The Rolling Bootlegs/Epilogue...2

Synopsis
The contaiuolo finishes telling his story, causing the photographer to snap out of his fascinated trance. The photographer questions whether or not a series of coincidences like that is possible, causing the contaiuolo to retort that coincidences are involved in every notable story. He then asks if the photographer believed the tale; the photographer asks if he was lying, and he confirms that, no, he hadn't been, so the photographer believes him, an outcome which seems to satisfy the man.

The photographer asks what part about the story had been about a "miserable man," and the contaiuolo answers that Szilard Quates had been just that. The photographer then asks about various people in the story, who the contaiuolo is able to point out around the restaurant; Isaac, Miria, Pezzo, and Randy are all present. He then asks about Firo, and the contaiuolo explains that he's Firo, he'd just been talking about himself in the third person since he'd been telling the story; the photographer had assumed the man he was speaking to was Maiza Avaro. Unbothered, Firo explains that Maiza had left for a while to find the other immortals, and taught him the basics of accounting in the meantime.

The photographer wonders about Ennis, and Firo confirms that she's his wife now, though the two of them had taken fifty years to get married since Ennis hadn't fallen in love with him right away. Firo moves the conversation on, talking about how revenue has dropped steadily since the Prohibition act was repealed and musing about Eliot Ness, the famous Prohibition agent, being brought to ruin by alcoholism.

Just then, Ronny Schiatto returns from retrieving the photographer's camera. The photographer puzzles over Ronny's fluent use of Japanese for a moment as Firo takes the camera into the back to determine how much the camera is worth, since the photographer had promised him 10 percent of the value for its retrieval. After Firo leaves and Ronny takes his place, the photographer remembers Ronny had been portrayed as the 'demon' in Firo's story, and thinks that he wants Ronny to prove it to him. He doesn't remember what Ronny does, but he now feels an innate fear of Ronny, who murmurs that he's technically not a demon.

Firo returns, and the photographer pays him 300 dollars in exhange for his camera. He asks Firo what would have happened if he'd ran away when Firo stabbed his hand to demonstrate his immortality, and Firo casually responds he would have had the entire value of the camera, causing the photographer to laugh. Firo explains that he'd actually only tried scaring him because he'd told Firo to "respect his elders", something both Edward and Paul Noah had said to him before, and further says that he'd also just wanted to tell the story to someone who wasn't related to it all so he could have a connection with that person.

Firo asks the photographer if he'd be willing to show him around Japan sometime, since he'd like to go after Maiza returns from his trip. The photographer obliges and hands over his number on a piece of paper, then leaves with his camera.

As the photographer is walking down the street, he spots a hat shop, and wonders if it's the same shop Firo had mentioned in his story. As he browses the hats, he notices a man next to him, who he deduces must be Maiza Avaro due to his appearance and demeanor. He cries out in shock, getting Maiza's attention, though Maiza leaves after the photographer apologizes a few times. After this encounter, he questions whether the series of coincidences--winning the lottery, getting mugged on Martillo Family turf, meeting Paul Noah, et cetera--have pulled him into the so-called "spiral prison" of the story.

After the photographer has returned to Japan, he opens his film case to find a note from Firo thanking him for listening to the story, as well as the 300 dollars he'd paid for his camera.

Cultural References

 * Eliot Ness is a well-known enforcer of the Prohibition act. In the Afterword for this novel, Narita explains that Ness's descent into alcoholism had been his inspiration for The Rolling Bootlegs.

Characters in Order of Appearance

 * Firo Prochainezo
 * Unnamed Photographer
 * Isaac & Miria
 * Randy and Pezzo
 * Maiza Avaro