Page 346 of Niccolo

“He had his own reasons,” he finally muttered.

“Just like you hadyourreasons to abandon the single most important job of aconsigliere– to protect his don?”

More murmurs from the crowd.

“I offered,” Fausto snarled. “It was rejected. Dario offered. Your father agreed.Moving on.”

“I just want to establish for everyone here that you were more than willing to use a… surrogate, I guess we can say, to take the fall for you.”

Fausto glared at me. “I wouldn’t agree to that characterization at all.”

“Well – you weresupposedto take the fall for the family… you didn’t… Dario did… so you used a surrogate to take the fallforyou! Seems pretty simple to me!”

“I didn’t – ”

“You refused. I shamed you. You gave in. Dario offered. Papa agreed… and the surrogate took your fall,” I snapped.“Moving on.”

Then I turned and walked away from Fausto, contemptuously giving him my back.

I had used his own words – or at least his own syntax – against him.

I’d made him look like a coward, and a conniving one at that –

PlusI’d cut him off with no chance to respond.

I knew Fausto was inwardly seething by now –

And I wasn’t wrong.

“I’d like to say something,” Fausto said angrily.

“The accused responds to my questions,” I reminded Don Severino. “He’s not allowed to make speeches.”

Don Severino gave me an annoyed look.

After all, I was makinghimplay the bad guy by forcing him to rule against Fausto.

But he grudgingly agreed with me.

“You’ll answer theconsigliere’squestions,” Don Severino instructed Fausto. “You can say whatever you want in your closing arguments.”

My uncle fumed a little more, but he remained silent.

I began again. “Now that we’ve established you’re more than willing to use scapegoats to take the fall for you – ”

“I did no such thing!” Fausto roared.

“ – I’d like to move on to thenextscapegoat you used. Your son, Aurelio.”

Just like Claude Rains inCasablanca,Fausto was shocked –shocked!

He also added in some disgust and contempt for good measure.

“That you would suggest such a thing about my son, whom I loved – ”

“So you’re saying youdidn’tplan Venice?” I asked, which I already believed to be the truth. “That youdidn’thire Russian mercenaries? That youdidn’tplan the kidnapping of Donna Fioretti’s granddaughter? That you didn’t have a hand inanyof it?”

“No! I didn’t plan any of it!”

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