Darwin handed the key to the man at the desk. He took a good look around the room for anyone watching them in any way beyond normal suspicion, but the small lobby was deserted. It was only his new wife, Rosina, himself, and the clerk, who didn’t look suspect.
“How was your stay?” the clerk asked in his accented English.
“Great,” Rosina answered him. “We had a fabulous time in Rome. Loved the Coliseum. Thanks.”
Darwin grabbed his backpack, slipped both arms through the straps, and grabbed their one suitcase.
“Let’s go, hun. We don’t want to miss the bus to the airport.”
She shot him a glance that said don’t rush me. He raised his eyebrows and smiled.
No problem, I won’t rush you, just hurry up.
They said goodbye and promised to return, then made their way down the stairs and out of Hotel Luigi. It was a block to where the bus was to take them to Fiumicino Airport where they were flying to Athens, Greece, to continue their honeymoon.
Darwin surveyed the area, scanning the faces of everyone who was too close for comfort. They were too exposed. Darwin hated having his wife this exposed. He watched his back, paid attention to the street ahead and waited for the sky to fall. At any moment they could be attacked.
He knew it. His wife didn’t.
He thought about telling her, but hadn’t been able to bring himself to quite yet. It was their honeymoon after all. He didn’t want to ruin it for her. He would come clean on the plane ride back to Toronto. That would give him a chance to give her all the details about the death threats, the two attempts on his life, and the new way they were going to have to live. She wouldn’t be able to run away from him when he explained everything, as they’d be stuck on a plane together. She wouldn’t be able to yell at him or hit him on a plane either. He’d remind her about air rage laws.
It wasn’t really his fault, though. Fate did this. But now he had to live with it. Or die for it.
They made it to the bus stop unscathed. The bus pulled up moments later. Darwin placed their luggage piece in the compartment under the bus and handed their tickets to the driver. Other people were dumping their luggage in too and scampering onto the bus. After a long line, Rosina walked on.
Darwin waited until it looked like no one else was coming, then took one more look around. As he started to step on, something stopped him. Two well-dressed men had just exited Rome’s Termini train station. Both of them talked on cell phones. One pointed at Darwin.
Darwin leapt up the bus stairs. The driver shut the door behind him.
“How long before we go?” Darwin asked.
“Right now,” the driver answered. “You were the last passenger.”
He turned and started down the aisle, looking for Rosina. He saw her halfway down, near the middle exit door. The bus pulled away from the curb. Just as he went to sit down, one of the two men had made it to the side of the bus.
The man jumped up and banged on the window beside Rosina, who leaned away from the glass.
“Wow, crazy people. They really should try to get here on time.”
“Yeah,” Darwin agreed. “Insane.”
His stomach clenched. That was too close. One minute either way, and they would’ve been kidnapped or dead. He had to do something more proactive. He had to fix the situation.
That’s what going to the airport is. I’m being proactive. I’m taking my wife on another plane ride so it’ll take them that much longer to find us again.
He slowly shook his head. They’d never go away. That was just it. This kind of men was too powerful. When they put you in their sights, there really was no negotiating with them. It was over and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
“You okay?” Rosina asked. “You look white.”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” he said. “Continental breakfast didn’t really sit well with me.”
“ I’m feeling fine, so I doubt it was the food. Could it be your fear of flying?”
Darwin looked at her, his head still bowed. “No. Really, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.”
She leaned closer and snuck an arm inside his. “But you’re my husband now and I love you. Tell me what’s bothering you so I can take it all away.”
I wish it were that simple.
“It’s nothing, really. I’ll be fine once we’re on that plane to Athens. This is going to be awesome. I cannot wait to see the Acropolis.”
“Me too,” Rosina said as she looked out the window and took in Rome’s downtown.
On a couple of wide turns, Darwin looked over his shoulder to see if he could spot anyone following them. As far as he could tell, no two cars behind the bus stayed there too long.
Within twenty minutes, the bus went up a ramp and merged onto a highway. They said the ride from Termini Station was an hour to Fiumicino airport. Darwin settled back, closed his eyes and prayed. All they had to do was get to the airport, check in and get past security. Once that was accomplished, they would be in the clear. The men hunting him wouldn’t get through security with a gun. They’d also have to buy airline tickets and try to get through security in time to find them before they boarded their flight. Tall order, even for those assholes.
