Chianti Classico (28 page)

Sister Angela accompanied her friend into the classroom where for the last year Sister Daniela taught. Allegra was at the helm, going over a lesson for the younger students. She quickly sat down with the others when Sister Daniela entered.

“I didn’t want to interrupt the lesson, Allegra. If you want to finish first, please do. I can join the older children in the back of the room for this lesson.”

“No, I was finished. Perhaps all of us should come together now to wish you good-bye. Is Sister Liona going to pick you up when it’s time to go?”

“Our train doesn’t leave until this evening, and my sister and brother-in-law are taking us to the terminal.”

“What about Pia? When’s she joining us?” asked Evelina, moving up to take a seat closer to the front.

“Pia’s with Chief Detective Pagano,” said Sister Daniela.

“It’s called a debriefing,” said Sister Angela. “We have evidence against those who took Pia, but she knows things about her kidnapper that we don’t. What she tells the police now will help us put away the perpetrators.”

“We’re happy to have her back,” said Cammeo. “I can’t wait to see if she got to ride on the broomstick.”

“As soon as she’s finished with the chief detective, she’ll join us in the classroom,” said Sister Daniela.

The children started to cheer.

“But before that, we’re going to have to get some work done.”

“Do you know who’s going to be our new teacher?” asked Liliana.

“I don’t know her, but I hear she has a good background.”

“But is she nice?”

“I also heard she’s very nice. I think you’ll all love her. She’s supposed to be here in a week. I would’ve liked to have met her too, but my mother superior said I must return to Montriano right away.”

Grazia walked into the classroom, a small pink elephant under her arm.

Sister Daniela approached her before she sat down and led her back out. “Please proceed,” she told Allegra.

The nun and the child sat on the lower treads of the staircase.

“You were with Sister Natalia, weren’t you?”

“I was with her and Mother Faustine.”

“But they let you come back, didn’t they.”

“Yes. They told me what I did was bad. I let the old woman into the orphanage, and that led to the kidnapping. I’m not sure Pia will ever forgive me.”

“You thought the kidnapper was a nun,” said Sister Daniela. “They must have realized you didn’t know she was dangerous.”

“They understood that. They said they could fix the problem by closing off the nurse’s office so that someone like me can’t get in and out so easily. But they also told me that I’ve done things that make it difficult for them to teach me.”

“That’s also true, Grazia. Perhaps you should try a little harder to follow the guidelines the nuns have set down.”

“Like?”

“Like going directly to bed without spending your sleep time staring out the window. You could also talk to your teacher or Sister Carmela or even Evelina if you see something strange going on. Think about it, Grazia. A nun standing in the middle of a vineyard is very odd.”

“Do you think they’ll choose to send me away?”

“Definitely not. I think they believe in your ability to learn from your mistake. You’re a bright and wonderful child and can use your talents of observation to their benefit.”

“Huh?”

“In other words, they must love you very much.”

Pia was sent to join the class. The nuns convened with the two detectives in the office just off the TV room. Sister Edita delivered sandwiches and soda so they could eat and talk at the same time.

“What did Pia tell you?” asked Sister Angela, ignoring the food to satisfy her hunger for more information.

Pagano swallowed a bite of his sandwich and took a sip of soda before telling them all about their interview. “Pia thought the old nun was someone coming to take her home.”

“Home?” asked Sister Daniela.

“Evidently, home’s the convent in Castel Valori. She doesn’t seem to remember her mother, but she does recall how happy she was with the nuns at the convent.”

“When did she realize she was in trouble?” asked Sister Carmela, her eyes drooping from lack of sleep.

“She says the nun took her to some building and let her go back to sleep. I described La Barca’s winery, and she thought that’s what it looked like, though it was dark, and she didn’t really see much before she nodded off.”

“Did she see La Barca or Carlota?” asked Sister Daniela.

“No. She said the next day, a man woke her up. I showed her pictures, and she identified Nocera, who had discarded his habit by then. Nocera walked her to the road. A car stopped them. Nocera knew the driver so they both got in. Nocera argued with the driver. The car stopped and the two men got out. Pia was told to stay in the car. After a long while, the driver returned alone to the car and drove Pia to Rufina. He didn’t say a word to her, but she saw him again at Amarena Balda.”

“Did she still think she was going to the convent?”

“She said she prayed and prayed that they were going there. When they arrived at Amarena Balda, she was taken to the farmhouse and given a beautiful room with a canopied bed and dolls and stuffed animals. The woman who lived there said she was to call her Nonna.”

“I assume she realized she was with her blood family,” said Mother Faustine.

“She probably didn’t understand what a real family was,” said Sister Angela.

“You’re right,” said Pagano. “She didn’t understand, and Pia told us that Nonna got increasingly annoyed with her. The old woman needed someone to wait on her, but Pia complained about having to do that. About a week before you arrived at the winery, Sister Angela, Pia was relegated to the shed.”

“What about Viviana?” asked Sister Daniela. “What’ve you found out about Pia’s mother?”

