“And?” Canidy said, turning to Nola. “Jesus, don’t make me pull this out of you like a bad tooth.”
“And,” Nola went on, “they said that they know nothing about any poison gas.”
“Did they say if they knew anything about what was aboard the cargo ship that blew up?” Canidy said.
Nola turned to the brothers and asked the question in Sicilian.
There was some discussion, first with Nola, then between the brothers, then again with Nola.
“They say,” Nola finally explained, “Sturmbannführer Müller ordered the ship unloaded of all contents. They got everything off except the last of the canisters of fuel. They were to get that remaining gas off the next day, but then…”
What? Canidy thought. Just gas was on it?
He said to Nola, “There was only fuel in the cargo hold when the ship went up?”
Canidy saw that Tweedledee —Or is Antonio Tweedledum?— nodded.
“Only fuel, nothing else?” Canidy said, looking directly at Antonio.
“Sí,” Antonio replied.
Nola said, “He said yes.”
Canidy glared at Nola.
“No shit, Frank…I know what sí means.”
Fuller chuckled again.
Canidy looked back to Antonio.
“What did you take off of the ship? And where did it go?”
Nola answered, “It went in the warehouse.”
“But what was it, is my question,” Canidy said.
Nola looked to Antonio and repeated the question for him in Sicilian.
There then came a long involved reply, with input this time from Brother Giacomo, and much gesturing of hands and waving of arms by both brothers. Canidy recognized the name Müller.
“There was a little of everything,” Nola said, now making the same gestures as he spoke to Canidy. “There was mostly cases of food, what I believe is called ‘field rations’ for the soldiers? There was the fuel cans. And there was some crates of ammunitions, ‘bullets’? Müller wanted those off first.”
Canidy considered this, and nodded.
“And,” Canidy said, “all this went into one of your warehouses?”
“Yes,” Nola said. “The one that the Germans have begun to take over.”
“How do you mean?”
“We have two working warehouses,” Nola said. “One is still all ours. The other, the Germans are slowly taking over. As part of our agreement, they allow us to unload their matériel and store it, alongside whatever we have in there. But they have posted armed guards, and we do not have same freedom in that warehouse as we do in the other.”
Canidy thought that over, then looked at Antonio.
“Bullets?”
Antonio nodded.