Free Family Business by Michael Z. Lewin Page B

‘Though it does have a lovely bouquet.’
    From his place at the head of the table Angelo began to serve the meal, vermicelli with a mushroom sauce. As the guest, Muffin was served first.
    â€˜I hope you like mushrooms, my dear,’ Mama said.
    â€˜Love them,’ Muffin said.
    â€˜Vermicelli,’ the Old Man said.
    â€˜Wait for it,’ David said.
    â€˜It means “little worms”,’ the Old Man said.
    The children giggled. The Old Man always said that.
    Muffin said, ‘ Vermicelli con funghi alla Lunghi ?’
    â€˜Oh yes!’ Mama said. She led the family in a round of applause.
    â€˜Thank you,’ Muffin said, bowing from her chair, ‘thank you, friends.’ Then she said, ‘I’ve been dying to know something.’
    â€˜What’s that, my dear?’ Mama asked.
    â€˜What happened about the man with the bottle of dish-washing detergent? Is it all right for me to ask?’
    â€˜Of course , my dear,’ Mama said.
    Angelo, who had followed Jack Shayler, began to recount the developments in the case. But when Mama heard about Shayler’s slippers being left in the bathroom and the used underpants being not properly put in the laundry basket, she interrupted. ‘How old is this husband?’
    â€˜Forty-five, Mama,’ Angelo said.
    Mama nodded sagely. ‘A man, when he gets older, he can’t handle so much. He forgets things.’
    â€˜So you don’t think the details are important?’
    â€˜Oh, they’re important,’ Mama said. ‘It means he has other things on his mind, so he can’t remember these. The wife is right to worry. This man, his slippers, it’s a cry for help.’
    Muffin asked, ‘Did you follow him home from work too, Angelo?’
    â€˜He left work at 17.06,’ Angelo said. ‘And he stopped at the same bench as in the morning. He got there at 17.10, and he sat till 17.15. And what do you think he did?’
    â€˜What?’ Muffin asked, but Angelo looked around the table.
    â€˜Fed the birds?’ Mama suggested.
    â€˜Looked at the birds?’ Salvatore said.
    Angelo said, ‘He checked his watch four times.’
    â€˜Wow!’ Muffin said.
    â€˜What’s it all about, Dad?’ David asked.
    â€˜What do you think?’ Angelo asked his son.
    â€˜Well,’ David said, ‘he might be waiting to meet someone there. Someone who walked home from school that way.’
    â€˜ School ?’ Marie asked derisively. ‘He’s really going to be meeting someone from a school.’
    â€˜Walked home from work, I meant,’ David said. ‘Unless he’s a perv.’
    â€˜The phone box,’ Rosetta said. ‘The bench is by a phone, right?’
    â€˜Right,’ Angelo said. He could not prevent himself from glancing at Marie. Marie smiled.
    â€˜So it’s a woman,’ the Old Man said.
    â€˜But would she call him ?’ Rosetta asked.
    â€˜Why not?’ Muffin said.
    â€˜She can’t call him at home and she can’t call him at work. So she calls him at the phone box.’
    â€˜Why doesn’t he call her?’ Rosetta asked. ‘If he’s already at the telephone.’
    â€˜She’s sneaking around too?’ Angelo said.
    â€˜He’s an accountant, right, this Shayler?’ the Old Man asked. Then his own question reminded him of something.
    â€˜That’s right, Papa,’ Gina said. ‘And we don’t know anything about his life other than at work and at home.’
    â€˜Hey, before I forget,’ the Old Man said.
    â€˜What, Papa?’ Angelo asked.
    â€˜Rosetta, that solicitor of yours.’
    Rosetta flushed. The rest of the table went quiet.
    The sudden stillness surprised the Old Man. He said, ‘Did I get it wrong? He’s a solicitor, isn’t he?’
    Rosetta said, ‘He is a solicitor, Papa. He does conveyancing.’
    â€˜I haven’t seen him