Chapter 2

Ella knew exactly how to cry.

She did not wail or make a scene. She simply huddled against her mother, her shoulders trembling now and then like a bird spooked by thunder. If I had not known she was lying, I might have pitied her too.

"It was a little after ten that night," she said hoarsely. "I went to the port to bring my mother some documents. The lights by the old elevator shaft were out. I had just reached it when someone came up behind me and stopped me."

She paused and looked up at me. "It was Rocco."

"You're sure?" I asked.

"I saw his face."

"What was he armed with?"

"A handgun."

"Which hand was he holding it in?"

Ella froze. Lucia immediately shifted to block my view of her. "Vera, do you have a conscience? She's this badly hurt, and you're still quibbling over details?"

I ignored her.

"Ella, what kind of accent does Rocco have?"

Her face lost a little color. "I... I was too scared. I don't remember."

"What was he wearing?"

"A black coat. Gloves."

"How tall?"

Her lips moved, but no answer came out.

A few people at the table were starting to look impatient. Under the table, Lucia's clenched fingers had gone white. She clearly had not expected me to ask such detailed questions.

Ella quickly pushed up her sleeve to expose the burn. "He did this!" she sobbed. "He pressed a red-hot seal against my hand and made me admit I'd handed over the key."

I looked at the injury. It was real, but that did not make her story true.

"There are no cameras covering the old elevator shaft," Lucia cut in. "So don't expect to clear your son's name."

"I have no intention of covering anything up." I turned back to Ella. "I only want to know what this Rocco of yours actually looks like. The one who talks, holds a gun, and makes threats."

Ella bit down on her lip. "I told you. I saw him."

"Is that so?" I leaned back and lowered my voice. "Then why did you hesitate when I asked whether he could talk?"

Lucia's face changed. A low murmur started around the hall, and Don Ferrini glanced up at me.

Ella looked cornered, and her voice shot up. "I'm not lying! Rocco is a man. He stood right in front of me. He said my name!"

"That makes it even stranger.

"Because you have never seen my son before."

The tears froze on Ella's face. Lucia shot to her feet, nearly shrieking as she cut me off. "Don't play word games in here!"

She had reacted too quickly. So quickly that even the people around the table knew something was wrong.

But she quickly reined herself in and turned to the Commission. "Testimony can omit details. Injuries don't lie. We have more evidence."

There was a light back in her eyes when she said it.

I knew they were about to produce the real evidence.

I also knew that the more they produced, the more humiliating their defeat would be.