Chapter 8 3. Pascaela tells the truth

Natalie overcame fatigue and nervousness, and left the small hotel at the time appointed by Allen Rock. The houses in the village of Castelslano are high and low, simple and poor. The village is located on the steep slope of the hill. The hills and hills form a basin, like an ancient amphitheatre. The beautiful Segest Temple stands on the bottom of this basin.She did not ask for directions, like a traveler wandering along a rough and winding road.From the church the road turned into a path, more rugged, between vineyards and small gardens.She climbed to the highest point and saw Alan Rock about a hundred meters in front of her.

For fear of attracting rumors and the resulting investigation, Natalie did not mention the attack at night to anyone in the hotel.However, that terrible memory remained in her heart, and the extreme fear made her palpitations and feet weak from time to time.Seeing Alan Rock, her heart was relieved.She immediately regained a sense of security.No danger threatened her anymore, and everything was back to normal, because he was there, within reach of her call.It didn't matter to her whether he was the singer's lover or not, and even thinking of seeing this woman again, she didn't feel any humiliation.

He passed the cross erected at the intersection, hesitated for a moment, as if he didn't know which way to go, then turned right and disappeared. Natalie took a few steps across the intersection.Above the rickety palm-frond fence hung a wooden sign that read: Tao House.She slammed open the fence.A shabby pink-painted hut, a corner bell rang, and a path in front of the house lined with barren, dusty cacti.Alan Rock and the Italian songstress spoke at the door. He came forward immediately.She vaguely heard him say sorry, which was an inevitable politeness under the circumstances.She was very tired, so as soon as she entered the main hall downstairs, she found a place to sit down.

"You look bad!" Alan Rock said. "What happened?" "Nothing... nothing..." Natalie said, finally getting herself under control after holding on for a few seconds. "It's nothing...or rather, there's nothing worth worrying about right now. You'll find out after a while..." He didn't insist.It was obvious that for him the importance of this meeting lay entirely with Pascaela Tulsi.He had arranged this meeting solely to get the girl to face her, Natalie, to make things clear, for reasons he would explain later. She looked at both of them.The Italian woman's complexion was serious, showing a very fierce and stubborn thing in her heart, as if she was ready to use force at any time.He, too, had changed from the carefree, lively and cheerful appearance that had attracted Natalie in the first place, and his face was stern and full of hatred.He was engrossed and preoccupied, and it seemed that nothing outside could divert his attention.All his efforts to reach the present meeting.One of them had to make a concession, either the Italian singer or himself.

"Go ahead," Allen Rock said to the Italian woman. "No!" She resisted fiercely, "No! Everything I have done so far is not what I wanted... I don't want to listen to you anymore... Let me go." He patted her on the shoulder. "Listen to me, Pascaela. You didn't suspect me the other night we were talking in the bistro in Cannes, you didn't deny the relationship with the Jericho group. I asked you later and forced you to confess something else , which says that you met a man here called Mr. Manoelson two years ago, at a time when Jericho was more or less important in your life. You promised me that once We go back to your hometown and you talk about it in detail. Pascaela, we are back now. The daughter of Mr. Manolson stands before you. It is time for you to fulfill your promise. Let you know Let's talk about it."

He repeated more kindly: "Speak, Pascaela. You have nothing to fear, I will not set you a trap. When you tell us what you know, when I know the truth, you can rest assured, I will help you and your family. Speak, Pascaela." In the face of the Italian girl, Natalie saw the effect of Alan Rock's words. Her expression relaxed.The pursed mouth softened.Whether she wanted it or not, she finally obediently obeyed, and let people see that she was unwilling to talk about death, but in the following narration, she unconsciously became more and more excited as she spoke.Natalie felt the same way when she remembered her own resolve crumbling and dissipating.

The Italian woman said in a low voice: "Two years ago, I never left the village of Castelslano. My father was an official of the Italian government. After he died, my mother took me here to settle down. We two sisters, sister Letticia. Three of us, we lived on an annuity, and my mother made lace to support the family. She was very fond of us, especially my sister, who was so beautiful then and now. After a while, Perhaps you will see her, poor Letichia, and you will understand our sorrow... our hatred... yes, our hatred! We were three very happy, very merry then!...Letty Chea is always laughing and singing..."

The girl paused, then continued: "Letticia and I finished working in the fields on a Tuesday at the end of March...a small vineyard of our own that we like to tend to ourselves...we don't worry about it at all ...Not worried at all...Although there was indeed something to worry about at the time, because when we approached the woods, two people hid in it. However, this kind of thing happened from time to time...The people who pursued us at that time were really serious Quite a few... We didn't think it would spell disaster for us. We had dinner with my mother. Our old bitch barked once in the middle of the night. It was her habit, and I heard it in my sleep too. But by the next morning, Letticia hadn't left the room. I was very surprised, so I went to tell my mother, and she immediately got nervous and rushed into her room. The room was empty, the chairs and the bed were messed up. It was a mess, the window was open and a piece of glass was broken, and the top of a ladder was visible at the back of the house."

Alan Rock and Natalie listened attentively.Natalie thought she had been attacked the night before in the same way. "Aren't there any clues left?" Alan Rock asked. "No." "Have you reported the crime? Have you come to investigate?" "Reported." "The results of it?" "No results. The investigation was in vain. It rained that night and there were no footprints outside." "Where are those two people?..." "I reported the situation. But they couldn't be found." "But you said we might see your sister today, didn't you?"

