Seven Days Before the Mafia Princess Died novel · Chapter 22 of 24

Chapter 22: The Cypress

I went to the cemetery office at nine the next morning, on Ciro's arm, wearing a scarf over what was left of my hair.

The manager was waiting on the front step.

I had last seen him standing between me and a hole in the ground, telling me the plot was reserved for a dog.

He was a small, neat man in a gray suit, and this time he had brought his whole staff.

There were eleven of them, in a row on the gravel.

A groundskeeper held his cap in both hands.

Two women from the front desk stood together with their eyes on their shoes.

"Miss Barsanti," the manager said. "Thank you for coming."

"You called me at ten at night."

"I know. I couldn't wait." He moistened his lips. "May I speak?"

"You may."

He took a breath, and he said it to the gravel, then lifted his head and said it to me.

"I was wrong to refuse you. You came with a receipt, and you were ill, and I told you the plot belonged to a dog because a woman with a name told me to. I should have called the police. I should have called someone." His voice wobbled. "I am sorry. I am sorrier than I know how to say."

Behind him, one of the women at the desk had started to cry.

"Thank you," I said.

"The deposit, of course, is yours. It was never spent." He held out an envelope. "And the Commission wrote to us on Tuesday. The Barsanti hold on the hill is lifted. The plot is yours, with no conditions, to use or not."

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