The Life - Rebirth (The Life 4)

GABRIEL

It took another six months before Memnon was ready to move, or at least he was finally making noises in that direction. A lot has happened in that time. First, I did not return to Sicily, not yet, but I did stay in contact with Sal, almost weekly, in fact. He would’ve liked more, but I knew a big fish in the water has more lure than the little one on the hook.

So, I kept him waiting while giving him updates on my life, fictional, of course, but he’d find the truth of my words if he looked. I also used the time to lay the groundwork for my next big move when I finally do return to Sicily. Things were going slower than I would’ve liked, but all things considered, I’d not been wasting valuable time, but instead, getting things in order for my departure.

In that time, I’d also been collecting and compiling my findings from the recordings I’d made from the devices I’d planted in the palazzo and also in Teresa and Antonio’s home. The bottle of wine I’d sent her was long gone, but she’d held onto the collector’s bottle, which I knew she would since she’s an aficionado. The burgundy was one of the oldest and hard to find. Now the bottle with my little addition attached has taken up center stage in the room where she spends most of her time.

I started seeing the effects of the little surprise I’d added to the wine on her husband about three months in and was sure the end result was just around the corner. It’s fair to note he never touched the bottle as he’s not as into the fruit of the vine as she is, so there was no way for her to link anything back to me when shit hits the fan.

Felice was at this point just a shell of herself, but alas, I no longer get to see and hear her, only about her, since she’s been in an institution for the insane for the last three months. That’s how long it had taken before they gave up and realized there was no help for her. She’d kept on using that cream until it was gone, and there was a sizable hole in the side of her face.

Alonzo had given up hiding his disgust by week three, and with each scream, Sal was even more sure that it was her penance for that night and the part she’d played. He was literally waiting for the other shoe to drop. Pop had given up trying to sideline me, or so he'd like me to believe. When I came back that last time, he’d just welcomed me back home and gone on with his day as if to convince me that he was over it. I knew he was pissed, but he’d caught himself up in a bind.

On the one hand, he wants to give me the respect of a man, while on the other, he wants to baby his son. I think he’s consoled himself with the thought that I wouldn’t do anything dangerous before telling him something nana and I had come up with to put his mind at ease.

I’m sure he suspects my end game by now, but he hasn’t brought it up to nana, who I’m sure would pull the plug if she knew. I also know that in the end, she’d understand. Pop never will, and that’s something I’m going to have to live with for however much time I have left.

His dilemma with the cops and feds was coming to an end as well though I’m sure he knows they will always be watching in one capacity or another, but at least for now, the heat is gone. Dempsey had been made to pay a fine; the department had been made to pay Lancelot a hefty sum, and Pop had pretty much destroyed Dempsey and his little band of merry men.

Last I heard, his wife had left him once the truth came out, and he started catching flak from his colleagues and citizens alike; his kids were ashamed of him, at least in public, but why weren’t they ashamed when he was the way he was all along? I like how in these cases, people tend to act like they didn’t know that the accused was a piece of shit all along.

Pop hadn’t stopped with his profession, so that may have played a part in his ostracization. All of his behind-the-scenes dealings, from extramarital affairs to some other shady shit on the job, had been dug up and broadcasted to all and sundry by Pop, who then turned his sights on anyone else involved; it was a bloodbath without shedding any blood and Levi has been having a ball with it all.