JК
The Sicilian :: Puzo Mario
Страница: 240 из 278At that moment he heard a small rustling sound at the door. He turned toward it, and in the shadows the dim orange light of the lamp did not quite reach, he could see the dark bony face of Aspanu Pisciotta.
He was sitting on the floor with his back against the door. The mustached mouth was spread in a triumphant grin, as if to say, so much for your guards, so much for the security of your sanctuary.
Michael looked at his wristwatch on the night table. It was three o'clock. "You keep strange hours – what were you waiting for?" he asked. He got out of bed and dressed quickly, then opened the shutters. The moonlight entered the room like a ghost, appearing and disappearing. "Why didn't you wake me up?" Michael said.
Pisciotta rolled to his feet like a snake raising its head on its body to strike. "I like to watch people sleep. Sometimes in their dreams they shout out their secrets."
"I never tell secrets," Michael said. "Not even in my dreams." He stepped out on the terrace and offered Pisciotta a cigarette. They smoked together. Michael could hear Pisciotta's chest rattle with suppressed coughs and indeed his face looked ghastly in the moonlight, the bones skeletal.
They were silent. Then Pisciotta said, "Did you ever get the Testament?"
"Yes," Michael said.
Pisciotta sighed. "Turi trusts me more than anyone on earth – he trusts me with his life. I am the only person who can find him now. But he did not trust me with the Testament. Do you have it?"
Michael hesitated for a moment. Pisciotta laughed. "You are like Turi," he said.
"The Testament is in America," Michael said. "It is safe with my father." He did not want Pisciotta to know it was on its way to Tunis simply because he did not want anyone to know.
Michael almost dreaded to ask the next question. There could be only one reason for Pisciotta to be visiting him so secretly. Only one reason he had risked evading the guards surrounding the villa: or had he been passed through? It could only be that finally Guiliano was ready to appear. "When is Guiliano coming?" he said.
"Tomorrow night," Pisciotta said. "But not here."
"Why not?" Michael asked. "This is safe ground."
Pisciotta laughed, "But I got in here, didn't I?"
Michael was irritated by this truth. He wondered again if Pisciotta had been passed in by the guards under the order of Don Domenico, or even brought here by him. "It's for Guiliano to decide," he said.
"No," Pisciotta said. "I must decide for him. You promised his family he will be safe. But Don Croce knows you are here, so does Inspector Velardi.
He was sitting on the floor with his back against the door. The mustached mouth was spread in a triumphant grin, as if to say, so much for your guards, so much for the security of your sanctuary.
Michael looked at his wristwatch on the night table. It was three o'clock. "You keep strange hours – what were you waiting for?" he asked. He got out of bed and dressed quickly, then opened the shutters. The moonlight entered the room like a ghost, appearing and disappearing. "Why didn't you wake me up?" Michael said.
Pisciotta rolled to his feet like a snake raising its head on its body to strike. "I like to watch people sleep. Sometimes in their dreams they shout out their secrets."
"I never tell secrets," Michael said. "Not even in my dreams." He stepped out on the terrace and offered Pisciotta a cigarette. They smoked together. Michael could hear Pisciotta's chest rattle with suppressed coughs and indeed his face looked ghastly in the moonlight, the bones skeletal.
They were silent. Then Pisciotta said, "Did you ever get the Testament?"
"Yes," Michael said.
Pisciotta sighed. "Turi trusts me more than anyone on earth – he trusts me with his life. I am the only person who can find him now. But he did not trust me with the Testament. Do you have it?"
Michael hesitated for a moment. Pisciotta laughed. "You are like Turi," he said.
"The Testament is in America," Michael said. "It is safe with my father." He did not want Pisciotta to know it was on its way to Tunis simply because he did not want anyone to know.
Michael almost dreaded to ask the next question. There could be only one reason for Pisciotta to be visiting him so secretly. Only one reason he had risked evading the guards surrounding the villa: or had he been passed through? It could only be that finally Guiliano was ready to appear. "When is Guiliano coming?" he said.
"Tomorrow night," Pisciotta said. "But not here."
"Why not?" Michael asked. "This is safe ground."
Pisciotta laughed, "But I got in here, didn't I?"
Michael was irritated by this truth. He wondered again if Pisciotta had been passed in by the guards under the order of Don Domenico, or even brought here by him. "It's for Guiliano to decide," he said.
"No," Pisciotta said. "I must decide for him. You promised his family he will be safe. But Don Croce knows you are here, so does Inspector Velardi.