Page 324 of Marcello

“We have to move these bodies,” he whispered. “Giorgio, Vincenzo, Valentino, Massimo, Adriano – help me.”

Thank God we were all wearing black latex gloves. I don’t know if I could have handled touching the corpses with my bare skin.

As I grabbed the wrists of one of the bodies, I struggled to stifle the gorge rising in my throat.

I succeeded, but Vincenzo wasn’t quite as lucky. As he grabbed the ankles of the same corpse, he puked all over it.

“Oh, gross,” Lucia whimpered, and nearly threw up herself.

I have to admit, I came damn close, too.

“Vincenzo, let somebody else take your place,” Lars whispered.

“I’m fine,” Vincenzo said resolutely as he helped me heave the body off the pile.

“Vincenzo, you’re not fine – you just vomited.”

“Hey,” I joked, “it’s not the worst-smelling thing down here.”

Everyone chuckled, and Vincenzo flashed me a grateful look as we moved the body to an empty connecting tunnel.

While we labored to move the corpses, Dario took a briefcase from Roberto and handed it to the old man. “Here’s the money we promised you.”

’O Munaciello grunted and opened the briefcase to make sure all the cash was there.

If Dario took offense, he didn’t show it. He just pointed at the circular hole above our heads. “Are you going with us?”

“No, I prefer not to die.”

The old man locked the briefcase and headed towards one of the empty tunnels. Before he disappeared into the darkness, he turned back. “’N culo â balena.”

It was the Neapolitan version of the Italian phrase In culo alla balena.

Literally, In the ass of the whale –

But it meant Good luck. Sort of like Break a leg.

Dario gave the traditional reply: “Speriamo non caghi.”

I hope it doesn’t shit.

The old man chuckled, then hobbled off into the darkness, carrying his newfound fortune with him.

111

Schizzato

It took three hours and another couple of joints, but I finally bashed my way through the wall.

It was pretty fuckin’ solid – at least four feet thick. By the time I was finished, I had a jagged hole all the way through the wall. It was just big enough for me to squeeze my way through.

Once I was on the other side, I shined my flashlight down the tunnel.

It was just more stone walls, with wooden beams and columns holding shit up –

But then I saw something in the darkness.

Two shining circles, the way you’d see animal eyes glowing in a car’s headlights.