“Viviana Mioni was her name. She has family, but they moved out of the country before the accident. She worked for the De Capua’s for about a year before Giulio de Capua married her.”

“Giulio must be Ermanno’s brother,” said Sister Angela. “Ermanno admitted that he himself was Viviana’s brother-in-law.”

“Yes. Giulio is Ermanno’s younger brother. Pia’s his daughter by that marriage. He’s now engaged to another young lady.”

“Yes, Donata. Giulio seems to be quite adept at choosing good-looking women,” said Sister Angela. “I know you haven’t had the opportunity to interview any of them yet, but I assume you’re getting your information from Corsa Pietra.”

“Yes, Elmo was present at the interviews. Ermanno de Capua runs Amarena Balda. He’s never been married. From what Elmo could gather, he never approved of Viviana, though he forced his younger brother to marry her because she was pregnant. As you’re already aware, there was wrongdoing occurring at the winery for the several years.”

“Yes. The management was spiking its Chianti with Campanian wine. The boxes being delivered to the winery were labeled ‘Wine from the Amalfi Coast.’ Of course, the De Capuas probably wouldn’t have been jailed for the crime, but they would’ve lost their Chianti label and most of their business.”

“Perhaps Viviana found out about the deceit and threatened to report them,” said Sister Daniela.

“It’s also a coincidence that the bomb scare that stopped a train you were on, Sister, had to do with a shipment of wine from Amarena Balda. If I’d figured that out sooner, we might have been able to find the child. But this had nothing to do with the kidnapping. There were investigators that were checking the cargo coming into the Siena terminal. Someone from Amarena Balda found out and stopped the train to get their shipment off. ”

“Maybe that’s why no one in the Rufina region ever checked the size of Amarena Balda with the winery’s yield. The brothers were always two steps ahead,” said Sister Angela. “That might have exposed the operation before the crime got out of hand. So who are they going to go after for the murder?”

“I believe they’ll go after both brothers for the murder and the mother for kidnapping,” said Pagano. “They’ll probably try to use Donata’s testimony to implicate the family. Elmo got the impression she knew what was going on. That means Ermanno must have trusted her and probably revealed things about Viviana and Nocera.”

“Do you think Donata can be turned?” asked Sister Daniela.

“She’s a tough cookie, but I believe she’ll be easy to convince that life in prison isn’t worth her loyalty to the brothers,” said Sister Angela. “As for Nonna, the old woman most likely won’t live out the sentence for the kidnapping charge.”

“Did either brother confess to killing Nocera and Viviana?” asked Sister Natalia.

Pagano smiled. “He didn’t confess, but Ermanno revealed that his younger brother did it.”

Sister Angela nearly rocked her chair too far. “Giulio did it? So much for romance. That means Viviana came face to face with her husband. She didn’t get out of the car and run into his arms. She tried to go around him—probably knowing he’d take Pia if she gave up.”

“What about La Barca and his wife,” asked Sister Daniela.

“I don’t think we can prove that La Barca or his wife tried to cover up Nocera’s crime. Signora La Barca admitted she had a short affair with Nocera, but that’s not a crime either. She’s back, you know.”

“Carlota came home?”

“Yes. She mentioned how wonderful you are, Sister Daniela. She said you reminded her that forgiving her husband and trying to save her marriage would probably be the right thing to do. I hear the two are now trying to have a family.”

“What about the Amarena Balda?” asked Sister Angela. “I assume it’ll be sold.”

“I heard that Serena de Capua, who’s lived in Corsa Pietra since her brother’s marriage to Viviana, is interested in saving the winery. She wants it to be a family-run business again, though she’ll have to work hard to retain the CODG’s Rufina Chianti label.”

“All by herself?”

“No. She has a boyfriend, Guillermo. He was working undercover for the Corsa Pietra Police Department. He also called the department for back-up before your friend from the convent was able to get through.”

“I wish them happiness. Guillermo was quite attractive. I’m glad he’s on the right side.”

Sister Daniela’s face gleamed as the group broke up. “We make a good team,” she whispered to Sister Angela.

“I’m so relieved you’re coming back to Montriano with me. Together we’ll be able to get more cases.”

The two women returned to the classroom. At about three, Sister Natalia came down to fetch them.

“Please, Sister Daniela, Sister Angela. You must come upstairs. We have visitors.”

The two nuns stopped at the top of the stairs. A young man and woman were being led through the TV room.

“Let’s go into the office here,” said Sister Natalia. “These are the nuns I was talking about, Signora Quinto. They tracked down your niece.”

Sister Angela felt the chill. “You’re Viviana’s sister?”

“Yes. My husband and I now live in Malta. I found it nearly impossible to uncover the details about my sister’s disappearance. Naturally I knew she’d disappeared, but the police told me very little. We suspected she was dead.”

“Did you know about the child?”

“Yes, she was pregnant at their wedding. I have a picture from the hospital in Corsa Pietra. Viviana sent me the photo. She called her Mara after our mother. I just found out that her name had been changed to Pia.”