Page 34 of Ciao Bella

“Honey, we’re not sure, but I’m glad that you can. Let’s try to help these boys have some peace.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Armed with their new knowledge of the boys, the women were determined to try and give the boys peace and find their killers. Behind the scenes, Enzo and Giamano were helping to conduct some research.

As they took the buses to Venice to catch a boat, Enzo insisted that the women have one bus and the men the other to plan their day. The guys didn’t seem to have any clue why but were happy to let them plan their shopping and lunches in peace.

What they didn’t know was that there was a lot of other planning happening as well.

“Okay, Enzo, what do you have for us?” asked Erin.

“You were right, señora. During that time, there was much happening in Europe, and Italy was in the middle of it. Slowly, we were leaning toward sympathies with Germany. On the day that the boys were killed, a man by the name of Mussolini was visiting the Colosseum with another young man from Germany.”

“Please don’t say Hitler,” said Faith.

“I’m afraid so,” nodded Enzo as he drove and spoke. “I think perhaps the boys heard something that they should not have, and perhaps one of the bodyguards or military men killed them. It would not have been so hard to push four little boys over the wall.”

“We have to try and give those boys some peace,” said Grace. “If we know what they heard, then perhaps we can figure it out.”

“I think we should call Julia for some guidance,” said Lauren. “I don’t want to call Noah because he’d tell the guys what we’re doing.”

“I’ll call her,” said Alexandra.

“Enzo, what else do you know?” asked Grace.

“The boys were schoolmates, and they had, how do you say in America, skipped school.”

“They skipped school,” smirked Erin. “They were supposed to go but didn’t.”

“That’s right. They wanted to play on the top of the Colosseum, pretending to be gladiators. All Italian boys want to be gladiators when they are little.”

“Even you?” asked Mary, smiling at the young man.

“Not me. I wanted to cook for the gladiators,” he laughed. “Their parents said the boys had skipped school once before to do this. They were punished, but boys will be boys. The police investigated but, of course, said it was all a tragic accident.”

“How could anyone think it was an accident? The boys would have had to have been walking on the top of it to fall over, and it’s fairly high. They were small,” said Ella.

“We must try and get the boys to speak with us,” said Enzo.

“Okay, I’ve spoken to Julia, and she said that we’re already on the right track with the kids. If they were killed at the Colosseum but are able to appear with us in the cities that we are in, they must have attached themselves somehow to us. She said that they might not know it, but they can feel that we are able to see them, hear them, and perhaps help them.”

“Alexandra, did she say how we can get them to speak with us?” asked Erin.

“We have to keep doing what we’re doing. The boys have been around all of us, and if you’ve noticed, they don’t go near the men. They trust us, and we have to continue to develop and earn that trust. If they come near us again and the guys aren’t around, we need to speak softly and slowly to them.”

“How will they understand?” asked Rose.

“Julia said that, for some reason, language has never been a barrier. It comes through no matter what. Since Enzo can see them, he’ll be there in case we need translation.” She looked around at the other women, almost all of them mothers, aunts, grandmothers. “We have to try. We need to give these kids their peace.”

“Are their parents still living?” asked Faith.

“No,” said Enzo. “I’m afraid not. Some were killed during the war. Others died of old age. There is no one left for them.”

“Maybe that’s part of why they’re searching for something,” said Faith. “It tears my heart apart that those poor boys have been wandering for almost a hundred years.”

“We’re going to help them,” said Erin. “I’m determined to do this before we leave Italy. Those boys made themselves known to us for a reason. I don’t know what that is yet, but I won’t leave them hanging.”

“You are remarkable women,” smiled Enzo as he pulled into the parking lot near the boats that would take them across to Venice. Putting the van in park, he turned, smiling at them. “I knew the moment that I met you that you would be amazing women, and this has proven it. You are worried about four boys, dead and gone, all but forgotten, when most women would be worried about their next shopping excursion.”