KILLING ME SOFTLY

Chapter 3: Domenico Salvatore

With a linen bag over her shoulder, Veda walks through the shopping street of Cáva. Rico, Nina and the rest of the family had packed their things after breakfast and had left for Rome. They were going to stay there for the night, so they had offered Veda to use their larger kitchen. Before the family got into the car, Elisa had made a few jokes about Silvio. Veda had laughed it off awkwardly. She knows that Elisa means well, but her body cramps up at the thought of men. A sick feeling begins to creep over her, so Veda tries to distract her mind from what kind of book she is going to borrow from Silvio.

Silvio was born and raised in Cáva and owns a shop where he sells food. When Veda first met him and he told her what he owned, she had made the mistake of calling the shop a "supermarket". Silvio had pretended to be deeply hurt by that remark and explained that his food is of better quality than what you can find in a supermarket.

Veda often visits his store to stock up on basic necessities, both for home and for Rico and Nina's café. During these visits, Veda and Silvio had started talking about their love for reading. That's why Veda goes to Silvio every now and then to borrow a book. He recommends a book from his own collection and gives it to Veda so she has something to read. When she returns it, they evaluate together what they think of the book. Veda finds it a nice interaction to have. It will always be about a book and that way she doesn't have to answer difficult questions about herself.

Veda enters the store and immediately the bell rings. She sees that no one is inside yet. Silvio must be busy in the back, Veda thinks, and while she waits for Silvio to come, she lets her eyes wander around the shop.

They fall on a number of pieces of fruit. Veda thinks it would be handy to take something with her to the beach, so she has something to eat when she gets hungry and she doesn't have to go back home. She takes three mandarins and puts them down on the counter.

'Hi Dorine,' Silvio's cheerful voice sounds. 'Hi Silvio,' Veda greets him back. 'I've finished the book,' she says and takes the book she came to exchange from her bag. 'And?' Silvio asks immediately. 'What did you think of it?' 'It was fine,' Veda answers honestly. 'Very literary,' she adds. 'It was interesting, but not the kind of book you pick up before going to sleep.' Silvio nods in agreement.

'Right, so tell me: Something different now or did you like the non-fiction category?' Veda shrugs. 'I think it's all fine, I'm just happy that I can borrow something from you.' Silvio sighs, '-Dorine, you can just say whatever you want from me.' He winks at her and Veda suspects that this was meant as ambiguous as it came across.

She immediately feels some blood rush to her face and a light blush forms on her cheeks. Veda opens her mouth to answer but no sound comes out. Silvio has to laugh. 'Good to know that I still leave women speechless,' he jokes as he takes the tangerines from the counter. 'But tell me, I just finished reading an interesting book about Greek mythology myself. If that sounds like something for you, you can take it with you.' Veda nods approvingly. 'Sounds good.'

Silvio gives a thumbs up and disappears through the door to the back. Veda hears some shuffling and it sounds like something is falling. After a few minutes, Silvio reappears, this time with a book with a yellowish cover in his hand.

* * *

Veda takes a beach towel, her sunglasses and the borrowed book out of her bag. The part of the beach she likes to go to is often deserted. Only the villagers know how to get there, which prevents it from being full of restless tourists.

Veda puts the towel down in a sheltered spot and sits down. When she sits down, she takes her bottle of water out of her bag and takes a few sips. Then she puts it back, grabs a tangerine and starts peeling it. Veda enjoys the peace around her. The only thing audible is the sound of the sea and sometimes the rustling of leaves in the soft wind. As soon as her tangerine is finished and she has cleaned her hands, she opens the book and starts reading.

An hour has passed when Veda notices that her bottom feels a little sore from sitting in the same position. Where she left off, she puts the bookmark between the pages and closes the book. She stands up and brushes her pants off the sand. She stretches her arms in the air so that she can stretch. She moves her neck back and forth. Veda is just about to sit down when she sees something moving in the distance. She can't make out clearly because of the sun, but what she sees now, seems to be moving in her direction.

Veda swallows and feels her heartbeat speed up a bit. She tries to calm herself down by remembering that only locals know how to get to this part of the beach. It can't be someone associated with the Lucchese family. Her eyes remain on the figure. Then the figure turns left and disappears from view. Veda breathes a sigh of relief again these days. By going left, you walk further away from the beach and you go back towards the center of Cáva. False alarm.

Veda dozed off because of the sun that shone on her face all afternoon. Because of the peaceful sound around her, she had closed her eyes and the peace must have had a positive effect on her brain. No more bad memories to relive, no more anxious feelings to suppress. But now Veda slowly starts to wake up. A shadow has suddenly fallen over her face. Probably a cloud in front of the sun.

Veda wants to open her eyes to look at her watch to see the time and see if it was wise to go back to Rico and Nina's house. Veda opens her eyes, wants to grab her watch, but to her great horror she is not looking at a blue sky with clouds in front of the sun, but into two dark brown eyes. Veda lets out a little cry in fright and immediately scrambles up.

The black hair of the tall, muscular man is combed back with the help of gel. The tattoos that decorate his forearms are visible through the rolled-up sleeves of the black blouse. The blouse is tucked into black trousers and the part of his ankles that is visible is also decorated with ink. Through the tight clothing, Veda sees that he is made of nothing but muscle. An intimidating aura hangs around him. As soon as he opens his mouth and speaks, Veda's worst nightmare becomes reality. 'Hello Veda.'