The Silent Wall // The Return of Marvin Palaver — Peter Rabe

THE SILENT WALL Matty Mathews has been to the town of Forza d Aguil before. He was stationed there with a small group of soldiers during WWII. It was here that Matty fell in love with Rosanna. It was a sweet, short-lived love because the soldiers soon got their orders to pull out before Matty could say goodbye. Now he s back in Sicily, drawn to the mountain town after all these years. But the citizens of Forza d Aguil are easy to offend, and when Matty crosses Pino, the Sicilian sabotages his leaving. Now he s trapped in Forza d Aguil, hemmed in on all sides by the oppression of the town, its silent citizens stuck in the middle of Mafia country with no way out. He has only the help of the innkeeper Vinciguerra, and the passion of the sweet Sophia. Or could she be part of the trap? THE RETURN OF MARVIN PALAVER Marvin Palaver dies at the worst possible moment in life, just when he is coming out even with his nemesis, fellow scrap seller Sidney Minsk. He is so close. The contract is signed and Sydney has just bought back his own scrap, the deal of a lifetime. Marve knows happiness supreme. But as the tears of joy make his eyes swim, there comes a bump in his chest, and he is dead before he hits the floor. But death doesn t stop Marvin. His masterful schwindel must be complete. So Marve finagles his way back to the material plane for a bit of artful ghosting. Sidney has hidden the contract away, confident that he s the only one who knows about it. All Marve needs to do is get him to reveal it he should live so long!