Finding Angelo (The Wine Lover's Daughter, Book 2) by Christa Polkinhorn Page A

Fortunately, it did. The barrier
opened and Sofia drove on, exhaling deeply. The relief, however, lasted only a
moment. A multitude of new freeway signs pointing in all directions confused
her again. Luckily, she found the one to Bologna and continued her journey.
    Angelo, you better make this
worth my while . The next major city past Bologna was Parma, famous for its prosciutto by the same name. The farther north Sofia drove, the more relaxing and pleasant
the drive was. The view of the Alps was breathtaking. Perhaps one day she’d be
able to visit France or Switzerland together with Nicholas.
    About four hours later, she saw
the exit sign to Ivrea and got off the freeway. After a few wrong turns, she
found her way to the town of Pavone and to Tina’s place. On the way there, she
got a glimpse of the Castello di Pavone, the impressive-looking castle on the
hill above the town.
    Tina was an elderly woman, short
and plump, with gray, curly hair and a friendly smile in her wrinkled face.
Sofia liked her right away. She spoke a little English and with Sofia’s broken
Italian, they were able to communicate quite well. Tina lived in a small house
with a beautiful yard full of flowers at the outskirts of Pavone. She suggested
they have lunch and then visit the castle. Sofia wanted to invite her to lunch
in a restaurant, but Tina had already prepared a pot of minestrone.
    While eating the delicious soup,
they talked about Sofia’s plan to get some information about Angelo. To Sofia’s
relief, Tina didn’t seem to be as worried about the dangers of this
investigation as everyone else. She suggested that Sofia go first to the police
department, although she didn’t think they knew anything, unless Angelo had a
criminal record or something bad had happened to him. Others who might be able
to help Sofia were the mayor of the town and the priest.
    “Priests always know the latest or
the earliest gossip,” she said, laughing. “I hope you have a warm jacket
though. Bardonico is quite high up in the mountains. There may even be some
snow.”
    “Oh, no. I didn’t think about
that. I only have a lightweight jacket.” She looked down at her sneakers.
“They’re not exactly made for snow either.”
    Tina shook her head. “I do not
think there will be snow on the street, just on the mountains higher up. But
there might be a cold wind. You can borrow one of my jackets. She glanced at
Sofia’s feet. “I also have some thick socks that would help with your feet. You
will be driving through here on your way back. Or if not, you can send the
clothes back to me from Vignaverde.” She went into the next room and brought
out a down jacket and two pairs of socks, which Sofia gratefully accepted.
    After lunch, Tina and Sofia took a
tour through town. Sofia admired the beautiful architecture. Old buildings and
modern stores and shops complemented each other.
    In the evening, they drove to
Castello di Pavone. Pavone, or peacock in English, was the emblem of the town
and the castle. The castle dated back to the Middle Ages and had been the seat
of kings, cardinals, and other celebrities. It was now a restaurant and a
hotel. The family who owned it had done a beautiful job renovating it. Both the
inside and outside were left largely intact and renovations had been limited to
making everything comfortable with modern amenities. Sofia insisted on treating
Tina for dinner. The restaurant was located in a cellar with vaulted ceilings.
It looked like an old wine cellar. The food was excellent and they had a nice
choice of wines.
     
    Early the following morning, after a light breakfast and a
thermos of coffee Tina had prepared for her, Sofia took off from Pavone and
headed for the mountains. A narrow, curvy road took her past stunningly
beautiful vistas of waterfalls, meadows of blooming wildflowers, and forests.
She drove through a few small villages. The higher she got, the sparser the
landscape became. Banks of fog hovered over the fields. In