The Sicilian - Mario Puzo [173]
It took a full minute for Michael to grasp what his father had said and what it meant. Then, for the first time in his life, he was truly angry with his father. His face white, he said, “Does that mean we were working with Don Croce all the time? Does that mean I was betraying Guiliano instead of helping him? That I was lying to his parents? That you betrayed your friends and led their son to his death? That you used me like a fool, a Judas goat? Pop, my God, Guiliano was a good man, a true hero to the poor people of Sicily. We must release the Testament.”
His father let him speak then he rose from his chair and put his hands on Michael’s shoulders. “Listen to me,” he said. “Everything was prepared for Guiliano’s escape. I made no bargain with Don Croce to betray Guiliano. The plane was waiting, Clemenza and his men were instructed to help you in every way. Don Croce did want Guiliano to escape, it was the easiest way. But Guiliano swore a vendetta against him and lingered hoping to fulfill it. He could have come to you within a few days, but he stayed away to make a final try. That is what undid him.”
Michael walked away from his father and sat in one of the leather armchairs. “There’s a reason why you’re not making the Testament public,” he said. “You made a deal.”
“Yes,” Don Corleone said. “You must remember that after you were injured by the bomb, I realized that I and my friends could no longer completely protect you in Sicily. You were exposed to more attempts. I had to be absolutely sure you came home safely. So I made a deal with Don Croce. He protected you and in return I promised that I would persuade Guiliano not to publish the Testament when he escaped to America.”
With a sickening shock Michael recalled that he was the one who had told Pisciotta that the Testament was safe in America. In that moment he had sealed Guiliano’s fate. Michael sighed. “We owe it to his mother and father,” he said. “And to Justina. Is she all right?”
“Yes,” said the Don. “She is being taken care of. It will take a few months for her to come to terms with what has happened.” He paused for a moment. “She is a very clever girl, she’ll do well here.”
Michael said, “We betray his father and mother if we do not publish the Testament.”
“No,” Don Corleone said. “I’ve learned something over the years here in America. You have to be reasonable, negotiate. What good would publishing the Testament do? Probably the Italian government would fall, but maybe it would not. Minister Trezza would be out of a job, but do you think they would punish him?”
Michael said angrily, “He is the representative of a government that conspired to murder its own people.”
The Don shrugged. “So? But let me go on. Would publishing the Testament help Guiliano’s mother and father or his friends? The government would go after them, put them in jail, persecute them in many ways. Far worse, Don Croce might put them in his bad books. Let them have peace in their old age. I’ll make a deal with the government and Don Croce to protect them. And so my holding the Testament will be useful.”
Michael said sardonically, “And useful to us if we should need it some day in Sicily.”
“I can’t help that,” his father said with a twitch of a smile.
After a long silence Michael said quietly, “I don’t know, it seems dishonorable. Guiliano was a true hero, he is already a legend. We should help his memory. Not let that memory go down in defeat.”
For the first time the Don showed annoyance. He poured himself another glass of anisette and drank it down. He pointed a finger at his son. “You wanted to learn,” he said. “Now listen to me. A man’s first duty is to keep himself alive. Then comes what everyone calls honor. This dishonor, as you call it, I willingly take upon myself. I did it to save your life as you once took on dishonor to save mine. You would never have left Sicily alive without Don Croce’s protection. So be it. Do you want to be a hero like Guiliano, a legend? And dead? I love him as the son of my dear friends, but I do not envy him his fame. You are alive