Читать книгу The Errant Child - Ozzie Logozzo - Страница 26

Tarquinia, central Italy Piazza Cavour

Business is languid. That is understandable. Although it is ancient Tarquinia’s major hotel, mainly locals frequent the establishment. Tourists, like Renzo and Emily, staying at the San Marco are the exception, not the rule. They are conspicuous.

The waiter, taking shade and resting against the building, watches Renzo crossing the street magnetically opposite to his wife. He stands in street clothes except for the white apron dotted with stains around his waist. He waits for Emily to pass him and enter the bar before taking out his cell phone and speed dialing.

“Mamma Teresa, giuro, (I swear). The stranger in town…it’s him.”

The man, clutching his cellphone with calloused fingers, is like Mercury, the messenger of destiny. He possesses the power to perceive that what was once unswerving and straight will soon evolve and twist into imbalance like a sorcerer’s magic wand casting black magic in his wake.

“He looks like a young Paolo, one hundred and ten per cent! He has his father’s height and your facial features. He signed the hotel registry as Renzo Salvo. Giuseppe and Esterina Salvo were your neighbors when you lived on Via Roma. I saw his passport. He was born here in Tarquinia. He is his son...Call Canada? Ah yes, I will find out from Giuseppe and Esterina what he is doing here. I’ll call from the Stazione Ferroviaria di Tarquinia (railway station).”

The waiter, casting his apron on the back of a patio chair, steps lively down the road to the bottom of the hill headed for the concealment of the train station.