Chapter 10 Chapter nine

Back in the room, the sound of father and brother arguing in the study came up from the stone staircase.I felt another piercing pain in my stomach, so I had to keep standing.I waited until the argument was over, then walked out again, deciding to go get Mom's medicine chest now. But I'm not the only one who shouldn't get up.Tommaso was coming down the stairs, clumsy as a wounded bull, but he was clearly troubled.Cautiously, lightly, he walked straight towards me, and followed, standing up straight, as if criminally. Looking at me guilty.I knew I could catch him now. "Alexandra! God, you scared the hell out of me," he whispered hoarsely. "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you and Dad arguing about something," I lied calmly, "was woken up by you. Where are you going? It's almost dawn." "I...I have to see someone." "What did Dad say?" "nothing." "Any news from Protila?" "No, no. No news of her." "Then what are you talking about?" I saw his lips pursed, so I asked softly, "Tomaso, what did you and Dad talk about?" He looked at me coldly, as if to let me know that he wouldn't feel too bad about losing this bargain. "There's trouble in the city."

"What trouble?" He paused and said, "It's terrible...the night watchmen of the Church of the Holy Spirit found two bodies." "Corpse?" "A man and a woman. Murdered." "Where?" He took a breath: "In the church." "Church! What's the matter?" "No one knows. They were found in the morning, the bodies hidden under the pews in the church. Their throats were slit." "what!" But I can see from his eyes that what Dad told him must be more than that.God, help me!I can't stop thinking about the image of a pack of feral dogs chewing on the young girl's body. "anything else?"

"Neither of them had clothes on. Something was stuffed in her mouth." His tone was menacing, and then he fell silent, as if he had said too much.I frowned to express my incomprehension. "It's his penis." Seeing my confused face, he smiled sinisterly, grabbed his own crotch with both hands, and said, "Understood? The murderer cut off his penis and stuffed it in her mouth .” "Ah!" I knew I was looking like a child again, because I thought so myself then, "Ah, who would do such a thing in Holy Spirit Hall!" But we all know the answer.Must be the maniac who mutilated the girl near Holy Cross Church.

"Dad had a meeting to discuss this. City Hall and the Sheriff's Committee decided to remove the body." "Move? You mean..." "That way people can spot them outside of the city." "Is that what Dad told you tonight?" He nodded. But why would he do this?If you knew such a terrible secret, you wouldn't tell anyone casually.Especially young people like Tommaso who often hang out on the street, they should find that if they don't get rid of their habits, their lives will be in danger.My stomachache is clearly making me dumb. "But . . . why did they remove the body? I mean, since they found it there, shouldn't . . . "

"What's the matter with you, Alexandra? You've grown so stupid at night?" he sighed. "When you think about it, it's dishonoring God and causing riots." He is right, it will. I was sick and terrified, but pretended nothing had happened. "You know, Tommaso," I forced a smile, "some brothers protect their sisters in situations like this." "That's why some younger sisters pay homage to their older brothers." "But what fun are you getting out of it?" I whispered. "That's sure to kill you." As we looked at each other, I wondered for the first time, what would our lives be like now if we hadn't played antagonistic roles in the past?He shrugged slightly and walked away from me.

"You can't go out now, don't you know? It will be dangerous!" He didn't say anything. "That's what you and Dad were arguing about, isn't it? He won't let you go out?" He shook his head. "I have an appointment, Alexandra, and I must go." I took a breath: "No matter who she is, you can wait." He looked at me in the dark for a while, then smiled and said, "You don't understand, little sister. Even if I can wait, she can't. That's it, good night." He said quietly and left. I reached out and grabbed his arm: "Be careful!"

It took him a while to push my hand away, as if he wanted to say something, maybe it was just my imagination?He suddenly came from behind. "God, Alexandra, what's going on? Are you hurt?" "what?" "You're bleeding." I looked down, and sure enough, there was a dark red blood stain on the front of my skirt. Suddenly I understood.It was not Protila's pain that I felt, but my own.It came, the most dreaded moment of my life.A flush of shame hit me like a fever, and I blushed for it, clutching my nightgown with both hands, twisting it between my fingers until the stain faded and disappeared.At the same time I felt a heat flow down the inside of my thigh.

Tommaso knew what was going on, of course; I shuddered at the thought that he might blackmail me with this.But instead, I'll never forget his subsequent actions.He leaned over to me and stroked my cheeks. "So," he said softly, "we've got a secret now. Good night, sister." He passed me down the stairs, and I heard him close the door softly.I went back to bed and felt my blood pumping.