Chapter 4 - THE GIRL WHO VANISHED IN PALERMO
The building superintendent remembered Tessa.
He also remembered Antonino Cosenza.
After confirming that the apartment was vacant and obtaining permission from the property owner, Tessa and Gabriel entered the old unit.
The rooms were stripped bare.
No furniture.
No curtains.
Only dust and the smell of plaster.
Tessa walked into the kitchen.
She remembered the yellow wallpaper.
The narrow table.
The kettle that never stopped whistling.
She touched the wall beside the stove.
“Here.”
Gabriel examined the plaster.
A repair had been made years earlier.
Different paint.
Different texture.
They arranged for the wall cavity to be opened carefully.
Inside was a small metal box.
Wrapped in oilcloth.
Tessa stared.
Gabriel looked at her.
“Do you want to open it?”
She nodded.
Inside were three objects.
A photograph.
A handwritten letter.
And a child's silver bracelet.
The photograph showed a little girl standing beside Antonino.
On the back, in faded ink, someone had written:
Lucia Rossi — Palermo, 1998.
Tessa's breath caught.
The little girl was smiling.
Her dark curls framed a round face.
She looked no older than five.
Gabriel studied the picture.
“I've never seen her.”
Tessa opened the letter.
It was written in the same old Sicilian dialect Mr. Cosenza had taught her.
She read silently.
Then her face drained of color.
Gabriel noticed.
“What does it say?”
Tessa swallowed.
“It says Lucia was taken away after her mother was murdered.”
Gabriel went rigid.
“Who murdered her?”
Tessa continued reading.
Then stopped.
“Gabriel.”
“What?”
May you like
She looked up.
“The letter says your father ordered it.”
