Chianti Classico (27 page)

Sister Tiberia fumbled with the phone for five long minutes after the time she was supposed to call the police. Finally she managed to press 1-1-2 and explained where the two nuns could be found. The police in Roma put her on hold. She listened to the clicks until someone else picked up.

“Is this Corsa Pietra?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“This is Sister Tiberia. My friend Sister Angela and I are at Amarena Balda Vineyard, but my friend’s turning blue. I think she’s choking. Please come as quickly as you can.”

“Sister Angela from Castel Valori?”

“Yes, but she’s actually from Montriano.”

“Detective Sergeant Turo in Castel Valori told us to expect her. She never turned up here.”

“We stopped at Amarena Balda to investigate, but she’s had an accident. Please, please hurry.”

“We dispatched a
n
ambulanz
a
to Amarena Balda. Are there any other instructions?”

“Please send a cruiser too. Look, this is just my opinion, but it might be wise if you don’t use your sirens. I think someone here at the winery might have committed a homicide.”

“What?”

Sister Tiberia held the phone away from her ear and instructed Donata to put the plates and glasses of wine on the table. “Sister Angela should be back in a minute. She left something in the Buick.” She waited until Donata was a few tables away before she placed the phone to her ear again. “We’re working on a homicide. We need help. I think Sister Angela’s in trouble.”

The police cruiser slowly made its way up the drive. Sister Tiberia, wine glass in hand, wriggled past the busy tables and stepped out to greet it. Two more police cars soon followed. She ran up to the first and asked the uniformed man to open the window. Behind him, one of the policemen stepped out of his car.

“Sister Angela went up the drive to the winery,” she told him.

“Stay here,” he said, waving to the others to follow him.

Donata stopped and stared at the group, a procession inching up the drive.

The large warehouse had two doors. As the agents approached the first one, they noticed a nun emerging from the second.

“There she is,” he said.

She cocked her head, warning them that there was someone behind her.

“Take cover,” he yelled as the rest of the agents scattered.

The person holding the nun’s arm tried to pull her back into the storage chamber, but she refused, twisting out of his grip. That’s when the shooting began. At first, Sister Angela’s brain didn’t comprehend what was happening. When it did, she jumped back, spun around and scuttled around the corner of the building.

It didn’t take long for the shooting to stop. Ermanno was the only armed man, and the police soon talked him into giving up his weapon.

“Sister Angela, this is Agent Alba. It’s safe to come out now,” said the policeman in charge.

When she didn’t appear, he went looking for her. He rounded the corner. She wasn’t there either. It was then he saw the farmhouse.

Had she been shot? Following Sister Angela’s possible trail while scanning for bloodstains on the walkway, he made it to the dining area just outside the kitchen. All was quiet. Where was the nun?

Sister Angela heard the creak of the kitchen door as the police entered the farmhouse. “There’s a gun pointed at my head,” she called out.

The old woman slammed the butt against the equally hard back of Sister Angela’s head. She hit the floor face down with nothing to break her fall.

Alba called out from the kitchen. “Put it down. My partner’s got his gun pointed directly at you.”

Mamma de Capua spun around to investigate his claim and tripped over the nun’s conveniently-placed foot. Her gun hit the floor and went off, tearing through the painting of a Tuscan hill village on the wall.

The agent offered Sister Angela his hand and helped her up. “Agent Alba,” he said. Then he picked up the weapon.

A second policeman appeared in the kitchen doorway and stepped up to handcuff the old woman.

“Thank you,” said Sister Angela. “I suspect, however, that we aren’t through. I believe Signora de Capua carried a gun to keep strangers out because she’s hiding someone.”

“Let me do it,” Alba said. “You have a large bump on the side of your cheek.”

“And on the back of my head.” The nun touched it and winced. “I’ll look around this area. Your men can take the top floor.”

The group dispersed. Several minutes later, they reconvened at the bottom of the stairs.

“I didn’t find a basement door,” said the nun. “There’s a tool shed or something I can see through the window. Come with me. It’ll probably be locked.”

A padlock hung from the shed’s door latch. Alba pulled a small lever-like instrument off of his belt and slid it into the padlock. He hit the end of it with the butt of his gun, and the padlock fell apart.

The nun opened the door wide and pushed aside a gas can and a few hand tools. In the corner lay a makeshift bed. She squeezed through stacks of pots and extra roof tiles. Her black curls stringy, the child pressed herself against the corner under a work table.

“Pia? My name’s Sister Angela.”

Sister Tiberia’s face emerged from behind her friend, and the child’s face suddenly lit up.

