At the End of a Dull Day by Massimo Carlotto, Anthony Shugaar Page B

didn’t tell you why?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œStill, you accepted.”
    â€œYou would have done the same thing. She assured me that after the elections you’d have other things to worry about, and that the girls would the last of your worries.”
    â€œWhat did they promise you in exchange?”
    â€œInside information on certain investments and a position as the commissioner for cultural affairs in a small town in the province.”
    â€œAnd you act squeamish about working as a hooker in Venice at Carnival?”
    â€œI’m sorry, Giorgio. I know, I should have told you about it before now . . . ”
    â€œYou’re going to keep seeing Ylenia and sending the girls out on jobs for Brianese and his friends. But I want to know everything. No more secrets.”
    â€œAll right, whatever you say, Giorgio.”
    I stood up. “Come back at closing time, dressed to kill,” I ordered her.
    Many hours later, when Gemma opened the door and saw me standing there with Nicoletta, she had a moment of surprise and hesitation. Then she said: “Oh, King of Hearts, you’re going to turn me into a bad, bad girl.”

CHAPTER THREE
Renegade
    W hen the elections came the Padanos swept to a victory that was beyond anyone’s wildest expectations. They were now the absolute masters of nearly every square inch of the Veneto. It was a bitter defeat for Brianese and his party and he was forced to take the blame, like a general who had been beaten on the field of battle. With gnashing of teeth and rending of garments he bravely offered his chest to the firing squad, but it was nothing more than a tableau organized with the local bigwigs and power brokers. They absolved him publicly of all guilt and entrusted him with the task of negotiating with the victors for all the government positions and appointments in the public health department that he could wangle. For that matter, the Counselor was one of the most openly avowed and deeply implicated supporters of the Fearless Leader. There was no way he could climb onto another passing bandwagon. But Brianese had been well aware of that fact for some time now. Every move he made was a stitch in a larger tapestry he was weaving, a strategy designed to allow him to outlive the Fearless Leader and even the party itself, even though he was one of the staunchest defenders of the logic of dynastic succession. The Fearless Leader’s daughter was looking like a good prospect.
    There was immediate negative fallout on La Nena’s business. La Nena was considered the one public venue where the municipal defeat had germinated, and many of our regular customers emigrated elsewhere. The hour of the day when this tendency was clearest was aperitif time, when customers came in to converse and gossip, but the restaurant actually held up well. I immediately decided to take steps. Nicoletta arranged to recruit a certain number of male and female underwear models whose only job was to be seen in the place, behaving like schoolchildren. The evening aperitif hour started livening up again. The long awaited death blow that the Counselor was expected to inflict upon me failed to arrive. I relaxed, in the conviction that he was too busy trying to limit damages. He hadn’t been around in a while, nor had any of his colleagues. But really, I was misjudging and underestimating him again.
    At the end of a dull spring day, Brianese walked into La Nena with his usual brisk determined step, his usual bright smile stamped firmly on his face. He was jovial and pleasant with everyone and ran through a well-rehearsed routine of wisecracks and personal stories about the Padanos and their mutual adversaries on the center-left.
    My stomach did a flip-flop and I only went over to pay my tributes once he’d finished performing his little skit.
    â€œWelcome back, Counselor.”
    He pretended he’d only just noticed me. “Caro Giorgio, how have you been?”