The Neapolitan Novels

29.

In Bologna we found no trace of Rino and my daughter, even though Moreno, frightened by Enzo’s fierce calm, dragged us through streets and hangouts where, according to him, if they were in the city, the two would certainly have been welcomed. Enzo telephoned Lila often, I Dede. We hoped that there would be good news, but there wasn’t. At that point I was seized by a new crisis, I no longer knew what to do. I said again:

“I’m going to the police.”

Enzo shook his head.

“Wait a little.”

“Rino has ruined Elsa.”

“You can’t say that. You have to try to look at your daughters as they really are.”

“It’s what I do continuously.”

“Yes, but you don’t do it well. Elsa would do anything to make Dede suffer and they are in agreement on a single point: tormenting Imma.”

“Don’t make me say mean things: it’s Lila who sees them like that and you’re repeating what she says.”

“Lila loves you, admires you, is fond of your daughters. It’s me who thinks these things, and I’m saying them to help you be reasonable. Calm down, you’ll see, we’ll find them.”

We didn’t find them, we decided to return to Naples. But as we were nearing Florence Enzo wanted to call Lila again to find out if there was any news. When he hung up he said, bewildered:

“Dede needs to talk to you but Lina doesn’t know why.”

“Is she at your house?”

“No, she’s at yours.”

I called immediately, I was afraid that Imma was sick. Dede didn’t even give me a chance to speak, she said:

“I’m leaving tomorrow for the United States, I’m going to study there.”

I tried not to shout:

“Now is not the moment for that conversation, as soon as possible we’ll talk about it with Papa.”

“One thing has to be clear, Mamma: Elsa will return to this house only when I am gone.”

“For now the most urgent thing is to find out where she is.”

She cried to me in dialect:

“That bitch telephoned a little while ago, she’s at Grandma’s.”