Sister Tiberia slowed as she turned the Buick up the embankment in front of the convent. On the backseat, Pia, who slept in Sister Angela’s arms most of the way from Corsa Pietra, roused.

The front door opened, and the nuns tumbled out of the convent onto the porch.

Pia smiled.

“Do you want to greet them?” asked Sister Angela.

Pia nodded and slid toward the door. She ran to them for a group hug.

Emerging from the car, Sister Tiberia tried to warn them the child needed a bath, but no one seemed to care.

“We must take the train to Siena at eight tonight,” Sister Angela told the prioress.

“Detective Sergeant Turo told us about the rescue and also that you must leave. We’ve planned a little dinner party for five o’clock so friends in Castel Valori can say good-bye. The detective sergeant and Silvio will be coming. They can drive you to the terminal.”

Mother Patrizia returned, placing an ice pack on Sister Angela’s cheek.

Sister Tiberia took Pia’s hand and led her inside to the bathroom. “We’ll be ready in about a half-hour,” she announced.

The detective sergeant and Silvio arrived as did Signor Petrini and Father Montez. The group stood around in the kitchen, waiting for Pia to appear. Sister Oriana had to rush to a shop in town and buy the child a dress because she was unable to clean the one Pia wore.

Sister Tiberia walked a well-scrubbed Pia down the long hallway. Pia could hear the voices and scampered toward them.

The prioress gave Pia some orange soda, something she bought for Sister Angela’s visit, and introduced her to the detectives and priest.

When they got to Signor Petrini, the old man said,
“Beep, beep,”
and Pia giggled.

Sister Concetta served up soup, and everyone sat down to supper.

“How did you know to investigate Amarena Balda?” asked Turo when they were seated.

“I didn’t. I just thought it was odd that this startup was growing so fast. It turns out they were bringing wines in from the Amalfi Coast and supplementing their own grapes with the Campanian wine. Their grapes would never have produced enough wine to export as much as they did. That crime wasn’t murder, but money often leads man to commit more serious crimes. Remember, I knew a woman had been killed in an automobile accident and that Pia was discovered in the same car. I just pretended that I was a friend of the family and started asking personal questions. Donata, the waitress and fiancée of Viviana’s widower, responded like she knew what I was talking about. I doubt she was aware that Giulio couldn’t remarry because he needed either a dead body or divorce papers signed by his wife.” The nun tore off a piece of bread. “Nocera was Ermanno’s assistant at Amarena Balda. Remember the old nun’s ring? He probably received it from the family for his dirty deeds. Nocera ended up our murder victim in Filari.”

“How did you find out her name?”

“Viviana married Giulio de Capua. Giulio’s brother, Ermanno, didn’t like her and hid from her what was going on with the winery. Ermanno also made sure Giulio spent all his time on the road and away from his young wife.”

“So this Giulio was weak,” said Silvio. “He listened to his brother too much.”

“Actually it’s more complicated than that. After their child was born, Giulio did come home, but he still didn’t stand up for his young wife. Viviana must have realized that Giulio was attracted to her replacement—our waitress. As a new mother, Viviana was in charge of caring for the De Capua matriarch along with her young baby. Mamma de Capua was very demanding. Knowing her husband was cheating and unable to please any of them, Viviana decided to take the baby and move out.”

“Why didn’t we hear from Viviana’s relatives?” asked Turo.

“Good question. We’re still trying to track them down. I did hear the car she drove wasn’t currently registered in Corsa Pietra. Evidently, it was one they used around the winery. The Castel Valori police wouldn’t have been able to identify the vehicle four years ago. She was just another missing person if any of the family tried to find out where she went.”

Silvio finished his soup. “Someone must have told Nocera to kill her. I think Giulio was too soft to do it.”

“Maybe, but Giulio didn’t mourn Viviana’s loss very long. He was already having the affair with Donata. He sounds more like a rogue than a softy.”

“Then Ermanno must have planned the murder. He sent Nocera to get rid of her.”

“Actually, both men seemed to conspire to do the deed, but the real manager of the De Capua clan was Mamma. Everything they did, including spiking their wines with grapes grown outside the Rufina zone, was orchestrated by Mamma. Their punishment for that crime alone is the loss of the coveted title and label as a Rufina Chianti—a relief to the two bigger local vineyards, I’m sure.”

“Very nice, Sister,” said Turo. “I guess I didn’t realize just how good a detective you are. You’re welcome back anytime.”

Sister Angela smiled. “And your nephew makes an awesome detective himself. His gut feelings actually guided my investigation.”