Bumps in the highway woke him. He’d almost fallen asleep, the stress of the last few days piling up.
That was why he chose Hotel Luigi. They accepted cash. Sure the hotel staff took their passports and wrote information down, but that information wasn’t readily handed in to the Italian officials in a timely fashion. That meant Darwin and his wife would have a few days in Rome before they were detected.
The same for Athens. He had a nice hotel picked out that offered the same kind of anonymity.
As long as they were still alive to board the plane.
Rosina had nodded off beside him. At the front of the bus, a red digital clock told him they were fifteen minutes away.
He looked out the window as a late model Crown Vic raced by the bus on his side. A moment later, another one did. He watched as both vehicles lined up in front of the bus. Then they started to slow down, slowing the bus too.
No, no, no. They can’t do this. Not in public. Not like this.
He’d almost got his wife to safety. He’d almost done it.
Instead of feeling defeated, he had to think. What could he do? He had no weapon. He had no way to escape. Open fields were on both sides of the bus, which had slowed down to half its speed. The bus driver hit his horn and shouted something in Italian. The two Crown Victorias drove side by side, blocking all exits for the bus and the traffic piling up behind them.
The speed couldn’t be any more than twenty miles per hour now. The bus jerked with the brake pedal, turning left and right, in a futile attempt to get around the two vehicles. Passengers were getting anxious. They had planes to catch. One man stood up in the aisle and shouted in Italian.
Rosina woke and lifted her head. “What’s going on?” she asked.
It startled Darwin. He turned to her. “Looks like a couple of idiots playing a game on the highway. They’re blocking the bus, not leaving us a chance to get around them.”
Rosina leaned forward. “Assholes. That’s ridiculous. Look at them, acting like children. People have planes to catch.”
“Exactly.”
The bus came to a complete stop. The driver spoke on his phone.
Then a siren in the distance.
Awesome!
A moment later, a police cruiser raced by their window just as both Crown Victoria’s driver’s-side doors opened. Darwin stood and looked out the front window at four men as they stood on the highway beside their car, all dressed in suits, staring at the bus, two of them with their hands up to ward off the glare from the sun.
Two police officers jumped from their cars and yelled something. Horns blared behind the bus, and yet none of the four men moved. They just stood there, staring.
One of the men lifted his hand and made the symbol of a gun. He dropped his thumb and lifted his finger as if it recoiled. The man opened his mouth to make a swoosh sound.
“That’s fucking rude,” Rosina said. “They stop us and then get mad at the bus driver. Unbelievable.”
If she only knew. That parody of a gun going off wasn’t for the bus driver, it was for me.
“I know, eh…” was all Darwin could say.
The police convinced one of the men to move his vehicle. After a few minutes delay, the bus got underway again. The passengers all cheered in unison.
I can’t keep getting that lucky. I have to do something. It’s too risky traveling with Rosina. Either I tell her what’s going on, or she goes on alone.
He made his decision. He also figured out how to do it.
Ten minutes later, the bus entered the terminal and stopped alongside a row of travel and tour buses.
Darwin and his new bride got off by way of the middle door, collected their luggage, and headed into the airport.
He kept his eyes peeled for anything, but every second that passed, he felt safer and safer. No one would try anything with all the airport security. Policemen and security guards roamed the corridors of the check-in side.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Rosina asked. “You look even whiter.”
“Really, I’m fine. I’m just not feeling so hot, but don’t worry about me. We’ll have a blast when we land in Athens.”
They lined up to walk through security. A smattering of people had lined up ahead of them, but the line moved well. Instantly, people converged behind them too. In a matter of minutes, a sea of people swallowed up Rosina and Darwin, all heading to different destinations, all leading different lives, not knowing that a man in line with them was one of the most wanted men in recent history.
Wanted by criminals, not by the police. How does life get so fucked up? How is it even fair that this is happening?
Darwin and his wife were about to begin their life together. What a wedding present this shit was. When Rosina found everything out, she would probably ask for a divorce. They’d only been married four days and she’d want out. He was sure of it.
As they stood in line, he thought about what his father would say when he told him about the marriage. Her parents were going to freak out. Both their parents had objected to them being together in the first place. Rosina’s parents were from the old country in Italy. Darwin’s mother had died when he was born and his father was from Athens. They had chosen Rome as the city to elope to, in honor of her parents, and Athens as the city to finish their honeymoon in as a respectful gesture to his dad.
