Shout in the Dark (14 page)

Laura stayed gazing out of the window, then
she slowly turned. Marco breathed in the perfume and stared at her
large brown eyes, skillfully drawn around with fine eyeliner, and
just a trace of mascara on the lashes. But the lipstick was far too
bright, spoiling the whole effect.

Laura regarded him closely. "Angelo Levi
was given the relic in World War Two, by his father. His father was
Jewish. Did you know?"

"
Father Josef told me."

"
He threw Angelo out of the house when he became a
Christian, so he lived with his aunt who'd become a Christian in
nineteen thirty-five. There was no possibility of Christians and
Jews accepting each other's beliefs in those... Who's Father
Josef?"

Marco pulled a face. "Just somebody I work
for in the Vatican."

Laura hardly seemed to hear the answer.
She sounded very knowledgeable about Rome in World War Two. "Italy
wasn't like Nazi Germany in the thirties. Mussolini wasn't a
racist. The Italian fascists only persecuted the Jews
half-heartedly. They mainly wanted to smash the power of the
Communists and the unions. Jews who said they'd converted to
Christianity were given a certificate and left alone. They were
protected citizens -- until the Nazis came. Then, of course, the
certificates were worthless pieces of paper."

"
And was Angelo Levi's conversion genuine?" Marco knew from
experience that men and women had many different reasons for
conversione
, a
popular one being the desire for peace from an overzealous
partner.

Laura sounded annoyed. "Genuine enough for
him to become a canon! Not that everyone in the Church thought he
was good enough for the job." There was an edge to that comment. It
was almost judgment. "I don't want to stay long tonight, Marco, but
I need to know if you'll work with me on this one. You must have
your ear to the ground in the Vatican. See if anyone knows where
the relic is hidden. I promise I'll keep your name out of the
papers. I can show you a letter that might have some bearing on the
matter. Can I come round later in the week?"

"
That's fine. I suppose I should add
Deo volente
." He laughed, and hoped he sounded
spiritual enough.
God willing.
Even a suspended priest has to create a good
impression.

Laura seemed pleased at his acceptance.
"Do you have a cell phone?"

He nodded, wondering if Laura counted as a
friend in Father Joseph's definition of who he could give the
number to. He decided she did.

She wrote it down. "Good, I'll phone you
and we can have some lunch together. I know a good
place."

"
And I'll not pass on anything you don't want me to," he
promised.

Laura looked startled. "Pass on? How do
you mean, pass on?"

He would have taken that move back if he'd
been playing chess with Brother Roberto. Such a blunder would have
provoked generosity in the most unsympathetic player. "What I mean
is, this is between the two of us. Right?"

Laura relaxed a little. "That's right. And
it's got to stay that way."

He walked down to the street with Laura,
as far as the corner where they parted company. Many years ago he
would have encouraged an attractive woman like Laura to stay
longer. Much longer. But the opportunities for sex had gone, and he
had no problem with keeping his vow of celibacy. Well, there could
be no harm in watching Laura Rossetti walk away. Perhaps she would
even turn to wave
ciao
.

She did not walk far. Only as far as a
parked car -- a battered, green Lancia. She got into the passenger
seat. As the car pulled out from the curb, Marco edged back out of
sight, embarrassed at having stayed to watch. The man driving the
car looked old enough to be Laura's father. But even supposing it
was her boyfriend, was it any business of his? How stupid to feel
jealous over something that could never be.

LAURA TOOK a quick look behind as Bruno
let the clutch in with a jolt.

"
Well, does he know where it is?" Bruno Bastiani let go of
the gear stick and put his hand on her knee.

"
We're wasting our time," snapped Laura, pushing his hand
away. "He's a priest, for God's sake. He's not going to fall into a
woman's arms at the sight of red lips." She took a tissue from her
purse and dabbed at her lipstick. "I hate this stuff, and I hate
what we're doing. You want me to screw a priest so you can get hold
of a Christian relic?"

"
We need it, Laura. It's going to be the answer to all our
prayers."

"
Prayers? When did you ever pray?" She felt dirty. "Anyway,
his faith would mean more to him than a pretty girl. I told him I
was Catholic."

"
Clever Laura."

"
If I was clever I wouldn't be mixed up in this business
with you and Riccardo Fermi," she snapped. "What we're doing is
obscene. If anyone has a claim to the relic, it's me -- and I say
we forget about it."

Bruno responded angrily. "It's our duty to
see it through. You're not getting out now. We want
justice."

RETURNING TO HIS apartment block, Marco
realized he had
learned
very little from Laura Rossetti. No notes had been taken. Was she
really writing a piece of journalism? Not that it mattered. He had
enjoyed the company.

A smell of
L'Air du Temps
filled the room. He took the Respighi CD from the
rack, held it for a moment, then put it in the player. As the music
of
I Pini
del Gianicolo
filled the
apartment he began to cry, a mixture of pain and pleasure. His
meetings with Laura and Amendola had disturbed powerful memories,
as had seeing Natalia. He wanted his life with Anna to stay in a
separate compartment. A compartment that could never be visited
again.

But now the room no longer seemed empty.
Anna had been allowed back into his life for an hour.

