“This was a mistake,” he said. “We don’t need her. I can take care of letting the whole town know you are here.”
“Hold it there, young fellow,” Eugenia shouted. “You’re not going anywhere in the company of my niece.” She paused. “Sit down,” she said. She brought a thin hand to her forehead. “Let me think.”
There was silence in the room as Caterina kept looking at Eugenia with imploring eyes.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” Eugenia said at a certain point. “You have no idea how much I cried for you. Your father—
“Then help me,” said Caterina.
“I need a drink,” Eugenia said. “Ottavio!”
The doorman, who hadn’t left the apartment or missed a single word of the conversation, poured shots of Sambuca for everyone, doubling his own dose.
“Caterina and I will go to the pakzzima,” Eugenia said after gulping down the liquor. “As for you,” she turned to Ivano, “go back to your bakery or your home or wherever. I’ll deal with you later.”
“I’m not leaving Caterina,” Ivano declared, standing up and clutching Caterina’s hand. “And I don’t take orders from you.”
Eugenia looked at him with icy eyes. She realized it wouldn’t be easy to get rid of the disturbing lad.
“Don’t you understand, Aunt Eugenia?” Caterina said. “He’s the one who found me! He helped me escape from the convent. Without him, I’d still be there!”
Eugenia looked at her niece with tenderness. She gazed at Ivano and said the first reasonable thing that crossed her mind. “This is a delicate family matter. It’d be best for everyone, including you, young man, if only the family members were involved at this time.”
“She’s right,” Caterina said, moving towards the vestibule. She whispered, “Don’t be put off by her ways. She’s upset. But she loves me. With her by my side, I feel strong enough to face my father.”
“All along she’s been talking about me as if I were made of thin air,” Ivano pointed out angrily. “Then she orders me around. My father was right when he kept telling me to stay away from rich people.”
“I heard that,” Eugenia shouted from the living room. “And I agree that your father was right!”
“She means well,” Caterina insisted.
Ivano embraced Caterina. “I don’t like the idea of leaving you,” he said.
“It’s temporary. Only for a few hours,” Caterina reassured him. “Whatever happens, I’ll sleep here tonight, not at the palazzina. So you’ll know where to find me.”
Ivano felt moderately reassured. “Fine,” he grunted. “I’ll come back here later tonight. Be here, please.”
Caterina nodded, and Ivano, reluctantly, walked out the door.
“First things first,” Eugenia said, once Caterina was back in the living room. “You need a bath, a rest, and some decent food. Then we’ll go to Corso Solferino.” She turned to Ottavio. “If you are thinking of running to the closest bar and telling your drunken friends what you just saw, think again. You talk, I’ll get you fired.”
Ottavio nodded.
Then Eugenia turned to Grazia, who all that time had sat silently in an armchair. “And you, don’t you go out gossiping about this story until I set it straight.”
Grazia nodded as well, and Eugenia escorted her and Ottavio to the door.
Wandering along the crowded sidewalk, Ivano wasn’t convinced that leaving Caterina alone with her aunt was wise. The aunt was Giuseppe’s sister, he reasoned, and he didn’t trust her to take Caterina’s side when facing the lawyer and his contorted, sick plan. After a few moments of reflection, he decided to go looking for Antonio Sobrero and tell him where Caterina was. He trusted that Mister Sobrero would do better than the elderly aunt at protecting Caterina. For sure Giuseppe wouldn’t be able to intimidate him. So pondering, he ran to the top of via San Lorenzo, where the police headquarters was located. It took him several minutes to be admitted to Antonio’s office. He succeeded only when Antonio heard from one of his lieutenants that there was a Mister Bo wanting to see him urgently regarding Caterina Berilli. Antonio’s investigation into the threatening letters and the cat on the door had come to a dead halt in the past days, plus he had lost track of Ivano altogether. He had no idea how to proceed. He had even considered visiting Giuseppe and telling him he was going to give up for lack of leads. So when he heard that a Mister Ivano Bo was looking for him, he was relieved. Perhaps he would learn something that would bring the investigation back to life.