“What else did they know? Did they ask anything about my background? Do they know about my father?” Her voice started to flicker as she clenched her fist, grabbing the baluster of the balcony, the cold touch of the cast iron sent shivers through her body.
“I’m afraid they went to see your mother before coming here. Do you know whether they might have had any reason to see her? Could it be so, and she told anything that could have brought them our way?” Luciano’s paranoia became unmanageable. He knew this would have happened, yet he let himself get tangled in the story. That was supposed to have an easier outcome.
“I have no idea about it, but I can find it out. However, it’s better if from this moment on, I quit using this telephone. If you need to contact me, use the same messenger we used before. I can check it through another country’s VPN. I will use my father’s telephone to call mom, and see what she has to say about it, but now we all need to keep our nerves steady,” she proposed. “Concerning the culprit, I have thought about it, and arranged everything. All you need to do is keep your poker face. Can you manage this?”
“Of course, you don’t need to worry about me.” The corner of his mouth twitched thinking about the consequences of any faux pas from that moment on.
“I’ll let you know when I’m safely outside the Italian territory. I’ll return back to Hungary, and then I can call you. Nevertheless, this is going to require a longer journey than simply flying there; I need to avoid any border control,” she considered releasing the baluster from her grip. Her mind scanned all the things she had to do. The first one was perhaps that of calling her mother, but to do so she needed the telephone number of her father. From his number, only Igor could have called her, and soon he will also be history, and not a word will come from his mouth, she thought, clenching her teeth.
“Then have a safe trip. I’ll miss you.” That last sentence sounded almost foolish.
“I will miss you, too. There’ll be a time when we can enjoy our life together; we won’t need anyone else,” she whispered, relaxing the tension from her expression, melting into a smile.
Ending communication with her felt like placing thousands of kilometers dividing them. Distances grew endless and time froze into a single moment.
A lump formed in his throat, thinking this was perhaps the way it feels when you have to say goodbye to a loved one. In the silence of the room, he turned his face to look around, feeling lost in a place he couldn’t recognize anymore. The fear of being apart from her in case they would be considered both guilty for the murder of his father grasped his heart with clawed hands, stopping every beat.
He gasped breathlessly, almost collapsing on the bed. “I need to get a grip on my emotions. If the Police keep seeing me this way, it won’t take long before they’ll figure out everything. I can’t allow this to happen, not to me or to Irina.”
He whispered, hoping not to be heard by his mother or by anyone in the world. He wondered whether there was a place where he could have been safe from the view of that nosy Detective Scala and his lousy sidekick.
At that thought he grinned, with the confidence of the man who knew how to get out of this type of situation, sneaking like a shadow in the darkness.
***
Igor reached Irina’s bedroom, knocking at her door. “Are you still there?” he questioned.
Opening the door, she offered him a broad smile, “I am, and you shouldn’t be here listening to my business,” she replied with a pout.
“I wasn’t listening, I wondered whether you wanted to join me for dinner?” he asked.
With a sarcastic giggle she narrowed her eyelids, “Are you asking me to come to dinner or to prepare it?” She knew he wasn’t any good as a cook, the best he could do was to warm some ready-made meal. She didn’t have any memory of them being a family, and the only daily family life was the one she lived with her aunt in Hungary. Nevertheless, this had never been something she missed. Her mother had always been there with her daily calls, her regular visits whenever her job allowed her and with the money she kept sending for her education, clothing and personal expenses.
She wasn’t bitter with her father, for he took care of her as well as always being present. What she couldn’t forgive was the stalking, oppressive, and psychologically stressful behavior forcing her mother to cut the bonds with him and search for safety in the arms of Luciano’s father. Her experiences with the world of males had been nothing but bitterness, and the time for revenging them all had finally arrived. Luciano was probably the only one she still had some respect for.
“You know me, I’m a disaster in the kitchen, but we can order something from the restaurant. I’ll bring you back to France, and I have no idea when I will be able to see you again.” Although the relationship with Madlen didn’t go the way he’d hoped, he still loved both his daughter Irina and Madlen. Certain that if it weren’t for the guy who intruded in their relationship, they’d still have been a family. He deserved to die; nobody gets in between Madlen and me.
“Then we might go out to a restaurant. Let’s have at least one decent meal together. After what happened, I’m not sure I want to be seen here for a long time.
