Broken Hearts On Boulevard Unirii novel Chapter 75

From Giorgina's office, I went straight to Otopeni airport. I went to the Tarom counter and found out that there was a direct flight to Florence leaving at noon. I bought a ticket and went into the terminal where I had a two-hour wait.

I called Angelo and told him that we would meet again soon. I asked him to check into the deal at Mihailesti. He promised to drive to the lake and investigate the situation. He told me that he was friendly with the mayor of the city.

When I arrived in Florence, there was nobody at the airport waiting for me, so I took a taxi and went directly to Claudio's house. I was very concerned about his condition.

On the way I tried calling him, but his phone was disconnected. I called Renata, who answered on the first ring.

"Giorgio, where are you calling from?" she asked. "Are you in Romania?"

"No," I replied. "I am in Italy, really close to Arezzo. How is Claudio?"

I could hear her choking as she said, "He is hospitalized in a psychiatric institution in Agazzi."

"You mean the institution on the hill overlooking the city?" I inquired.

"Yes, he was hospitalized for observation. He was talking incoherently and said that he was consumed by demons, along with other strange things that I am too embarrassed to repeat," she told me.

"I'm going straight to see him. We'll talk again later on," I said.

I asked the taxi driver to take me Agazzi, the small village at the east entrance of Arezzo. On the top of the hill there was the imposing building of the Institution for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, run by a non-profit organization of devout Christians.

As soon as I entered the building, I noticed a few patients who seemed to have intellectual disabilities. I went into the office and asked where I could find Claudio Rossi. A nurse accompanied me to a locked ward, where in one of the rooms Claudio was lying in bed. He looked like he was sleeping; his face was pale, his eyes were sunken, his lips were smeared with dried saliva mixed with medication.

I called his name several times, until he finally opened his eyes and looked at me.

"Giorgio?" he whispered.

"Yes, it's me, how are you?" I responded.

"Not good at all," he said. "There is a curse on me," he said quietly.

"Claudio, my friend, I just returned from Bucharest and have come to tell you that the curse has been removed," I said.

"Claudio, "I said, "Get better quickly. We'll all be waiting for you at Caffé dei Costanti in a few days."

"I promise to be there," he answered in a weak voice.

Now that that important task was behind me, I was ready to go home and see my family.

Sara had begun to suspect that there were "additional" things taking place in Bucharest other than just buying and renting apartments.

The first sign was the almost complete avoidance of any physical contact with me. Then, there were the telephone calls that were cut off as soon as the caller heard her voice. Finally, there was the meeting she had with Giulia, it was before Fabrizio died, during which she divulged to Sara that Fabrizio was living with a young girl and in fact they were separated and considering divorce.

Sara decided to investigate the matter a bit further. She didn't ask me anything, just went straight to my computer and began searching my e-mails. Since I had the habit of deleting all personal correspondence, she found only business correspondence, but I noticed that she had read several e-mails, which she left "open".

The only thing that puzzled her was the unusual purchases on my Visa card, after she saw the credit card statement. There were purchases from a duty-free jewelry store in Florence airport, not particularly large, and there was also one purchase of perfume and chocolates from the duty-free shop.

I acted normally and showed no outward signs of being "lovesick." There were no hidden phone calls or any deleted messages. Outwardly, there was absolutely no reason for Sara to suspect anything.