Chapter Twenty-One #3
“Do they look unhappy to you? Look at those faces. They’re smiling. Let me tell you something: They fought for the chance to stay. They wanted it—to meet wealthy men…important people. Those girls may look sweet, but let me tell you: They were hungry, self-serving…little rats.”
“How old were they?” Ravenna demanded.
Ines shrugged. “Don’t judge me. Men want what they want. It’s the way the world is.”
“What was the arrangement?” Valerio said. “Tell me how it worked.”
She glared back. “Why should I tell you anything? You killed my son.”
Ravenna’s usually soft voice was icy: “He didn’t kill Gaetano. Errichiello killed him.”
“Lies!” Ines hissed. “Luca would never hurt Gaetano—”
“Errichiello called me himself,” interrupted Valerio. “He wanted me to watch as his men gunned down an eighteen-year-old boy. Wanted me to appreciate what he could do.”
Ines’s face writhed—self-pity shifting into confusion. “But why would he do that? Why?”
She crumpled, hollow eyes roving, as if searching for an answer.
He couldn’t muster any mercy for her, knowing what she was.
Ravenna’s face was fixed in a rictus of disgust. Slowly, deliberately, she moved forward, crouched in front of Ines’s chair, and gripped her bony hands.
“Gaetano had a good heart,” she murmured. “You remember how sweet he could be? How he used to sing himself to sleep?”
“He was his mamma’s little boy,” Ines agreed, her face twisting. A tear worked down her wrinkled cheek. “Oh, how could they give a mother such grief!”
“He deserves peace,” Ravenna said. “You can give him that peace now. You need to tell us: What were you doing for Errichiello?”
—
“Azzo worked for Luca. That’s how we met,” Ines told them.
“I was irresistible—that’s what he called me: irresistible.
Couldn’t keep his hands off me. Of course, the pregnancy changed that for a while—Luca likes his women slim.
After Azzo died, I thought Luca would be pleased to be a father.
But he was different than other men…he didn’t have the same inclinations, I suppose.
Never wanted to see the baby…never let me talk about it. ”
“Gaetano was Luca’s son?” Ravenna asked.
Ines held her head up. Proud.
“He acknowledged him, too,” she said. “When the boy was ten, he said, ‘You may as well bring him in and let me take a look.’ After that, he let me bring Gaetano to work.”
“What sort of work were you doing for Errichiello?” Valerio asked.
“He didn’t keep me around out of pity, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she snapped. “You should know that he isn’t that type of man. He’s very…efficient. He knew I was talented. He needed me.”
“What did you do for him?” Valerio pressed.
“The girls could get…restless. I kept them calm—let them know what was best for them.”
She leaned forward.
“The modeling agency was my idea,” she said. “In the beginning, I found them. But then they started coming to me, you know? Begging to be part of it. A good business. Everybody gets what they want.”
“Tell us about Paride Silvestri,” Valerio said. “How were he and Errichiello connected?”
“Oh, the girls were for Paride,” she said. “At first, he only needed a few—but then he found other men with his preferences—and we needed more.”
“How many?”
She smiled. “I need my cigarettes, Capo. Would you hand them to me?”
After she lit another cigarette, she said, “How many men are in your police station? How many men do you think you know? Good family men? Show me a good family man and I’ll show you what he really is—what he really likes.”
Without intending it, Valerio’s mind went to his friends—the good-hearted Dario, and the tall and solemn Maurizio.
“Have you never wanted a young sweet thing, Capo? I could find you a perfect little cherry.”
She laughed at whatever she saw in his expression.
“And what did Gaetano do for Errichiello and Silvestri?” Ravenna asked.
“When he was little, the girls liked to take care of him. Play with him. But when he got older, Luca didn’t like having him around. Luca doesn’t like needy things. But I said to Luca, ‘You’ll never find a more loyal man. Give him an assignment.’ ”
“And did he?”
“Luca put him with his couriers. Gave him a motorbike. But the other boys didn’t like him. So Luca put him to work in the warehouses—but Gaetano could make mistakes. So, I made him get his driver’s license.”
“Was that all he was doing for Errichiello? Driving?”
“Sì.”
“He was arrested with cocaine,” Valerio said. “Was he moving cocaine for Errichiello?”
“Of course not. The little idiot. Those other boys put him up to it.”
“What did Errichiello think of Gaetano? Did they have a good relationship?”
She shrugged. “Luca doesn’t have those instincts. And Gaetano was…disappointing. Always trying to fit in. Always pretending. Always groveling.”
“Was Errichiello disappointed in Gaetano?”
“Yes,” she said.
“How do you know? Did he tell you this?”
“Two weeks ago, Gaetano drove Luca to a dinner. A long drive—to Salerno. Gaetano had to piss. He went into the restaurant to use the toilet. Luca was furious. The Ghost dragged Gaetano out, and hit him—actually hit Luca’s son!
He called me. Crying. I told him to find another place to piss.
Then Luca stopped letting Gaetano drive him. ”
“The Ghost?” Valerio asked.
“That’s what everyone calls him: il Fantasma—the Ghost—because of his white hair. He runs security for Luca.”
“What’s his actual name?” he pressed.
She shrugged.
“How long has he worked for Errichiello?” he asked.
She considered. “He came to Luca three years ago.”
Valerio pictured the ungainly boy tromping into the sophisticated restaurant. He could imagine Luca’s annoyance, and Ivan’s ready violence.
“Who was Errichiello meeting?” he asked.
Another shrug.
“Do you know the name of the restaurant?”
“No.”
“I want names,” Valerio said firmly. “Anyone else who worked directly for Errichiello or Silvestri.”
She rattled off half a dozen names—cooks, managers, housekeepers, and serving staff.
Valerio switched off the voice-recording app on his phone, and started dialing Maurizio.
“I’m bringing you to the station,” he told Ines. “You’re going to tell the police everything about Errichiello’s operations.”
She laughed.
“The police already know,” she wheezed. “Everyone loves Silvestri’s parties. They especially love the girls. The younger the better. That was the point. That was always the point. Don’t you understand? If the police wanted it to stop, it would be over.”
She turned to Ravenna. “Bella, get me a glass of water. I’m parched.”
Ravenna’s face was white, lips pressed together, fists clenched at her sides. She gazed back at Ines, and Valerio saw something he’d never thought could exist in that sweet face: hatred.
“Never,” she said. “Never again.”
Then she turned and strode rapidly to the door. Valerio followed.
“You can’t judge me!” Ines screamed. “You can’t judge me!”
The screeching followed them onto the landing and down the stairs.
As they left the dank concrete hallway and emerged into the daylight, amid the sounds of traffic and city noises, Valerio thought he could still hear her.