Chapter 88 Loretta
L ORETTA
Rocco calls Loretta at the hospital just before midnight. Sophie and her mother have been released from the police station after being taken in for interviewing. The lawyer Rocco hired has left, and Rocco’s on his way back to the hotel with the two women.
‘Their passports are suspended until the investigation’s finished,’ he tells Loretta. ‘But il detective anziano is confident Sophie’s mother won’t be charged. He said it should only take a day, two at the most, until the case is closed. The Americans gave their statements, and their evidence matched up. He said it’s looking like a clear case of self-defence.’
‘Grazie a Dio.’ Loretta exhales.
She’s conflicted in her feelings about Christian Taylor. If it wasn’t for him, Alberto would have lost his life twice in the last two weeks. But now Elena is free. Half of her grieves his death, while the other half rejoices in it.
‘I asked about the hotel,’ Rocco adds. ‘He said they should be done by tomorrow night and then we can return to normal.’
‘Return to normal? Nothing’s normal any more.’
In the last twenty-four hours, one man has died in her hotel and two others, one of them her own Alberto, have escaped death by a whisker. When Rocco arrived at the hotel after Sophie called him, reporters were already camped outside, tipped off by the police. Her guests have all been evacuated, her beloved hotel is a crime scene. How can things ever be normal again?
The last she heard, Alessandro was being interviewed by police in Rome, and Elena and Anna-Maria were with police escorts on their way back to Venice. The whole thing is a mess.
‘How’s Papà?’ Rocco asks.
‘Sleeping peacefully since dinner. He complained about the food they served him. He wanted meat.’
Alberto’s healing; at least there’s that.
When Loretta ends the call with Rocco, she turns to Marina, who hasn’t left her side for the last eighteen hours. ‘Go home.’ Loretta rubs her back. ‘Get some rest.’
Marina shakes her head. ‘I’m not leaving until he’s out of intensive care.’
‘That won’t be until tomorrow. You need to sleep.’
‘No more than you do. As long as you’re here, I’m here,’ Marina insists. ‘I’ll never forgive myself for not being there for you when Papà’s heart attack happened. I’m so sorry, Mamma.’
‘Child, you’ve apologised to me a million times.’
‘I know, but I feel awful about it.’ Marina speaks softly so as not to wake Alberto. ‘It’s just that it was my last night ...’ She gulps. ‘My last night with Alessandro.’
Marina’s honesty gives Loretta the courage to ask, ‘Are you planning to marry him, vita mia?’
Marina sighs. ‘I don’t know. I believed him when he came home and said he was finally ready to commit to me. But something’s changed this evening. I can feel it.’
‘A lot has happened. Perhaps he’s just distracted?’
Marina shrugs.
As if Alessandro is listening in on their conversation, Marina’s phone pings. Marina reads the message with her hand over her mouth.
‘What is it?’ Loretta asks.
Marina passes her the phone. The lengthy message from Alessandro is essentially a break-up text, blaming his duty to the Vatican. Apparently, once he had returned there, he couldn’t bring himself to leave again.
It ends with I have to put Christ first .
Loretta passes the phone back to Marina. ‘Come, cara.’ She gathers Marina into her arms and holds on to her as Marina silently falls apart. ‘At least you know this now, and not after you wasted even more years on him,’ she tells her gently.
‘Why did I have to fall for a priest?’ Marina heaves.
‘We can’t help who we love. I know how you feel, tesoro, believe me.’
Marina frowns at her. ‘How could you possibly know what this feels like?’
Since Loretta saw the way Alessandro and Marina looked at each other at Mass, she’s been debating with herself whether or not she should share her story with Marina. Now she knows she has to.
‘Marina, do you think I would have been a good catch when I was young?’
Marina looks surprised by the question. ‘Of course. You were the most beautiful woman in Venice. And the heiress to a hotel.’
‘Did you ever wonder why I didn’t marry until I was thirty?’
‘I suppose I thought you were being picky.’
‘Picky? And I chose him ?’ She points at Alberto.
Right on cue Alberto lets out a long low fart in his sleep.
Marina smiles. ‘What was the reason then, that you married late?’
Loretta takes a deep breath and tells her daughter everything.
Marina listens in stunned silence. ‘Does Papà know?’ she whispers when Loretta finishes.
‘Of course he knows. He’s always known.’
‘Did you even love him, though?’ Marina looks over at her sleeping father. ‘Or did you just marry him to appease your parents? Do you regret your life with us, Mamma?’
‘I love Alberto dearly and I wouldn’t change a thing about how my life turned out. How can I have a single regret when Alberto gave me you and Rocco?’
Marina blows her nose. ‘So you think I actually can get over Alessandro one day?’
‘One day sooner than you think.’ Loretta smiles as Luca walks into the room with a clipboard in his hand and a stethoscope hanging around his neck.
When he sees Marina, his face lights up.