Cannoli and a Casualty by Fiona Grace

Author:Fiona Grace [Grace, Fiona]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-10-06T00:00:00+00:00

The two men approached them cautiously. Audrey stiffened. Patty put an arm on hers. “Let me take care of this,” she said. “Agenti! Ciao!”

One of them said, “Americans? What are you two Americans doing here?”

So they didn’t know who Patty was. Maybe they could use this to their advantage. Patty opened her mouth to speak, but Audrey beat her to the punch. “Yes! We are tourists! Sisters! Fresh from America! We are lost! Can you help us?”

She could feel Patty’s eyes on her, questioning.

The two men relaxed, and one rolled his eyes at the other. Then he said, “Where are you trying to get to?”

Thinking quickly, Audrey said, “Well . . . someplace good to eat?”

She winced when he pointed at the Café Corleone behind them.

“Oh! Is that place any good?”

He shrugged. “It’s close, at least. Now, ladies, you don’t want to be here now. Please move along. This is an active crime scene.”

Patty, playing along, said, “A crime scene? What happened?”

The other officer said, “A shooting.”

The women gasped in unison. Patty brought her hands to her cheeks. “Oh. That’s terrible! Who was shot?”

He held up a hand. “We’re working on the details.”

“What a terrible crime. Did you catch the criminals?” Audrey asked.

“No, unfortunately. That’s why we’re here. We’re trying to find any witnesses. But so far, we’ve found nothing.”

“Oh!” Patty brought her hand to her forehead. “I don’t know if I want to stay here in this town, if it’s so riddled with crime!”

The officer shook his head. “I assure you, it’s an isolated incident. Corleone is a very safe town. Don’t be worried.”

“You’ve really found no witnesses whatsoever?” Audrey asked, her hopes plummeting. If they hadn’t found anything, how did she hope to?

“Not yet. But we will. And we’re committed to finding out who did this. Now, if you would please move along . . .” He moved closer to them, edging them off the corner.

Audrey looked at Patty, who shrugged. Then they turned around and headed across the street to the Café Corleone.

Inside, the breakfast rush was emptying out. There were only a few occupied tables in the place, which had a small dining room filled with mismatched furniture and old-style flowered wallpaper. There was a pastry case when they walked in, and Patty grinned. “Oh, let’s sit. I’m starving, and whatever that is smells so good.”

“Didn’t you eat at home?” Audrey asked. She hadn’t, so she had to admit her stomach was grumbling, too.

“Yeah, but just a piece of bread. And limoncello jam gives me the munchies.”

A woman behind the counter grouched something in Sicilian to them. It didn’t sound like a welcome. “What did she say?” Audrey whispered to her.

“She said that they’re in between breakfast and lunch right now so all they have is what’s in the case,” then called back to the woman. Audrey translated herself: That’s fine with us, can we sit anywhere?

A disembodied grunt of a Si came from the back of the restaurant. They sat at a table close to the picture window.

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