When they were done touring, they’d go home and announce to everyone that they’d gotten engaged. Set some ridiculous date two years away and let their respective families work it all out. In the end, if the parents were to absolutely refuse to sign off on the wedding and let them be happy, Rosina and Darwin would drop the bomb that they were already married and had been for a long time.
Take that.
The line moved. People ahead removed their shoes, pulled off belts, and took laptops out of their carry-ons. It would be their turn soon.
Darwin took a final look over his shoulder and studied the faces of everyone he could see. Nonchalant, bored, tired and impatient faces looked back. No one stared in anger. No one aimed ill intent at him. At least not as far as he could see.
Bringing Rosina to the airport was the smartest thing he could’ve done. Sure, they’d know where he was. But it’d be difficult for them to find him. It’d take time. If his plan worked out, at least Rosina would be safe.
After what happened on the highway and the attempts on his life in Rome, he had to make her safety a priority, and he was going to do just that.
It was their turn now. Darwin watched as the woman ahead of him took off at least ten pieces of jewelry. Then she undid her earrings, took off her boots and started working on her pockets.
He couldn’t believe it. If you knew you were coming to the airport and you knew security would require you remove all that junk, why would you cover yourself in jewelry and fill your pockets before coming?
After a moment, she turned back and whispered an apology to Rosina. The woman didn’t look at Darwin. The scowl on his face would have unnecessarily upset her. He was tired of people at that moment. People walking all over others, doing things their way, imposing.
Those men on the highway, and the organization they belonged to, were trying to kill him. They would kill more than just him if they achieved their goal. They’d kill a lovely marriage and break the heart of a wonderful woman.
It was time to get angry. It was time to deal with the issue at hand. In fact, it was past due. He’d let things go on too long.
“Are you sure we should be doing this?” Rosina asked.
Darwin snapped out of his reverie. “What? Doing what?”
“This. Flying to Greece. Maybe we should just go home to Toronto.”
“What? Why?”
She took off her shoes. Then she set them on the conveyer belt. “You haven’t been yourself lately. Even now, you’re pale, and at the same time, you look angry. I just don’t know that side of you.”
Darwin undid his belt and then set his backpack on the belt.
“I’m sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
“Is it the accident that has you rattled?”
The accident. That was no accident. They drove down that street and tried to hit us on purpose.
“Yeah, maybe that’s it. You almost got hit. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”
A security guard gestured at Darwin. “Step forward.”
He didn’t like leaving Rosina with so many strangers so close to her, but he took a chance that no one would try anything in a crowded terminal with this much security.
He walked through the metal detector without incident. Rosina followed.
In silence, they got dressed and stepped away from the area.
“I guess, since you’re unclear on what’s bothering you, I’m starting to feel that it’s the marriage. Are you sure you didn’t rush this?”
Darwin stopped, grabbed both her shoulders and turned her to face him. “Don’t ever think that. This was my idea. I bought the tickets to Rome and drove to your job at Yonge and Bloor to pick you up. It was my idea to do it before anyone could stop us. I love you and will always love you. It’s an honor to be your husband. I can’t pinpoint anything in particular that’s bothering me, but maybe it’s just me formulating a new story idea. I have to always be thinking, formulating, ruminating. You know I write five to six novels a year and that’s been my secret to my success. This week off, to come here, doesn’t stop my brain. Okay?”
Oh, baby, I’m so sorry. I hate myself for lying to you, but I have no choice. Your life hangs with this decision.
Rosina looked down and twiddled with her fingers. “I’m sorry, I just haven’t connected with you ever since the accident.” She looked back up at him and stared into his eyes.
The accident. The one where I ran a man down in the street and the police ruled it an accident. That one. The one which resulted in us running for our lives.
“I think that accident has affected you more than you know,” Rosina continued. “I think it’s killing you on the inside and you aren’t talking to me about it. I just want you to include me. I’m your wife now, that’s all. Don’t deny me.”
It’s not just killing me on the inside. Those men are trying to kill me on the outside too.
Darwin released her shoulders. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”
Together they turned and started toward their gate.
“I’m right about what?”
Rosina looked so beautiful in that moment. With all that had been happening, he’d had a hard time enjoying himself. The whole time they walked the Coliseum, he’d been watching over his shoulder, wondering when a bullet would enter his head. They were almost run over by a car two streets from their hotel. A gun went off somewhere in the street and took a chunk of cement out of the wall by them as they left a pizzeria the night before. Two attempts on their life since they’d been in Rome wasn’t coincidence.
