Legacy of Sorrows (30 page)

When Enzo returned to the station, a very embarrassed Duty Officer, Franco Dezzini told him about the SISI visit. Enzo listened to him for a while, then said, 'did he have written orders?' The Duty Officer's face grew red with embarrassment, ‘I didn't think to ask for orders Commandante. He had official ID.' Enzo took a cigarette out of his pack and placed it between his lips. ‘Did you phone SISI HQ to check him out?' Officer Dezzini shook his head, ‘no Commandante, I didn't see a need to.'

Enzo reached behind the desk for the cell keys and moved briskly down the corridor to the Cell area, followed by the Duty Officer. He put the key in Laura Moscardini's door and opened it. He was met by a gruesome sight. Laura was lying on her back, dead, on the concrete floor with blood all around her head. The back wall of the whitewashed cell was covered by blood and brain matter.

He shouted out instructions to other officers, ‘Lock down the station, and look everywhere for anyone or anything unusual. He stood looking at the dead body from the cell door: not wanting to enter in case he contaminated the crime scene. He noticed the Luger in her hand and shook his head. A clumsy attempt to fool us, he thought.

One thing struck him as odd however. Most of the blood was to the head area and around the rear wall and floor. There was one small area on the hem of her skirt that was unusual. How did that get there, he thought. He knelt down to get a closer look at it. My God, he thought, the killer wiped his shoes on the hem of her skirt. That's black shoe polish mixed in with the blood. Enzo straightened up and reached for a cigarette, this is one cool guy, he thought, he even took time to clean his shoes.

He made for the nearest phone and alerted his immediate superior to the killing. After this call he told Officer Dezzini, who seemed to be in a daze, to bring the CCTV film of the reception and cell areas to his office, and to set up his video player.

He then put out a call for a forensics team and the duty doctor, who he knew had to confirm the death, to attend the scene.

He called out for a yellow tape barrier to be erected around the area to stop casual entry to the cell. Once he was satisfied that he could do no more, he went to his office and waited on the CCTV film.

He thought who would have the training and professionalism to carry out a hit like this. The killer was obviously someone who was used to this kind of work. The Red Brigades were more into bombings and kidnaps, and he was unsure if they would have the expertise to do something as subtle as this. He sat in silence trying to work it out.

Before long, the Station was buzzing with people all trying to out shout the next, as they went about their business. There was a knock on the Commandante's door. ‘Come in,' Enzo said with his usual gruff voice. Officer Dezzini entered with the CCTV tapes in his hand. ‘Set it up Franco and play it please.

Enzo lit up again and settled down to watch the tape. He slowed down the frames showing the killer at the reception, and said to Franco Dezzini, ‘do you recognise him from the photos we have in the Red Brigade file?' Franco Dezzini looked more carefully at the stills and replied, ‘No, apart from today, this guy is a stranger to me. Must be a pro though, the way he is so cool when talking to me is a practised art.'

Enzo looked at Officer Dezzini with surprise. ‘Perhaps if you had thought of that before you let him in to see the prisoner we wouldn't be having this conversation now.' Officer Dezzini's face grew red again. Enzo continued, ‘you better go along to the Senior Investigating Officer and give him your statement now.' As Officer Dezzini stood up to go, Enzo relented a little and softened his approach. ‘Franco, I would probably have done the same as you, so don't feel so bad about it.'

Franco Dezzini left the Commandante's office with a smile on his face.

Chapter 9

T
he
next day, Anna joined Marco at the hotel for breakfast at eight am. When he saw her, he immediately invited her to sit down and join him. ‘Did you sleep well?' He asked. Without waiting for an answer, he called the waiter over and asked for another coffee. As they sat drinking it, Marco said,' Is there something Anna that I should know. Last night, why did you call them terrorists instead of kidnappers, or criminals?'

Anna was silent for a moment before saying, ‘The two hostage takers are Mario Gilardi and Francesco Bari. They flew out of Pisa Airport yesterday afternoon for Glasgow. They are known to us as either members or supporters of the Red Brigades and are extremely dangerous. They are suspected of carrying out the bombing of a café in Sienna last year.'

‘I've heard of the Red brigades.' Said Marco, ‘but what would they want with us?'

‘They are Marxist-Leninist terrorists who believe in extreme action to bring about a Socialist revolution, not just in Italy, but throughout Europe. In 1978, they were the group who kidnapped the former Prime Minister Aldo Moro and killed him. They will do anything to promote their cause. We pose a danger to them because of Mussolini's involvement with Churchill during the war as exposed by the letters. Anything that shows Neo-Fascism in a good light must be eliminated, hence their interest.'

‘What do you mean by extreme action Anna?'

She quietly said, ‘They bomb, maim and kill anyone who they think is a danger to them or who dare to stand in their way. They are usually organised into small cells of four or five members, with a cell leader who is the only one who knows the identity of all the other members.

‘How did you find out about the involvement of Gilardi and Bari?'

‘The Secretary we arrested yesterday, whose name was, Laura Moscardini, told us about her involvement with the Red Brigades as an informer. She also told us she didn't join the Communist party before when Enzo had spoken to her about it; because our bearded friend told her that she would be more useful working under cover in Police headquarters. She had a close relationship with Lorenzo Storti who is known to be a Red Brigade member, and we suspect she was his lover. Yesterday, someone posing as a SISI agent got access to her cell in the police station and killed her with a WW2 Luger. He tried to make it look like a suicide, however he placed the gun in the wrong hand as Laura was left handed. Also, how would she have gotten access to a gun?' ‘CCTV images and forensics have drawn a blank as to the killer's identity. He could be a ghost for all we know.'

