Chapter Forty

Colombo airport was stiflingly hot; the sweat poured out of Donna’s body as they sat waiting for their flight.

She watched as Alan walked towards her with two glasses of iced tea and then dropped her eyes; she still couldn’t bring herself to actually talk to him. He gave her the tea without a word and sat beside her once more.

The airport was busy with voices, smells and people. The hard bucket seats were making Donna feel more and more uncomfortable, and her eyes kept scanning the monitor for their flight. Alan lit a cigarette and handed it to her. She mumbled her thanks.

‘Look, Donna, this silent treatment ain’t going to do anyone any favours, is it?’

She remained silent.

‘Will you at least answer me, Donna? You’re acting like all this is my fault.’

She turned slightly to look at him. ‘What do you want me to say, Alan? Thanks for all your help in getting my husband out?’

Annoyed now he snapped, ‘It’d be a start anyway. You did ask me to do it, didn’t you? Only if I remember rightly you came to my restaurant and practically begged me to help you.’

Donna made an impatient movement with her head.

‘You just don’t get it, do you, Alan? You just don’t understand anything. I knew nothing about him then, nothing worth knowing anyway - nothing I couldn’t forgive. Now, after all this, you tell me you’re still going ahead with the jump—’

He interrupted her. ‘So what you’re saying is, you’d see Jonnie H., Eric, Nick Carvello, me and you all in clink, would you? You’d prefer that, than to let me sort it all out with the minimum of damage?’

Donna shook her head in disbelief.

‘And just how are you going to do that, eh? Once Georgio’s out, that’ll be it, mate. He won’t go back. They’d have to kill him first.’

‘Well, that just might happen yet, Donna, you never know your luck. Fancy yourself as a widow, do you?’

She lapsed back into silence.

‘The trouble with you, Donna Brunos, is you still haven’t adjusted to the real world, the world of your husband’s livelihood.’