It was his idea to leave the hotel two days early. He had to get her out of there. His assailants had found them.
“You’re right. The accident has affected me.”
They reached their gate as the attendants prepared for boarding.
Rosina chose a seat in the lounge by the large windows so she could look at the planes. After Darwin sat, she said, “You have to remember it was deemed an accident after the re-constructionists did their magic. Besides, that guy was a criminal. You did the world a favor by running into him. Not just that, he fired a bullet at you. He could’ve killed you.”
Her voice had raised a little. Two women across the row of seats looked up at them.
“Keep your voice down,” Darwin said.
“Okay, I know, I’m sorry.”
“Sure, it was ruled an accident, but do you ever wonder, even if I’d aimed at that guy with the intent to kill him that it would’ve been classified an accident anyway?”
She frowned. “Why would you say something like that?”
“That man at the airport hangar in Toronto killed a lot of people. There were bodies littered all over that hangar. He was part of a group that did a lot of killing. When the cops saw that I’d mangled the guy with my Ford, they patted me on the shoulder, said I did a good thing and that’d I’d be taken care of. Well, I got taken care of all right. I got notoriety. My name was printed in the papers all over the world.” He lifted his hands to portray a marquee. “Darwin Athios Kostas, average Canadian guy, writer of novels, mafia killer.”
“Well, the notoriety sure helped sales of your books, didn’t it? The guy’s dead. He can’t come after you.”
But the family he was connected to can, he almost said out loud.
Instead he nodded. “I know, you’re right. Also, I got those bikers to deal with.”
“Has anything new happened with them?”
“Ever since I did that part in my novel, The Biker, about their Port Dover adventures and Ride For Sight, and how bad I portrayed them, they’ve been out for blood. Richard H., at least what they call him, has contacted me three different times. You remember when we were having dinner at Red Lobster?”
Rosina nodded her head.
“He told me to take that stuff out of the book, or else. I said that I couldn’t because it was already selling on Amazon. It was too late. It was out there. And you remember what he said next.”
Rosina patted his leg. “I know, but they aren’t going to hurt you. If they were, they’d have done it already.”
“He said that I had to make good. This guy is scary. I mean, that’s fucked up.”
“I know.” Rosina started as the attendant announced the flight to Athens would commence boarding people with disabilities and children first.
“No one is celebrating a man’s death,” she said. “Just don’t let it kill you.”
I’m trying. Oh, how I’m trying. If you only knew.
“Look honey, I have to go to the bathroom. Will you wait here?”
“But, Darwin, they’re already boarding. Can’t it wait? Use the one on the plane.”
Darwin shook his head. “No, I hate how small and confined those toilets are. If I wait much longer I’ll piss in my shorts anyway. Boarding takes time too. I’ll be back in less than five.”
“Okay, but hurry,” she said.
Darwin got up and turned away, walked three steps, stopped and turned back. “I almost forgot. I’ve got something for you.”
“Can’t it wait? Go to the bathroom.”
“In light of what we just talked about, I’d like to give it to you now.”
The attendant announced the boarding of the back half of the plane.
“You’re running out of time.”
“I have at least ten minutes and I only need three,” he said as he pulled a white envelope out of his backpack.
“What’s this?” Rosina asked, a smile playing across her lips.
“It’s a surprise. Inside this envelope is everything you’ve been waiting for. But there’s a condition.”
Darwin started hopping from one foot to the other, implying his desire for a bathroom. What he was really doing was building the courage to do what had to be done.
“What’s the condition?”
“You cannot open it without me present.”
“That’s fine. Now hurry along. Go to the bathroom and come back. We’ll board the plane and I’ll open the envelope. Deal?”
“Sure,” Darwin said as he back stepped away. At ten paces, before he turned around and lost eye contact with her, he said, “Get on without me. I’ve got my boarding pass right here.” He slapped his back pocket. “Save me a seat. Keep it warm. I’ll be with you sooner than you think.”
Rosina stood up and grabbed his backpack. “Okay, but hurry. You have me seriously curious now.”
Darwin turned before he had a chance to cry and hurried away, wondering if he’d ever see his wife again.
Rosina lined up and edged closer to the attendants, one person at a time.
Why did he have to piss now? I hate boarding alone.