He shook his head in disbelief at the turn of events.

‘Why have this lot not been arrested before now? ‘said an increasingly tetchy Marco.

‘Knowing something to be true and proving it is two different things Marco. It's one of the penalties of living in a democracy. Fortunately, we have her confession before she was killed which has given us some leads.

He reached for the coffee pot and poured himself another cup. ‘What kind of plan did your superiors come up with to rescue my parents?' he asked, keeping his eyes firmly on her face. Anna shifted uncomfortably in her seat and said, ‘they are still talking it out, it all takes time.'

‘Time is something we don't have Anna. We have until seven pm tonight and that's it.' Marco said in an angry voice. ‘I don't feel inclined to retrieve the documents and hand them over to you and let my parents get shot by some Red Brigade baddies.'

‘I understand how you feel Marco, but we have to be patient and trust the powers that be to come up with some answers.'

‘I saw how the powers that be handled things when I served in both the British and Italian Armies and I have to say it usually involved covering up their mistakes. I need something more concrete, a plan of action, or Lorenzo gets his letters. These people are killers and I don't want their next victims to be my parents.'

Anna understood the anger and concern Marco was feeling and probably if she was in the same situation, she would react in the same way. ‘Let me go and check if SISI have come up with anything more concrete. If not, I will let them know what you said and try to push them on.'

‘I have no confidence Anna in your SISI or State police, I only have confidence in my own ability to take these kidnappers, or terrorists as you call them, out myself. I still have time to catch a flight to Glasgow, and tackle these killers on my own, and I am prepared to do it if necessary.'

Anna was shocked at the aggression and confidence coming from this man. She really did believe he would carry out his threat to do it his way, and it scared her. ‘Please Marco, please, don't react in this way. I know it's hard to believe in others, but I ask you now to believe in me.'

Marco sat smouldering with anger at the table, but at Anna's emotion filled plea, he appeared to calm down, and with softer eyes looked at her and said, ‘We don't have much time left to save my parents Anna, do what you can to push them on. I'll sit back and wait for a while.'

Chapter 10

I
n
a Roman office sitting in front of the Operational Director of SISI was Gianpiero Marchi, known as Pippo to his friends and family. Pippo had been recruited into SISI through the Intelligence branch of the Italian Army in the early sixties, and had risen through the ranks of SISI until he had been promoted to head up the intelligence analysis and risk assessment section. Generally known as Operational Intelligence, he had placed his unit on full alert to handle this emergency.

His manner was brisk and efficient and when he had worked in the field, he had built up an enviable reputation for dedication to duty. He had asked to see the Director this morning regarding the Corti family and the hostage situation. He waited patiently as the Director finished reading the file he had prepared for him last night. Eventually he put it down. ‘Is this the same Francesco Bari that was involved some time ago with the Cosa Nostra in Palermo before he came up north?'

‘Yes it is. We still don't know the reason why he has resurfaced in Lucca as a Red Brigade member, but we're working on it.' The Director tapped the desk with his pen, ‘has there been any intelligence of The Mafia and the Red Brigades working together in the past?'

‘No, Pippo said, we don't know if they are, or if this is just a disaffected Cosa Nostra member who has put his politics before his oath to the Mafia.'

‘What's your assessment of the situation Pippo?'

Pippo cleared his throat before answering. He knew that the Director only wanted the headlines and not an operational briefing. ‘I feel the situation is deteriorating Sir. We have gone from a simple retrieval of documents to a hostage situation in another country by the Red brigades, and a killing in a police station. There is also the added complication that one of the hostages in Glasgow is an Italian national. We have two other players on the loose, whom we suspect are active with the Red Brigades; however we don't know what their plans are yet.'

The Director sat back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, as if looking for inspiration there. Eventually he said, ‘Is your take on this to alert the British through our Intelligence contacts over there, or do we go political and do it through our ambassador in London?' Pippo was ready for this question. Again, he cleared his throat. ‘Going down the diplomatic route, although preferable, will take too long and we have only ten hours left to the terrorist's deadline. If we shortcut and use our intelligence channels, it may ruffle a few feathers but we can live with that. The SIS Director over there knows how to play the game and I'm sure, once briefed, will set up an op with British Special Forces. We don't have time to get to know their domestic MI5 personnel.'

He cleared his throat again before continuing. ‘There is another option sir' although it may prove to be risky.' ‘Go ahead,' said the Director. ‘We could send a combat team in from our own Special Forces. My information is that they could be in position in five hours. I have them standing by at present.' My feeling is we have to keep this as low key as we can until we know what's in the briefcase. For all we know it may be full of wartime ration coupons and we could be made to look silly.'

The Director slowly nodded his head in agreement before saying, ‘Veto any op involving our people on foreign soil. The fallout from that would be too heavy for us to survive. I'll phone Jack Bradshaw, The British Secret Service Director, on the secure line right now and advise him of the situation. He will have to get authority from his Home Secretary, so we had better get on to this right away. The protocol should be to contact MI5 for domestic operations and not the SIS, however I know Jack of old and I know he'll understand the need for haste.'

‘This is good work Pippo; thank your Agent in the field for me. ‘The Director got up from behind his desk, crossed to his wall safe and removed a key. He opened a desk drawer with it and took out a red, secure line telephone. He looked up the number of the British Director of the Secret Intelligence Service, or MI6 as the public called it, from a red book he took from the safe, and dialled.

The phone rang three times before a voice answered, ‘Jack Bradshaw'. ‘Hello Jack, It's Remo Notrangelo, We have a problem.'