERSEY MARCH 25, 2011, 11:15 P.M.
There was nothing the occupants of the summer house could do but wait. Prek sat next to Neri on one couch with Genti and Pia sitting opposite. He had thought about tying her up, as he should have done before, but he didn’t want to make a worse impression than he had to. Besides, the girl wasn’t going anywhere. Prek had found an old T-shirt in a closet and gave it to Pia to wear along with one of his own New York Jets sweatshirts he kept at the house. The jersey came halfway down her thighs. She also wore a pair of soccer socks pulled up to her knees. She had draped a towel over her shoulders, but she was still shivering.
Pia sat and glared at Neri. That was the guy who had touched her, she was sure of it. She stole glances at the other guys too-the one who seemed to be in charge with the thick scar on his upper lip, and the guy with the dominating nose. She wasn’t entirely certain but believed they were the men who had attacked her the night before. She recognized their voices.
Prek cradled a gun in his hand. He wondered if he would have to use it that night, and if so, who would be the target. He could make a case for any of them: Neri for brazenly disobeying an order, and Genti for failing to stop him. The only person Prek wasn’t mad at was Pia. He admired her for trying to escape and for getting as far as she had. If he had to shoot her, it would not be emotional. It would just be business.
At least the fiasco was going to have a conclusion soon, thought Prek, as he heard a group of cars pull into the driveway one after the other. A moment later they heard car doors opening and then slamming shut in quick succession.
“Go wait in the bedroom,” Prek said to Pia.
As soon as Buda, Fatos, Burim, and Drilon walked into the house, they could all tell that something was wrong. The atmosphere among the three men inside was clearly strained. Neri was sitting on the couch, staring at the floor and didn’t stand up. Genti wouldn’t make eye contact, and Prek acted fit to be tied. Buda had to find out what had happened and fast.
“Gentlemen,” he said, turning to Burim and Drilon. “I left the food we picked up in the back of my car. Would you mind? I’d just like to have a quick word with my guys.”
Burim and Drilon left the room and closed the door. Buda lit into Prek.
“What the fuck is going on here? Stand up, Neri! Genti, look at me when I’m talking! Where’s the girl?”
“She’s in the bedroom,” Prek said. “She got out the window, jumped in the lake, and swam off.”
“What? Are you serious?”
“Yes, but we found her right away.”
“Did anyone see her?”
“No, I’m certain. There’s no one here but us.”
“You quite sure about that?”
“Yes.”
Buda’s three men were standing like guilty schoolboys in front of the principal.
“What happened to you?” Buda asked Neri, whose eye was closing rapidly. Neri didn’t speak but looked across at Prek.
“Did she do that?”
“No,” Prek said. “I did.”
“What for?” Buda leaned forward, his hands on his hips. Fatos was standing by the door with his arms crossed. The message was clear: No one out or in.
“Prek,” Buda said, “you better tell me what happened right now, or we’re going to have a major problem.”
“He attacked the girl,” Prek said. Neri’s face fell. He’d hoped Prek would make up some story on his behalf.
“Was that before or after she escaped?”
“Before.”
“And where were you?” he asked Genti.
Silence.
“All right, I’ll deal with this later. It all depends on whether or not this girl is the daughter. Let’s hope for you she isn’t. Fatos, let’em in.”
“Burim, Drilon,” said Buda in as friendly a tone as he could manage. “What happened here is that the girl tried to escape, but she didn’t succeed. My men are very embarrassed, as they should be.”
Burim looked at Neri but no explanation was forthcoming regarding his injury.
“My wife was certainly a tigress,” he said. “Perhaps this woman is too. Mr. Buda, I am ready to meet her.”
Buda showed Burim into the bedroom and left. Pia was sitting on the bed, facing the window, shivering.
“Afrodita. Pia,” Burim said. “Is it really you? I am Burim. Burim Grazdani. I think I’m your father. Pia, look at me, please.”
Pia sat for a second and then turned, glowering at the man, her face clouded with unadulterated fury and loathing. Burim’s expression went from disbelief to pure amazement.
“Oh, God,” he said. “You’re exactly your mother’s image.” Burim knew the look she had on her face, from the first Pia, a beautiful woman full of hatred. Burim had feelings he’d never experienced and couldn’t come close to articulating.
“I’m told you’re a student at Columbia Medical School. That’s amazing. You must be very intelligent.”
Pia had turned around again, and Burim continued talking to her back.
“You look like your mother, you know that? Probably you don’t. The same hair, the same eyes, it’s amazing.”
Pia said nothing. Could it possibly be him?
“I feel this is a miracle, our meeting. Pia, please say something.”
Silence.
“Your uncle Drilon is here.”
Now Pia reacted. She hacked up some spittle and spat loudly on the floor by the bed. Burim was disconsolate.
“Pia, I’m sorry I never came for you. I was young and stupid. I meant to come, so many times, but I knew that if I came forward they would find out I was illegal in this country and send me home, and then I would never have a chance of seeing you. I was working with these guys, the Rudaj group, you know, and the organization fell apart, and Drilon and I had to go underground. Then when we started working for Ristani, we had to change our names and leave our pasts behind. I wish we didn’t have to do it, but we did. Pia, please.”
As soon as Pia saw Burim’s face, she knew who he was. This was the man she had waited years for, the man who put her through torments while she fervently hoped that he’d come back to save her. He never did. Now he was showing up, and for what? And he had brought that monster with him? What were they going to do, kill her? At this point, Pia barely cared.
