Gold Coast

So, it was a juxtaposition of events – the hayloft incident, the te

But that's all hindsight. That evening my mind was cloudy, and my good judgement was infuenced by my need to proove something. It goes to show you, you shouldn't stay out too late during the week.

PART IV

We will now discuss in a little more detail the Struggle for Existence.

Charles Darwin

The Origin of Species

CHAPTER 18

We did not have the Bellarosas to our house the next evening as A

Susan Stanhope Sutter and Mrs A

It is very difficult, I imagine, to run a large crime empire, especially since the emperor ca

Susan said to me one evening, "I saw the strangest thing next door."

"What?"

"I saw a man kiss Frank's hand."

"Why is that strange? My junior partners kiss my hand every morning." "Be serious, please. I'll tell you something else. Everyone who enters that house is taken into the coatroom and searched. I can hear that sound that a metal detector makes when it goes off."

"Are you searched?"

"Of course not." She asked, "Why is he so paranoid?"

"He's not. People really are out to get him. Why don't you understand that?"

"Well, I suppose I do. But it just seems so bizarre… I mean, right next door."

"Has Mr Mancuso spoken to you yet?"

"No. Will he?"

"Perhaps."

But other than that brief conversation, there wasn't much mention of Frank, as I said.

Regarding A

"But I have the feeling that her husband would like her to develop new skills." So would your husband, Susan. Like cooking and housekeeping. In truth, I'd rather have a Susan than an A

Susan also informed me that A

"They're very superstitious people," I said. "You didn't upset her with any of your ghost stories, did you, Susan?"

"No, of course not. I told her there are no ghosts in Alhambra."

"Well, I'm sure she feels better now that the house is all sprinkled."

"I hope so. They gave me the shivers."

Anyway, there is a silver lining in every dark cloud, and in this case the silver lining was Italian food. Not that Susan was learning how to cook – no, she can no more cook than I can levitate. But she was bringing home a portion of the Bellarosas' evening fare almost every night: Tupperware containers heaped with ravioli, baked ziti, eggplant parmigiana, fried zucchini, and other things with unpronounceable names. I had really struck pay dirt here, and I actually looked forward to di

I had no doubt that I had established a personal relationship with Frank Bellarosa, but I was not certain of the nature of that relationship; or if I did know, I wasn't letting on to anyone, myself included, what it was. And whatever it was, it seemed to be on hold, because by the end of that month I had not heard a word from him, directly or indirectly.