“Which one?” Anthony shut the door, turning, and when Mary pointed, he went to the cabinet and opened the door. “Let’s see, a can of white clam sauce, ceci beans, and four boxes of Barilla spaghetti, each half full. Here we go. A single bottle of merlot. You sot.”
“It was a gift.” Mary’s head was still pounding.
“Corkscrew?” Anthony asked, and Mary pointed until he had located a corkscrew, two wineglasses, two napkins, and a wedge of hard locatelli that he shaved into fragile, thin slices and set on a salad plate with green olives. He smiled, holding the wineglasses crossed in one hand. “Let’s go in the living room. It’ll be more comfortable. Come along.” He tucked the wine bottle under his arm, grabbed the corkscrew and the cheese plate, then led the way into the darkened living room, where he set the stuff on the coffee table.
Mary trundled behind, as if it weren’t her own house. “I’ll turn on a light.”
“No. Let it be. It’s better.”
“Leave it off?”
“Sure. It’s not that dark. I can see.” Moonlight streamed through the front window, falling on Anthony’s back, bringing out the whiteness of his shirt and making a ghostly circle of the rims of the wineglasses. He bent over and poured some wine, which made a sloshy sound when it hit the glass.
“Okay.” Mary sank onto the couch and kicked off her pumps.
“Drink up. Doctor’s orders.”
“Thanks.” Mary took her first sip, which was delicious. She couldn’t help feeling awful that she was home, drinking merlot, while Trish was missing, maybe dead.
“This is good wine.” Anthony sat in the soft chair catty-corner to her, the moon shining on the dark filaments of his hair. Shadows obscured his eyes, but not his smile, which was a little sad. After a minute, he said, “I can’t imagine how you’re feeling.”
Mary took another sip of wine, the thin crystal warming under her fingers. “That makes two of us.”
Anthony didn’t laugh, which was good because she wasn’t kidding. He leaned over and slid the cheese plate close to her. “Mangia, bella.”
Mary felt herself respond to his voice, soft and deep, or maybe the Italian, the language of her childhood. She broke off a piece of locatelli and nibbled it before it crumbled between her fingers. It tasted tart and perfect with the wine.
“You’re exhausted.”
“You might be right.”
“I won’t stay long.”
Mary looked out the window, and from her third-floor vantage point, she could see the lights of the other rowhouses, and beyond that, the Philly skyline, twinkling in the distance. She wondered if Trish was somewhere in the city, then thought of Mrs. Gambone. “People are crying in the city tonight.”
“Yes. It’s all very ugly and sad.”
“You’re right. Well said.” Mary felt at such a loss. She rubbed her face. She sipped her wine, then changed it to a gulp. “I can’t believe this all happened. That Trish is gone. That he’s dead.” He’s dead. “It’s awful.”
“I won’t mind if I never see another crime scene. I think they’ll find Trish, though.”
“Why? How do you know?”
“They learn so much from the body, like Detective Brinkley said. They’ll find clues as to where she is.”
They’re doing the autopsy right now. He’s on a metal table.
“Brinkley seems pretty damn competent to me.”
“He is. Still it feels so selfish to be sitting here. I should be doing something.”
“You’ve done enough. You’re the one who gave them the tip tonight. You helped them find the body sooner rather than later. As you said, that matters, in terms of finding Trish while she’s still alive.”
“If she’s still alive.” Mary heard herself say it out loud, for the first time, the wine loosening her tongue.
“She is. You have to have faith, and you did an amazing thing tonight, tipping them off.”
Mary couldn’t hear it. “That’s not why I said it, for you to tell me how great I am. I know when I mess up and I messed this up to a fare-thee-well.”
“You can’t feel responsible for what happens to Trish.”
“Let’s not make this about me, okay?” Mary drank more wine, hoping to speed its effect. “There’s a woman missing, and she’s who it’s about. Not me.”
“Okay. Fair enough.”
Mary tried to get back in emotional control, glad of the darkness.
“Fine.” Anthony cocked his head, with a smile. “Is this a fight?”
“No.”
“Good. In any event, I would worry if you got any more involved in this case. You made an enemy in Ritchie Po tonight, and he’s a scary dude.”
Mary shuddered. “You afraid of the Mob?”
“Damn straight I am.”
“Me, too.” They laughed together, and Mary could feel the alcohol bringing a welcome fuzziness to her thoughts. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten. She could still taste the locatelli, salty and grainy on her tongue.
“I told you I’m researching Carlo Tresca’s murder, didn’t I? He was shot dead in the middle of Little Italy, and the case was never solved. It’s the Mob, only the names and the places have changed.” Anthony chuckled ruefully, then it died. “The cops know what to do, and if Brinkley wants to reach you, he’ll call.”
Mary shook her head, and her brain sloshed from side to side. “I should have told him. I didn’t get the chance.”
“Told him what?”
My secret. But Mary wasn’t drunk enough to give that answer. She felt so tired suddenly, burdened with all of it. With what she had done, with what she hadn’t done. With lives lost tonight, and before. “I’m a widow, you know.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“My husband died.”
Anthony nodded, and Mary heard how stupid she sounded.
“Sorry, I sound dumb,” she said.
“No, you’re just beat.”
Mary took another sip. “I knew him, I guess you heard Ritchie say that.”
“You knew who?”
“The deceased.”
“Your husband?”
“No.” Mary’s thoughts caromed off the walls of her skull. “The man in the body bag. I dated him in high school.”
“I heard Ritchie. I didn’t know if it was true.”
“It was.”
“I didn’t know.”
“No one did. It didn’t last very long. He thought I dumped him, apparently.” Mary was remembering what Rosaria had said, on the bench in Brick. “It was a misunderstanding.”
“That’s too bad.”
“I’ll say.”
“Were you in love?”
“Yes.” Mary didn’t hesitate. It wasn’t love, like with Mike, but it qualified. It was first love.
“Was he?”
“In love? I didn’t think so, until recently.”
“Sorry then, about your loss.”
Mary blinked. It was her loss, wasn’t it?
Anthony said, “That explains a lot.”
“What?”
“You’ve survived two men you loved, already. That’s odd, for our age. It’s a lot.”
