Severino chuckled.
“No… there would be a serious price to pay after what you did during the Council.”
He meant Fausto’s death. And probably the fake shootout on the Palatine Hill.
“Then information is all I ask for at the moment.”
“I see. Hold on.”There was a murmur on the other end, and then Severino came back. His voice sounded grim.“My consigliere has attempted to contact the Amatos’ consigliere, Don Amato, and everyone else in their household for whom we have numbers. No one is responding.”
“I see,” Don Rosolini said as he and Niccolo exchanged a dark look.
“How capable do you think Aristide Caproni’s children are?”
“If they could take out Don Amato’s entire operation in one fell swoop… disturbingly capable.”
“Hm.”Severino paused.“I will alert the other families about the threat. I HOPE this doesn’t portend a war between the Cosa Nostra and the Camorra… but if Amato is dead, someone will have to answer for it.”
“Agreed.”
“Consider your options carefully, Don Rosolini,”Severino said.“You can face this alone… or you can have the entire Cosa Nostra backing you up.”
“Either way, there’s a price to pay.”
“MY price is far less than what the Camorra will exact, I assure you. Let me know if you change your mind.”
“I will. Thank you, Don Severino.”
“Good luck.”
And then he hung up.
91
As soon as Don Severino hung up, Niccolo spoke to everyone still left in the room.
“As you’ve heard, Don Amato and his family are most likely dead at the hands of Cesare and Lucrezia Caproni. Their men attacked Bianca’s shop this morning, so from this point onward, we should consider ourselves at war.” Niccolo turned to Don Rosolini. “Shall I give the marching orders, or…?”
The Don paused for a moment, his expression grim, as though steeling himself. Then he stood up to address us all.
“Adriano – your priority is to lock down Florence. Call our foot soldiers in the city and tell them to be on alert. Then put the word out to the police on our payroll: if they see any suspicious cars with license plates from Naples, they should immediately contact you with their location and follow the vehicle at a safe distance.”
“What’s a ‘suspicious car’?” Adriano asked.
“Luxury vehicles driven by ugly fucking thugs,” Niccolo said wryly. “You said the car outside the dress shop was a black Cadillac, correct?”
“Yeah.”
“Tell the cops to start there.”
“Okay.”
“Giorgio,” Don Rosolini said, “drive to Fiesole and pick up Bianca’s parents. Bring them straight back here. Donottell them what’s going on – definitely don’t tell them about Bianca’s shop – but impress upon them that they must comenow.”
I nodded.
I wanted to take Emilia home first, but I figured I could do it on the way as long as I got permission.
I knew this wasn’t the moment to ask, though, so I waited.
