Chapter 3 - THE PHOTOGRAPH INSIDE THE WALL
Gabriel caught his father before his head struck the table.
The restaurant erupted.
Richard shouted for someone to call an ambulance.
Tessa moved automatically, clearing the dishes while Gabriel checked Salvatore's breathing.
She had taken a basic first-aid course through a community college.
But she knew better than to interfere with trained paramedics.
Within minutes, emergency responders arrived.
Salvatore was conscious again, though disoriented.
As they lifted him onto the stretcher, he grabbed Gabriel's sleeve.
“Lucia.”
Gabriel leaned closer.
“Who is she?”
Salvatore's lips trembled.
“Your cousin.”
Then he closed his eyes.
At the hospital, doctors determined that Salvatore had suffered a serious cardiac episode requiring further testing and observation.
Gabriel stood outside the treatment room, his face expressionless.
Tessa had come only because the old man had refused to release her hand until the ambulance arrived.
Now she wanted to leave.
Gabriel approached.
“Miss—”
“Tessa.”
“Tessa. Thank you for helping him.”
“I didn't do much.”
“You did more than you realize.”
She folded her arms.
“I need to get back to work.”
Gabriel studied her.
“Your manager can manage.”
“That doesn't mean I can afford to lose my job.”
Something flickered in his expression.
He reached for his wallet.
Tessa stepped back.
“Don't.”
Gabriel stopped.
“I was going to compensate you for your time.”
“I know.”
“Is that offensive?”
“Not automatically. But I don't want money attached to whatever your father thinks I know.”
Gabriel put the wallet away.
“Fair enough.”
She looked surprised.
He continued.
“Would you be willing to tell me about Antonino?”
Tessa hesitated.
Then nodded.
“Somewhere public. Tomorrow afternoon.”
“Agreed.”
The next day, they met at a coffee shop near the building where Tessa had once lived.
The neighborhood had changed.
The old bakery was now an expensive wine bar.
The laundromat had become a boutique.
And the building where Mr. Cosenza had lived was scheduled for demolition.
Tessa stood outside the entrance.
“He spent forty years here.”
Gabriel looked up at the cracked brick facade.
“Did he leave anything behind?”
“Mostly books. Old photographs. I helped the landlord clear his apartment after he died.”
“Do you still have them?”
“Some.”
She hesitated.
“There's something else.”
Gabriel turned.
“What?”
“Before he died, he told me there was a secret behind the kitchen wall.”
Gabriel frowned.
“A secret?”
“He said I should only look for it if someone from Palermo came asking questions.”
Gabriel went still.
“And you never looked?”
Tessa shook her head.
“I thought he was confused.”
May you like
She glanced toward the building.
“Now I'm not so sure.”
