No atonement followed. Instead, he looked up at the ceiling, then to the right. Another pat of his chest. “Talking about this pains my heart. It feels disloyal. Discussing my brother when he is — please excuse me.”
He rose to his feet, hurried to the door, and stepped out, leaving it open. Giving us a clear view, as he stood in the hallway and cried into his hands. Then he drew himself up but instead of returning walked to the right.
Milo got up and had a look. Returned and said, “Poor guy’s pacing,” and sat back down.
A few minutes later, Claudio Aggiunta reentered wearing the stiff mien of someone straining for undeserved calm.
He returned to his chair. “Excuse me. This is very difficult. Very bizarre. One day I’m in Firenze talking to clients, the next I am here... doing I don’t know what. But it is much better than my parents being here. My mother has high blood pressure and my father’s arthritis is severe.”
Milo and I nodded.
“So,” said Claudio. “We must talk about it. Gio’s lack of interest in business. In academics, as well. The truth is we had a sad situation with Gio. Learning problems from when he was a small boy, he was taken to specialists, received no benefit. Mathematics was okay but reading was difficult. So how did he get into architectural school?” Sad smile. “What do you think, Lieutenant?”
Milo said, “Family connections.”
“My mother’s eldest brother, Gianfranco, is a noted architectural historian and a professor at the faculty. Is that fair?” Elaborate shrug. “Is anything fair?”
I said, “Joining the family business didn’t go smoothly.”
“It didn’t go at all — sorry, I forget your name?”
“Alex.”
“It was a total failure, Alex. No fighting, no tempesta. Everyone remained quiet, my mother especially. She was afraid Gio would disappear again. So the family supported him and he took long walks and raced his bicycle and bought a Ferrari Dino that he drove on the track and destroyed. He did more travel but not for long periods and not in distant places. Spain, Switzerland, France, Monaco. A week or two, then he’d return.”
He threw up his hands. “Sometimes he’d return with a woman. An older woman. The oldest was gray-haired. A contessa from Bologna, without money. Beautiful but almost as old as our mother. No one said anything to Gio but among us, we were... we didn’t understand. How old was this woman — the one he was found with?”
Milo said, “Forty-one.”
“Her husband is the killer?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“It is not logical? A married woman? The rage of a destroyed ego?”
His voice had tightened. Constricted by the noose of memory.
I said, “Had that happened before to Gio?”
He looked down again. “There were a few... inconveniences, but no, no, never any violence, never.”
We waited.
Claudio Aggiunta said, “There is no connection between Gio’s history in Italy, I assure you. All those situations were resolved.”
Milo said, “How many situations are we talking about?”
“Not many... three.”
“How were they resolved?”
“What do you think, Lieutenant?” Claudio rubbed his fingers together.
Milo said, “Three husbands were paid not to hurt Gio.”
“No, no, it wasn’t about hurting Gio, we are not primitive peasants, Lieutenant. It was about preserving family reputation. Civilized discussions were held, reparations were determined, Gio pledged to stop. My sister Isabella called it ransom money and the rest of us agreed but it was the only way. Why allow matters to get complicated when there’s a solution? After the third time, we suggested to Gio that he come here and he agreed.”
I said, “To work in the family business.”
“Work is a complicated concept, no? Most of us must work, some of us are lucky to enjoy it. We tried to set up a situation where Gio would enjoy it.”
Milo said, “How so?”
“We allowed him time to develop.”
That was nonsense and he knew it. Color spread across his cheeks. Another glance to the right took a while to reverse.
Milo said, “Makes sense. So what, exactly, was his job?”
“The official title was West Coast sales manager. We have not penetrated the California market as much as we’d like. Better in New York but America, in general, has been difficult. Our shoes take time to produce and the American way is al più presto — as soon as possible. We would like to make an adaptation. Perhaps to partner with an American manufacturer.”
Milo said, “Gio was sent to explore that in L.A.”
“Gio was learning about L.A.”
“The house he was living in—”
“We took care of that,” said Claudio Aggiunta. “Also his car.” Single head shake. “He wanted another Ferrari, we settled on a Maserati with a smaller engine... we took care of everything. His expenses, his allowance. We were happy to do it. Now...” His face crumpled. “What else can I tell you?”
“Anything you think would be helpful.”
“I know nothing that would be helpful, Lieutenant. Every year I live I seem to know less about everything.”
He grimaced. “I was assigned the arrangements. For bringing Gio back. What must I do?”
Milo, long accustomed to guiding family members through the process of body retrieval, explained slowly, clearly, gently. Then he handed over a list of county phone numbers he’d compiled and run off in multiples. Serious stack. The entire contents of a bottom desk drawer.
Claudio Aggiunta scanned but his eyes clouded. “A process. When will my brother be... free?”
“There are still things to investigate, sir, so not immediately. More likely in a few days. If you need to return home, we can help you handle the transfer with phone calls and email. You should probably also talk to the Italian consulate.”
Aggiunta worked his phone. “It’s in Century City. Looks not far from here... okay, I will do what I need to do. Of course, I would prefer to bring Gio home now. To present my parents with... how many days is a few?”
“I wish I could be precise, sir.”
Aggiunta thought about that. “Perhaps I will fly to New York. There are business matters to be managed... does that sound cold? It is not. I need to be busy, Lieutenant. To think about simple things.”
“That makes total sense, sir.”
“You are kind, thank you. You will keep me informed?”
“I will, sir.”
Aggiunta looked at him. “I believe you will.”
Another brief handshake was followed by a return to the elevator.
Claudio Aggiunta said, “Am I allowed to ride down by myself?”
“You are.”
“Then I would prefer to do that. Thank you for your time, Lieutenant. And Alex.”
Chapter 16
The elevator door closed on Claudio Aggiunta.
Milo said, “Class act.”
I said, “Carrying a big load.”
“He does the all work so Gio’s free to enroll in Playboy One oh One.”
“Gio may have been outwardly carefree but there was a sad side to him. Growing up as the non-achiever, then he gets dumped by an eighteen-year-old and reacts by attempting suicide and dropping out of school. That says low resilience. He disappears for three years and returns focused exclusively on older women. Which has a rigid, almost frantic quality to it. Though it did make him an ideal match for Meagin.”
“She’s got problems with older men so she aims young, he’s just the opposite,” he said. “The perfect monsoon. Which slams me right back to which one of them was the target. Here I was getting confident about Meagin and Doug, but with Gio’s history of pissing off husbands, who knows?”
“Pissing off husbands and getting bailed out. The family saw it, accurately, as ransom money. After the third time they’d had enough and sent him away.”