She leaned forward, awkwardly reaching for the ankle strap on her shoe. “Can you help me...?”
Reggio swallowed hard, then knelt in front of her. Why was he doing this? He knew better.
With a shaking hand, he unfastened the strap and slipped off the high-heeled shoe. He stared at the ankle, which was only inches from his face. It didn’t look the least bit swollen. In fact, it was the most beautiful ankle he had ever seen.
Suddenly there were two ankles, then three ankles, then four...
Unable to control his limbs, he fell forward and spastically collapsed on the floor.
Valentina Roberto emerged from the wardrobe.
“Is he out?”
“Cold,” Polina said, raising one of Reggio’s eyelids. She was a 15-year-old junkie-prostitute Valentina had found peddling her wares along Viale Renato Serra.
“
