The casket had been lifted from its stone enclosure in the ground and placed alongside the freshly dug earth, the cover not yet removed. It sat on a platform, waiting for the medical examiner, the rabbi, and a representative of the court to begin the process of exhumation. David and Ricci Busacca flanked their mother. Beniamino was not present. David glanced at Tessa. Loffredo, Serafina, Rosa, Tessa, and Carmela stood on the other side of the bier, the officials in the center.
“Are all assembled?” Valois asked.
Serafina nodded.
“Wait!” someone called, alighting from a voiture de grande remise. They turned to the abrupt sound of his voice as Levi Busacca limped into view.
Sophie visibly shivered and clutched the arms of her sons.
Busacca touched his hat to Serafina and stood by her side, his face grim.
Serafina introduced him to Inspector Valois. In a few moments he nodded to the two workers who began opening the casket. Serafina stared at the ground, listening to the creak of wood breaking the silence. It seemed to take forever.
“You will each file past and look at the deceased,” Valois said.
Sophie turned away, shaking her head, a linen to her throat, but the others peered inside, shaking their heads. Serafina held a handkerchief to her nose and mouth, trying not to inhale when she leaned in to view the corpse, now well into the process of deterioration.
“Sophie, how could you have identified this woman as my daughter?” Busacca asked. He turned to Valois. “Remove the body from our family plot and send my sister a bill for all expenses incurred. And I mean all investigative expenses.” He turned to Serafina. “Grim but necessary. Excellent work. Meet me in three hours in the lobby of the Hotel du Louvre.”
“They tricked me, Loffredo and his lover,” Sophie whined. She stood before them, an old woman, her finger accusatory.
Serafina blanched. Valois looked from Loffredo to Serafina. Carmela bit her lip. Rosa looked at the ground. David continued to gaze at Tessa.
Busacca’s face was crimson. “A shameful lie, but the Florio woman is too smart for your tricks. You fooled only yourself. My daughter’s not in her tomb, not yet. But her spirit is dying, and you’ve taken advantage of her. Her disappearance is another of her whims, a bid for
… whatever it is she seeks. Instead of helping her and warning me, you’ve made her perversity far worse.”
“But don’t you see? That woman and Loffredo took advantage of my poor eyesight.”
“You’re not worth any more words.” He limped away, looking straight ahead.
Valois thanked the officials, told Madame de Masson that he would like to talk to them tomorrow. “I want all three of your sons present.”
“Tomorrow is impossible. I must see to my work.”
“Then I will have two policemen take you into the prefecture for questioning.”
After the noon meal, they sat in Serafina’s rooms around a table. Several waiters served them cafe and an assortment of sweets. Busacca looked tired.
Rosa asked for cafe au lait and a large slice of cake. “Something cold on the top and perhaps some chocolate sauce on the side. And a cookie or two. It’s a shame to be in Paris and not sample.” She turned to Busacca. “Nice to see you again, Levi,” she said through her cake.
As they sat munching sweets, Busacca asked how Serafina discovered the ruse.
“I began with the feeling that something was wrong. I came too late to view the body-your sister made sure of that. That was my first clue that there might be a cover up. A gnawing question plagued me. Why would Sophie insist on the burial of a Christian in accordance with the Jewish laws? That was closely followed by the fact that none of Elena’s friends knew of her death, and I thought that was strange. I still suspect that one or two know where she is and are hiding the truth. Although the press didn’t cover the murder, why wouldn’t the family notify at least one of her companions? And then there was the discrepancy of the dead woman’s clothes and personal hygiene, decidedly not those of a countess. Suspicious events kept piling-the theft of the photographs and the plates of the dead woman’s face. The more we were prevented from uncovering the facts, the more I was convinced that Elena was not dead.” Serafina told him details of the attack in Elena’s apartment and what she’d discovered about Elena’s lovers and her pregnancy.
Busacca was noticeably moved. “So I am to be a grandfather at last. I beat Sophie.”
Serafina’s smile was wan. She looked at Loffredo who shook his head.
“Our sources tell us Elena changed her will shortly before she disappeared,” Rosa said, “naming the chief beneficiary as your sister.”
The man’s eyebrows shot up and he rang the bell. “I’ll find out the truth.”
There was a knock on the door and a maid entered. Busacca scribbled a note and handed it to her. “See that this is delivered to my lawyer,” he said. He wrote the name of the firm and address and gave the paper to Serafina. “In case you have questions.”
“It’s not against the law to change a will. But if part of it includes an insurance policy and Sophie tries to claim the money, that will be important information as far as Valois is concerned, assuming she colluded with Elena to contrive her death and assuming Elena is still alive,” Serafina said.
“So we’re left with another mystery,” Busacca said, “Is my daughter alive and if so, where is she and why has she disappeared?” He reached into his satchel and pulled out a large book, wrote a cheque, handing it to Serafina.
“Instead of finding her murderer, I want you to find my daughter. Apparently you’ve already started the search. Any leads?”
She shook her head and showed him the notice she’d run in seven daily papers. “No responses.”
He wasn’t surprised, he told her. “Her friends don’t bother reading, but I’m prepared to offer a reward. Re-run it, advertising the amount of five thousand francs for credible information.”
Serafina glanced at Rosa.
“From what a few friends tell us, I think she might be in the south of France. The exhibit of a new style of painting, the work of many who are her friends, has made an impact on her. I think it provoked a deep response and she wants to be a part of it.”
“So she’s hiding somewhere and painting?” Busacca shook his head.
Rosa leaned in closer and eyed the cheque in Serafina’s hand, a note for triple her initial retainer. Serafina folded it and put it in her reticule.
“Cable me if you need more. I won’t ask for an accounting, nor do I expect a happy outcome. Quite the contrary. I believe my daughter is behind her own disappearance. I can only imagine what laws she’s broken. Of course if you could rescue my grandchild…”
“We’ll do everything possible, Levi.”
As Serafina watched, Busacca slumped. He changed from a business man to a beaten soul, his eyes haunted. “Ultimately, this is on my head. She was my daughter, perfect in every way, and I showered her with gifts, slowly killing her spirit.” He turned to Loffredo. “Look at me. I’m a father who has failed. I’ve managed to kill my own child.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Rosa said.
His eyes began to water. “You are too kind. Even so, if she turned up today, I’d take her in and love her.”
He turned to Loffredo. “I suppose you’ve done an adequate job putting up with her all these years. Still, with the right sort of man, someone she loved… But there I go, trying to blame someone else when I’m the one who ruined her. I made her incapable of loving anyone other than herself, if you can call her self-regard ‘love’.” He got up to leave and put his hand out. “I’ve misjudged you, I’m afraid.”