She got to the attendant and presented her passport and boarding pass. The attendant scanned her boarding pass and told her to have a nice flight.
“My husband is coming. He’s been delayed a few minutes, but he’s already through security. He still has time, right?”
The attendant looked at her watch. “Oh, yes. We start boarding early enough so that people like your husband can make it. He still has at least fifteen minutes.”
What a relief.
“ Okay, thank you. His name is Darwin Kostas.”
The attendant nodded and reached for the documents of the traveler standing behind Rosina.
She moved along the boarding ramp until she slowed behind people gathering near the plane. After a small wait at the plane’s door, two more attendants stood there to greet people. She showed her ticket and was told to go to her seat nine rows up. The aisle was jammed with people putting luggage above their seats. She politely waited and then squeezed by to take her seat.
Darwin would be coming at any moment. She couldn’t wait to see what was in the envelope. It was just like him. He’d been surprising her during their whole relationship, and this was just another surprise in a long line of them.
She sat there and tried, but couldn’t for the life of her, figure out what was in the envelope.
Rosina glanced around at all the people seated close by. Then she looked up the aisle. Darwin still hadn’t boarded. She lifted the envelope and tried to peek through it.
Damn!
It was one of those security types with the crisscrosses on the inside, obscuring anything legible on the paper inside.
Oh, Darwin, what have you gone and done?
She thought maybe it could be tickets for a cruise. Or perhaps tickets to the theatre or an opera. Maybe he was going to fly her to New York next so they could tour Broadway, or possibly Las Vegas for a little gambling.
The suspense was driving her nuts. But then, that was why Darwin did his surprises.
She flipped the envelope over and noticed that it actually wasn’t sealed. The lip was pushed in the back, like a birthday card.
That’s right. Darwin doesn’t lick envelopes.
Over the course of their relationship, Darwin had opened up to her about his phobias, of which he had a few. He was afraid of the dark, which many people are, but his was an actual phobia. He had an irrational fear of it, like the dark was a living thing. They always slept with lights on. He also had a fear of sharp or pointy things. He couldn’t get a needle at the doctor. He would get too angry. They had to put him out to administer a needle. It was that bad. At a restaurant, he’d only use spoons or plastic utensils to eat with. No fork, no knife. And he didn’t lick envelopes because the paper could cut him.
He thought his stepmom had caused his phobias, he’d told her. He talked briefly about how she always had needles in the house and as punishment, she would leave him in a dark basement room for hours on end, waking him with a jab of a fork in his side when dinner was ready. He’d end up being awake most of the night, languishing in the dark as the house slept, crying, waiting to be poked. By the time he was twelve, his fear of sharp and pointy things had grown to where he wouldn’t enter the kitchen anymore.
His stepmother had died a horrible death. It was a freak accident, he’d told her, impaled on a pitchfork in a farmer’s barn. No one knew what she’d been doing there. No one was charged with any crime related to her death.
The flight attendants announced that the plane would be getting underway shortly. Rosina snapped up and sat rigid in her seat.
Darwin hadn’t returned yet.
She looked down at the envelope. A flight attendant walked by, counting the heads of the passengers, no doubt looking for the missing person.
Against better judgment, Rosina slipped her thumb under the lip of the envelope and flipped it open. She looked one more time to make sure Darwin wasn’t walking up right then, catching her in the act of sneaking a peek.
She pulled the paper out and opened it. A note. After scanning the beginning, her eyes raced to the bottom.
It said he was sorry, and that this was for the better. Stay on the plane. Do not get off. He would handle this on his own.
Baby, I love you, but those men aim to kill me and I can’t lead them to you anymore. Go to Athens. I’ll meet you there in a few days.
Run.
If you don’t, you could be hurt, or worse, killed.
Run.
DO NOT get off the plane!
Rosina looked up, her eyes watering. The attendants were shutting the plane’s doors.
“Wait!”
Everyone looked in her direction.
She got up, opened the overhead compartment, grabbed her backpack, and ran for the exit door.
“Wait. Let me off.”
“But ma’am, they’re getting ready to taxi out.”
“My husband is supposed to join me. He’s not here. I’m not leaving without him.”
She pushed past the woman to the door as the entry ramp was pulling away. Rosina looked down at the ground and saw how far it was. She looked back at the attendants and then the gaping passengers. She turned as if she would retake her seat, then quickly spun and ran and leapt over the open space, landing solidly on the ramp.
