Chapter 10 - WHEN MARIA'S TABLE BURNED|
By the time we reached Maria's Table, flames were climbing through the restaurant's roof.
Fire engines crowded the street.
Red lights flashed against neighboring buildings.
Smoke rolled into the night sky.
And the wooden sign Maria had painted with her own hands was burning above the entrance.
Luca stopped beside the police barricade.
For a moment, he didn't move.
Then he whispered, "No."
I stood beside him, feeling heat against my face.
Firefighters were working to contain the blaze.
A neighboring shopkeeper told us that the building had been empty when the fire began.
Thank God.
Nobody had been trapped inside.
But I could see what the restaurant meant to Luca.
He wasn't watching an old building burn.
He was watching the last home his mother had created disappear.
"She built this place with Dad," he whispered.
"Before we had money."
"Before anyone knew our name."
I looked toward the flames.
The red awning collapsed.
Luca flinched.
"She used to let me sleep beneath the counter when she worked late."
His voice cracked.
"Sometimes she'd wake me up at midnight with fresh bread."
I reached for his hand.
He held mine so tightly that I could feel it trembling.
"Raymond did this," he said.
"We don't know that yet."
Luca looked at me.
"Claire."
His eyes were filled with fury.
"He killed my mother."
"He poisoned my father through Vanessa."
"And now he's burning everything she left behind."
I swallowed.
"Then don't let him destroy what she taught you too."
He stared at me.
"What do you mean?"
"Your mother wanted you to build something better than fear."
For several seconds, Luca didn't answer.
Then he slowly released his clenched fist.
Behind us, Detective Alvarez approached.
"Mr. Moretti, we have witnesses who saw someone near the rear entrance."
Luca turned immediately.
"Who?"
"A man arrived in a black vehicle about fifteen minutes before the fire."
"He remained near the service alley."
"Then he left."
"One witness photographed the license plate."
Gabriel examined the number.
His expression darkened.
"That's Leon Price's car."
I remembered Leon.
He had worked as one of the family's drivers for years.
He had often driven Vanessa to shopping appointments.
And he had been the person who collected her from the mansion on the night the projector exposed her.
Luca looked furious.
"Find him."
Detective Alvarez raised a hand.
"We're handling it."
Luca's jaw tightened.
Then he nodded.
"Bring him in alive."
The detective studied him.
"That's the plan."
We remained outside until firefighters brought the blaze under control.
The restaurant's interior was badly damaged.
The kitchen roof had partially collapsed.
But the adjoining storage room remained standing.
A fire investigator later told us the circumstances were suspicious.
Further examination would determine how the fire started.
The next morning, a woman in her seventies approached us near the police tape.
She carried a small paper bag.
"Excuse me."
Luca turned.
"Can I help you?"
"Are you Maria's boy?"
He stared at her.
"My name is Luca."
The woman smiled sadly.
"I'm Ruth Jennings."
"Your mother fed my husband and me when we were sleeping in our car."
I watched Luca's expression change.
Ruth continued.
"We were young."
"We'd lost everything."
"Every Thursday, Maria gave us dinner and enough leftovers for breakfast."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"She never asked us to pay."
Luca looked toward the ruined restaurant.
"I'm sorry it's gone."
Ruth shook her head.
"Baby, a building is only a building."
She touched his arm.
"Your mother built something in people."
"Fire can't take that away."
Then she handed him the paper bag.
Inside was an old recipe card.
Maria's handwriting covered the front.
At the bottom were the words:
Always make enough for one more.
Luca closed his eyes.
Tears slipped down his cheeks.
I looked at Ruth.
"Why did you keep this?"
She smiled.
"Because your mother taught me how to make soup when I had nothing."
"And I've been feeding people with that recipe ever since."
A few hours later, Detective Alvarez called.
Leon Price had been located outside a motel in Indiana.
Investigators were questioning him about the fire.
His vehicle had been seized for examination.
And phone records showed repeated contact with Raymond Calder in the days before the blaze.
Luca listened silently.
Then the detective added, "There's another development."
"What?"
"We traced Simon Voss to a series of short-term rentals."
"He has been using several identities."
"One location contained documents relating to the foundation."
Luca straightened.
"Did you find him?"
"Not yet."
"But we believe he's still in the Chicago area."
When the call ended, Luca stared toward the restaurant.
"I want to find him before Raymond does."
I frowned.
"Why?"
"Because Simon knows what happened to my mother."
"And Raymond knows he knows."
That evening, we returned to the mansion.
Frank was sitting beside the fireplace.
When Luca told him about the restaurant, the old man began crying.
"Maria loved that place."
Luca knelt beside him.
"I know, Dad."
Frank touched his son's face.
"Promise me something."
"Anything."
"Don't turn her memory into another reason to hurt somebody."
Luca lowered his head.
"I promise."
Then Frank reached into his cardigan.
He removed a small brass key.
"Your mother left this with me."
Luca stared at it.
"What does it open?"
"A safe-deposit box."
Frank's voice grew quiet.
"She told me to use it if the restaurant was ever destroyed."
I leaned forward.
"What's inside?"
Frank shook his head.
"I never opened it."
May you like
Then he looked at Luca.
"She said it contains the truth about the people she trusted."
