mention of security cameras on top of the Duomo and was looking really uncomfortable at the mention of Brandy Ann and Amanda. Hmmm. "I'm going to pop into the cathedral to catch what I can of the tour. You want to join me?"
He hesitated. "You go on without me. As long as I know where everyone is, I'd just as soon wait out here. I don't want to bother anyone."
I guess this is what could be referred to as withdrawing back into your shell. But what had prompted it? "Hey, Fred, did the police stop you for questioning yesterday?"
He inched back a step. "Why do you want to know?"
"Just wondering. They apparently questioned a lot of people. Were you able to help them at all?"
"I didn't see anything! How many times do I have to repeat myself? I saw nothing. Now leave me alone, would you?" Looking fitful and anxious, he headed off in the opposite direction.
I had such a knack for getting people to open up to me.
The center door of the cathedral swung open, and in the next moment I saw familiar faces start to exit the building. Quick tour. I shot a couple of photos of the mosaics over the doorways and the four tiers of arched colonnades that climbed to the roofline, then found Nana in the crowd, talking to the twins.
"Was that the abridged tour?" I asked them.
"Well, would you lookit you?" Nana chirped, circling around me to get the full view of my hair. "I seen you when you got on the bus, but I couldn't believe my eyes. I like it, dear. I really do." She patted the ragged strands and intermittent bald spots on her own head of professionally cut hair. "Kinda reminds me a my own hair...now that I got the good cut."
I hung my head. Oh, God.
Britha, still attired in my cigarette pants and body suit, nodded toward the cathedral. "We would have had a longer tour, but there was a funeral going on, so we just got the highlights. The fancy pulpit. The big mosaic in the apse. The crooked chandelier."
Barbro chimed in. "And an altar on two angels' backs. Tell it all, Brit. Don't be lax."
"You follow me now," we heard Giovanna call out. "I show you someting around duh corner of duh catedral."
"Where'd you leave George?" I asked, as we moved en masse with the group.
"Him and Osmond needed to use the potty, so they had to duck out early." Nana looked up at the church, beaming with excitement. "Your mother's gonna be sorry she missed seein' all this, Emily. There's no way you coulda talked her into comin', hunh?"
"Nope. A whole bunch of new entries were in the box this morning, so she decided she needed to stay behind to read them so she could pass them on to Gabriel and Sylvia later this evening. I guess they speed-read, so they don't need as much time as Mom. Good thing they're going to announce the winner tomorrow night. If they extended the contest any longer, Mom's photo album of Italy would consist of interior shots of hotel rooms."
"That reminds me." Nana tapped Britha's shoulder. "Can I show Emily?"
Britha handed over her camera to Nana, who pressed a couple of buttons and flashed me a picture of her and George standing in front of the tower. "Isn't this somethin'? That's exactly what the picture's gonna look like and after it's downloaded, they can erase it and use the film over again. It's digital. You think I could use somethin' like this, Emily?"
We came to a halt at some nondescript point along the side of the cathedral and gathered around Giovanna, who stood next to the building with her hand on the facade. "I give you all a chance to see, but what I show you is duh liyttle holes in the stone here. You all step close now so you can see."
"I thought you said digital cameras were too expensive," I whispered as I took the camera from Nana.
"They are," she whispered back. "But this one's got all sorts a fancy gizmos on it. I can't help it. I love them gizmos."
I glanced at the photo displayed on the viewer. Aw. The Leaning Tower of Pisa with a miniature Nana and George standing in front of it.
"Press that button to see the next one," she instructed me.
I pressed the button to find a close-up of a smiling Nana and George in front of some crooked colonnades.