Rosina ran after her husband, having no idea where he was or where to start looking.
Darwin had stood off in the distance, watching the attendants board the plane. He’d seen his wife walk up, be processed and board just like everyone else.
And yet he waited. The final boarding call had been announced. Then he heard his name over the loudspeakers, asking him to come to gate C36 for immediate boarding. They did it a few times and then the attendants dispersed, assuming whatever it was they assumed when a checked-in passenger failed to show up for a flight.
He saw the ramp start to slide away from the plane and the plane’s door being shut.
Then he turned around and walked away, happy that Rosina was finally out of danger. She was safe. She would be in Athens soon. She had her purse, a credit card and a debit card attached to his bank account where over fifty-thousand dollars sat. Each and every month, Amazon deposited his royalties into his account. She would never want for money again. They were married. What was his was hers now.
If he made it out of this alive, they would reunite and share the rest of their lives together. But right now, he needed to remove the threat from their heads.
He walked back to security, told a guard he had only aided in the boarding of his four-year-old with his wife and that he needed to be let out now. The guard showed him to an exit and Darwin stepped through, walking back into the main part of the airport.
Travelers ran this way and that way without a single care in the world. At least not the kind he had. They moved to and fro, without fear of death, except for the people who feared flying, which he was glad wasn’t one of his phobias.
He had no idea what his next move was. All he knew, at that moment, was he needed to get Rosina away from the shit that he’d started. Now, with her safe and on her way to Greece, it was time to confront the men who were trying to kill him.
Calling the police was out of the question. What could they do? Protection? Some of the police were on the Fuccini payroll. That’s probably how they knew about the meeting in the hangar. The same hangar Darwin happened upon late that night while looking for a group therapy session.
No, the police wouldn’t do. He had to solve this on his own. Maybe an apology would suffice? Or maybe doing something for the family? Would that make things right?
He’d be willing to steal from someone, maybe pick a few pockets. Anything would be better than being hunted and tracked, or even killed.
Dejected about his options, Darwin made his way through the throng of travelers feeling a certain sadness. He already missed his wife and it had only been twenty minutes. And the idea that he’d been deceitful to her so early in their marriage made him feel about one inch tall. He loved Rosina with everything he had, but he just couldn’t bring himself to include her in his problem. More specifically, this problem. He started it and he would finish it.
Darwin hit the doors that led outside and decided to take the bus back to Termini Station and hang around there until they caught up with him. They had located the hotel, so they’ll not have a lot of trouble finding him at the station.
He didn’t get ten paces before two men walked up and grabbed both his arms.
“Don’t protest. Don’t say a word. Come with us or you die here.”
The man on his right opened his jacket a little and showed him the butt of a gun.
“No problem,” Darwin said. “I was hoping to find you guys. I want you to take me to your boss. We need to talk.”
They hustled him to a waiting van. The side door sat open.
“Oh, don’t worry. We’ll take you to our boss, but I don’t think he’ll be talking much.”
In unison, both brutes shoved Darwin inside the van so hard that he slid along the floor and slammed into the wall on the other side.
Rosina had made it through security and was searching everyone’s face. Darwin was nowhere in sight.
Could he have left the airport? If so, where would he have gone?
She started for the doors that would take her to the bus she and Darwin had taken to the airport not an hour before.
That was when she saw him through the airport’s glass windows. Two men, one on either side of Darwin, appeared to force him along.
She ran for the large revolving doors, but was too late. The men threw her husband inside a van, slammed the side door shut and hopped in.
By the time she got outside, the van raced away, oblivious to her screams.
Rosina stood there in the departures section where families hugged and cried as they said goodbye to their loved ones.
She cried for another reason altogether. She should call the police, but what would she tell them? Her husband had deserted her. He left the airport with two other men in a van. Of course it was forceful, but she didn’t have a plate number. He wouldn’t be a missing person yet. There was nothing they would do. She was on her own.
After a few minutes, she collected herself, righted the backpack on her shoulders and walked toward the bus back to the Hotel Luigi by Termini Station. Darwin would know where to find her. She would never leave her husband. She wouldn’t abandon him in his time of need.
She didn’t recognize the men and she didn’t know what they wanted. She had nowhere to turn and nowhere to start.
All she could think of was the police. It was time to bring them in. She would show them the note and get them involved.
She had to do something.