"Yes, she and mother went for a walk in the fields." "That is to say, she came back after being kidnapped?" "Two weeks later, she came back. She was seen walking through the village. She walked, sang and danced, lifted her skirts a little, and laughed. She was mad." Pascaela was in tears.Natalie's throat was also choked. "Mother is ill," continued the girl. "For two full weeks, everyone tried their best to heal her. I believe that the strength that supports her life and the strength that supports me should be our strong desire for revenge. I fell on her bed and treated her Say: 'Mum, get well soon. I promise you, I will avenge her. Take care of poor Leticia, and I will avenge her.'

"I have never thought of anything else since, and my whole life has been devoted to this task. But, where the law has failed, how can I possibly succeed? If it is not for luck, perhaps I will never know There is still no way for me. One day, a little girl came to me. It was sent by a rich peasant woman nearby. The peasant woman's name was Anita, a widow, and we knew her very well. Anita was already ill. For some time, the fever persisted. The doctor let go, she felt that she was dying, and she wanted to tell me a secret, something she knew by chance, she said. But then I Thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem to be completely accidental..." Pascaela stopped talking, it seemed that she was tired or scrupled, which interrupted her continuation.Alan Rock felt the need to urge, so he asked: "Pascaella, did she ask you to keep it a secret?" "Yes, not all, she only asked me to keep some things she had no time to say secret." "how could be?" "She was too weak. In the matter that concerns us, she said, the two who spied on us around the vineyard, me and my sister, later took Leticia abducted, and she knew by chance the name of one of them." "Did she tell you her name?" "His name is Adjutant Boniface." "Adjutant Boniface!" Allen Rock was taken aback. "The singer? The person who organized the attack on Mirador Villa? Jericho's accomplice?" "yes." "You knew him before?" "I know him. He's a Corsican, a former captain of an ocean liner, a distant relative of my mother who occasionally visits my mother. We know he's the leader of some vagabonds, since I can sing and play. Guitar, he often said that he would take me out into the world. He came back again, that is, two months after my sister was kidnapped, I agreed to go with him." "For what purpose? To avenge your sister against him?" "No. To get to Jericho through him." "You think he kidnapped your sister for Jericho?" "Anita was unequivocal on this point, Jericho had seen Letticia many times and he fell in love with her." "So the real culprit was Jericho?" "Yes, for two years I have lived with Adjutant Boniface in order to find him. I will do anything for this purpose, and I agree to be Boniface's accomplice and take part in the planned operation. But, I Haven't been able to reach Jericho. Boniface told me he lives alone, remote control of his team. He comes and goes without a trace. But, I looked for it!" Alan Rock whispered, "We'll find him, I promise. He's here with Lieutenant Boniface?" "Yes, later, when I partnered with Boniface, I knew he lived in this area." "Coincides with Mr. Manoelson's travels in the area, doesn't it?" "It was at that time. One day, it was the eighteenth of May, I met a gentleman who came from the station and asked me if there was any hotel near by. I showed him the hotel where you are staying, madam, and he Into that room above yours. On the nineteenth I saw him go to the Temple of Segest, talking to Lieutenant Boniface and another man whose face I could not see clearly. I followed Behind them, but as soon as they turned the corner, the man disappeared. On the night of May 20, the outlander was found dead on the steps of the temple with a congested brain; I asked his name, and learned that he was Mr. Manoelson. III A few days later, I read an article in the newspaper describing a Jericho raid on a place on the coast of Marsala." Natalie took a photo from her purse.The Italian woman looked at it and said, "It is this gentleman who is talking to me...Mr. Manoelsen...he wears a big light gray felt hat." "Yes...he has been... indeed my father. According to you, miss, he spoke to Adjutant Boniface and another man who must be Jericho?" "I'm sure so. Adjutant Boniface told me afterwards that he offered to guide Mr. Manoelson on a tour of the temple. Mr. Manoelson declined. With the adjutant was Jericho." The Italian woman said all she knew.Alan-Rock continued to ask a few more questions and finally came to a conclusion. He said to Natalie Manolson: "Miss, you understand that when your father died, the Jericho gang had been in this area. Activity, the leader of this gang is circling around your father. We can't know his plan today, but we will be able to find out, and then we can determine the purpose of their attack on Villa Mirador. We have moved forward Big step, big step. On my part..." He didn't go on.His expression was stagnant, and he thought about it seriously. When he was investigating a problem, nothing could distract his thoughts. "It's clear, and it's the same for me," he whispered. "It's the only thing that connects me to the past, and I have every reason to hope for it. I've seen you once, madam, and I'm sure with deep instinct that my life and yours were once Collision. Unraveling the truth about what happened here may help me remember my past...I must understand the past. Because anyway..." He continued his inner monologue, repeating what was in his heart in a low voice, and finished what he had begun: "Because, anyway, I was in Naples at the same time as you... Isn't that a remarkable coincidence ?You were in Naples with your father, at the same time as me... Then your father traveled to Sicily, with Pascaela...and Lieutenant Boniface...and no doubt spoke to Jericho...It's not the same play Is there a different scene from the show? I'm taking a seat in it, and we're supposed to remake the play..." He clenched his fists vigorously, and said word by word: "I must do this... I must do this... In the past, I didn't know who I was, but I could still live... Now, there is hope that I can return to myself, I can't live like this any longer...I have only one thing on my mind...I want to know, I'm going deep into the darkness...I've seen the light...I want it to light my future path and guide me forward .” What an incredible person!Natalie got to know him a little better.His contradictions, his caution, gradually took on a clearer meaning.In fact, resurrecting what no longer exists is his only quest.On the road of memory, he tenaciously walked forward until he found his former self.