The Second Messiah

Zedik sighed. He often wondered why he tolerated Regina Rossini but he knew the answer to that question immediately. During the hour’s drive from his apartment the trouble had started when he told her who he was going to visit.

Zedik pushed the Ray-Bans back on his broken nose. “Did anyone ever mention you’re hard to please?”

“You do, all the time.” Regina sulked. “Now can we just get your business done with and get out of here? This boss of yours gives me the creeps.”

“You ought to show more respect.”

The girl flicked her mane of dyed blond hair. “You ask me, the guy’s got to be a gangster, Bruno. And in case you didn’t know it, gangsters kill people. You do wrong by people like that you’ll get your dinky cut off. It happened to one of my relatives in Palermo.”

Zedik scoffed. “You see too many American films. Some of those Roman and Greek statues on the villa grounds, they’re genuine, thousands of years old. My boss is a respected international businessman and art collector.”

“I’m supposed to be impressed?”

“Behave yourself, Regina. He’s not mafia.”

“If he’s just a businessman, I’m still a virgin.” The girl pouted. “And don’t tell me how to behave. No one tells Regina Rossini how to behave.”

She was starting to get on Zedik’s nerves. Stupid woman. “You’ve got a really big mouth, you know that?”

She grinned wickedly. “How come you never complain about it in bed?”

The guard behind the gate put away his walkie-talkie. The second guard gestured for Zedik to drive forward as the gates whirred open.

Zedik snorted, his muscled chest straining under the suit as he suddenly lashed out and struck Regina Rossi a stinging blow across the face.

She reeled back into her seat with the force. A steely look that always lurked just beneath the surface erupted coldly in his eyes, a dangerous stare that told her she had pushed him too far and it was time to shut up. She whimpered. “I—I’m sorry, Bruno. Don’t hit me again, please.”

Zedik grabbed her savagely by the hair and gritted his teeth. “Just stay out of the way when we’re inside the villa. Understand? Now shut up and try really hard to behave like a lady.”

The gardens were dazzling in the sunshine. Beds of roses and fran-gipani ran along one side of the turquoise swimming pool, and the whole place had an air of luxury.

Zedik inhaled the sweet scent as the butler escorted him past the pool to a small garden. There was an amazing collection of exotic flower beds and a well-trimmed maze. A man stood among the flowers, pruning scissors in one hand, a solid gold Patek Philippe watch on his wrist. He had the kind of powerful aura only wealth can bring. His face was rugged rather than handsome and he wore an old pair of designer jeans, crisp linen shirt, and scuffed moccasins. “Bruno. Thank you for coming.”

Zedik shook his hand. “Always a pleasure to see you, boss.”

His boss gestured to his flower beds with obvious pride. “Well, what do you think of my garden? You like my new roses?”

“They’re terrific.” Zedik smiled. Personally, he could tell zilch about flowers, and each one smelled the same to him, but his boss was a passionate gardener and Zedik always tried to stay on his good side.

He pointed with the pruning scissors and said to Zedik, “I’ve got a Spanish variety in the corner. Very rare. If I’m lucky, it will finally bloom after three years of hard work.”

Who could have the patience to wait three years for a flower to bloom? Zedik thought. Only his boss had that kind of staying power. Zedik looked at the roses admiringly. “I’ll have to get some slips from you. One of my sisters is crazy about roses.”

His boss looked at Zedik as if he were an errant wasp. “All my flowers are rare and special. I never give slips, Bruno, you ought to know that.”

Zedik laughed nervously. “It’s just a joke, sir.”

A tiny smile flickered on his boss’s face. “I hear you brought the same girl with you as last time. The one with the mouth as big as her bust.”

Zedik grinned. “I’m afraid so, boss. I left her back in the villa.”

His boss put down the pruning scissors. “Let’s sit by the pool. We need to talk some serious business.”

“Whatever you say, Mr. Malik.”

47

The butler brought them espresso and sweet almond biscuits. They sat at a table by the pool under the shade of a huge sun umbrella. Zedik admired the rolling lawns. He put down his cup. “What’s so important, Mr. Malik?”

“You like this place, don’t you, Bruno?”

Zedik nodded. “I love it, boss. Someday I’d like to own a place just like it.”

Hassan Malik looked out at the immaculate gardens. “Ever since I was a small boy I wanted such a house. But my family were poor goat herders with only a filthy hovel for a home. I had a brother and sister. We all slept in the same room as my parents. My father died and then my mother. I was fifteen.”

“That’s tragic, Mr. Malik.”