Sister Concetta presented a cake, celebrating Pia’s return. Cake and espresso were followed by more hugs, kisses, and promises that Pia would visit. And then Turo drove Sister Angela and Pia to the terminal to catch the eight o’clock train home.

At quarter to ten, the train arrived in Siena. Sister Liona’s car idled beside the curb. Pia recognized the nun right away, but couldn’t stay awake long. Just out of Siena on their way to Filari, Pia again fell asleep in Sister Angela’s arms.

The lights were still on at the convent, and faces were plastered at each window when the car pulled up. Pia was released first to run inside and be with her family.

“Thank you, Sister,” said Sister Carmela. “Oh look at your face. That’ll be a nasty bruise. Sister Natalia refused to go home to Mission House until after you both arrived. We saw the La Barcas back at their winery this week. I suppose they were innocent. Then who kidnapped Pia? Who dressed up as Sister Octavia and why?”

“You’ll all hear the story tomorrow morning,” said Sister Angela. “Sister Liona told me the chief detective and Sacco are coming over for breakfast. Sister Daniela and I will now go to her sister’s place to pack. We have to hightail it to Montriano or lose our jobs.”

“Yes, we heard that Sister Daniela was leaving us. We have a new woman coming in next week. She’s not a nun, but she possesses good teaching skills. We asked Sister Daniela not to leave, but she said Susanna was better. We think she really misses Montriano.”

“I need Sister Daniela. She’s the best detective I have. She figured out how Nocera got into the orphanage that night.”

“She hasn’t told us the story,” said Sister Natalia. “She kept insisting it was an accident. Perhaps you’ll let us know tomorrow morning too. We need the information to keep it from happening again.”

Sister Daniela came up to give Sister Angela a hug. “It’s so good to see you. I’m glad you’ll be able to say good-bye to Michel and Susanna before we go. I’m afraid Michel and Maximo were very busy with the harvest so we won’t see much of them.”

“It was such a shock to hear you’re coming with me. Mother Margherita must be thrilled. She’s missed you very much.”

“I can imagine. She loves being the administrator, but when I left, she was relegated to the classroom again, training my replacement,” Sister Daniela said quietly. “I guess I’ve missed her too.”

“You’ll be cured of that all too soon. Tell me about Susanna. Is she really well enough?”

“Yes. There are no signs of her cancer. We celebrated with another bottle of
riserva
. Sorry, we didn’t save you any.”

“I have to tell you. Pagano and Sacco were both very impressed with your investigative talents. They were actually afraid you might get hurt if they let you do your own work. But you didn’t. You used your instincts wisely and saved the La Barcas from any more embarrassment or worse.”

“I was just investigating. I had no idea they were innocent. I’m not so sure Elmo thought I was a proficient detective. I’m afraid he had to save me more than once. Remind me to ask the detectives about the orphanage receiving the old nun’s ring. I think they should sell it and keep the money for the orphanage.”

“I believe the police will need it to lay out their case that Nocera was the kidnapper. You should talk to them, though. Perhaps they can give it back to the orphanage when they’re done. And what about Grazia? Why haven’t you told the nuns what she did?”

“She’s a child. I thought you and I could broach that subject tomorrow. Hopefully she won’t be punished too hard.”

“You believe everyone, Sister Daniela. You aren’t allowed to be both a teacher and trusting.”

“I’m trying hard to be like you. If I have a soft touch then I must have learned it from my instructor.”

Sister Angela put her arm around her friend. “You proved yourself, and I look forward to working with you again in Montriano.”

Sister Daniela giggled. “If Father Sergio agrees to let us alone together.”

Sister Angela laughed. “Poor Mother Margherita had to lie to him in order to let me come. I hope he didn’t bother her too much about it. Montriano’s probably riddled with crime because its best detectives aren’t around to keep order.”

The two nuns watched Sister Carmela round up the children and push them toward the stairs. “It’s bedtime. Evelina?” she called. “Where are you? Someone has to lock up after our detectives have all left.”

Evelina kissed Sister Daniela on the cheek. “Allegra and I are teaching the class until the new teacher comes. Hopefully you have time to drop by and see us.”

“I already know you two can do it. I’m leaving the children in good hands. Sister Angela and I will be back in the morning. Our train doesn’t leave until tomorrow evening, but we’ll be too busy talking to the police to help you out. They’re all yours.”

Pia was several steps up the stairs when she turned around and stumbled back down. She approached Sister Angela and Sister Daniela, hugging them both around the legs. Then she took Allegra’s hand and began to climb the stairs with her.