A Christmas Shadow by H L Marsay

Author:H L Marsay
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Mystery
ISBN: 9781957748542
Publisher: Tule Publishing Group, LLC
Published: 2022-07-20T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Across 9 (7 letters)

Keep your pet and rice as proof of purchase

The next morning, Shadow had arranged to meet Luca at Bettys for breakfast. It felt strange to have someone sitting opposite him when usually his only companion was the Yorkshire Post crossword. As always Shadow ordered a pot of tea and a full English. He tried not to look disappointed when his companion only chose a coffee and croissant.

“Are you sure that’s all you want?” he queried.

“I’m never very hungry in the morning,” replied Luca slightly apologetically, wincing as he removed his sunglasses. “And perhaps I overindulged a little last night too.”

Shadow nodded, then in the mirror he suddenly caught sight of the glamorous dark-haired woman he’d seen at La Dolce Vita. She was gliding towards a window table and shuffling along in her wake was the elderly gentleman in the black hat he’d also seen leaving the wine shop. Shadow turned to watch them. Luca followed his gaze, then gasped and quickly looked away.

“What’s wrong?” asked Shadow. “Do you know her?”

“Not her, him. The man you were watching – don’t you know who he is?” Luca hissed.

Shadow shook his head.

“It’s Don Rossetti,” continued Luca. “Back home, he’s the head of the Sacra Corona Unita.”

“The Mafia? Are you sure?” asked Shadow incredulously as he strained his neck to get a better view of the old man, who had finally removed his hat.

“It’s what we call the Mafia and trust me, John, you don’t live in Lecce and not know who Don Rossetti is,” Luca hissed.

“What on earth is he doing in North Yorkshire?” asked Shadow.

“I heard,” began Luca, then paused as the waitress placed the tea and coffee on the table. “I heard,” he continued in hushed tones when she’d gone, “that he’d been forced into hiding. For many years, he ruled our area with an iron fist, but as he grew older, his health began to suffer. With no son to follow him, his two nephews began arguing about who would take control when he’d gone. Then a violent power struggle between the two sides broke out. As Don Rossetti grew weaker, he became vulnerable. A rumour went round that he had fled Italy for his own safety. It seems that rumour is true.”

“And the lady he’s with, is that his wife, his daughter?”

Luca raised his cup to his lips and attempted to look across the room discreetly. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen her before.” He paused and wrinkled his forehead. “I believe he was married with a daughter, but thirty, maybe forty years ago they disappeared. It was at a time when Italy was plagued by kidnappers taking the children of prominent or wealthy individuals. The feeling amongst the people of Lecce was that they had been hidden for their own safety. I certainly never remember seeing them, but my mother mentioned them once or twice I think.”

At that moment, their breakfast arrived, and the two men were briefly distracted, but Shadow couldn’t stop wondering what had brought an elderly Mafioso to York.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.