Chapter
13

Marco
's apartment

MARCO HEARD ON the early morning news
that
Luigi Cardinal
Amendola had issued a brief press release last night, and probably
believed he could suppress all further conjecture on the Head of
Eusebius. Issued to the media world-wide, his statement informed
news editors that the bronze head found in the Vatican was of
recent origin, and therefore of no historical interest. There was
no other head, and never had been.

The morning papers immediately dismissed
the whole matter of the relic as a summer hoax. It intrigued Marco
to watch the breakfast news on TV Roma. The television company was
going out on a limb and insisting that the Vatican had got it
wrong, and the original relic was still around. They claimed they
had information from "a confidential source" that a bronze head was
definitely handed to the Vatican in World War Two, so a bronze head
less than thirty years old could not possibly be the same one.
Ergo, the Vatican had the genuine article -- or if they did not,
they had been remarkably careless with it since the war. Knowing
something of the background to the story, Marco realized just how
right TV Roma was.

The rest of the media chose to ignore this
rationale from TV Roma, no doubt leaving the Vatican officials
sighing with relief. Marco picked his way through the papers for
two days, compiling a file of press cuttings for Josef Reinhardt.
Then TV Roma came on air with a special report. In spite of Vatican
opposition, someone within the Vatican was now helping them. The
announcement, Marco guessed correctly, was sufficient to alienate
TV Roma from further contact by Cardinal Amendola.

Father Josef phoned Marco at lunchtime to
tell him that Amendola suspected Monsignor Giorgio of being the
unnamed source who had unwittingly been helping TV Roma. Monsignor
Augusto Giorgio had stormed out of the Vatican feeling guilty and
betrayed. This stain on his virtues immediately put him in disfavor
with the remainder of the panel of inquiry. Apparently he insisted
on his innocence, saying that in an interview he had merely
confirmed points that a TV reporter seemed to know
already.

Marco suddenly realized Augusto Giorgio
might be innocent. He might be the unnamed source himself, working
unwittingly for Laura Rossetti. He said nothing about this
misgiving to Father Josef.

LAURA PHONED THE next day and said she was
on her way round. Marco waited impatiently for over half an hour
for the doorbell to ring.

"
It's time we got down to some serious discussion, Marco,"
she announced without waiting for pleasantries when she arrived at
last. She dropped her purse on the kitchen table. "I want you to
have a look at this letter. I think I can trust you."

Marco felt unsure how to reply; but
whatever Laura meant by trusting him, if she could not be safe
in
his
company,
where could she be safe! He laughed at his earlier fears that Laura
might be using him in some way.

"
I'll make us some coffee," he offered.

"
Thanks. It's not really a letter -- more of a note." Laura
opened her purse. "Canon Levi sent it to ... to a woman he knew. It
may tell us what he did with the relic."

"
You're making it sound very mysterious," said Marco. "Who's
the woman?"

Laura smiled, but not very convincingly.
"Someone I know. Don't cross-examine me on it, for goodness sake.
There's a date at the top. Canon Angelo wrote it three days before
he was killed." She turned at the sound of escaping steam. "The gas
is up too high." She went forward and turned it down.

The small sheet of white paper contained
only a few lines of Italian handwriting.
I am concerned that there is a
Vatican plan to stop me getting the bronze head authenticated. I
have therefore decided that if they want it, they will have to look
for the Living among the dead.

"
I found it during some earlier research, but it didn't mean
anything to me until the raid on TV Roma," Laura
explained.

Marco looked over her shoulder, aware of
the
L'Air du
Temps
. "The last bit is
a Bible quote, but the Canon got it wrong."

"
I didn't know."

"
Gospel of Luke. You're a Catholic, so you ought to
recognize it."

Laura went over to the window to gaze into
the park where several young couples lay on the grass, a favorite
summer pastime. "Don't give me a Scripture lesson, Marco. I've said
I didn't know."

Sensing the irritation in her voice he was
quick to reduce the tension. "Canon Angelo has misquoted it. That's
what's confused you."

"
So what should it be?"

He reached for his Bible on the bookshelf.
"It's from the end of Luke's gospel. It should say,
'
Why
do you look for the Living
among the dead?'"

"
Sounds the same to me."

"
No, Canon Angelo didn't write, 'Why do you look?' He wrote,
'
Look
for'. Perhaps he got it wrong
deliberately. He's telling someone they'll have to look for the
Living among the dead, which isn't the same at all. The angel in
the Bible is telling the disciples
not
to look there. Watch out, the coffee's boiling
again!"

Laura turned out the gas burner and opened
the window for the steam to clear. "So who's the Living, and who
are the dead?"

"
You wouldn't be asking such things if you'd had Sister
Maria for religious instruction."

Laura sighed. "Well I didn't, so just tell
me -- please."

Marco poured the coffee into two mugs.
"The angel said it outside the empty tomb of Jesus after the
crucifixion. It was the first Easter, and the tomb was empty. His
disciples had come to see the body of Jesus, but of course it
wasn't there because he'd risen from the dead. So the angel asked
them why..."

"
Why they were looking for the Living among the dead. Okay,
I get that. But what about my letter?"

"
Just look at the way the Canon has used a capital letter
for 'Living'. He's talking about Jesus. It's the reverse of the
Bible passage. Canon Angelo is saying that they -- presumably
people from the Vatican -- must look for the bronze head of Jesus
among the dead if they want it,
not
among the living. In other words he's hidden it somewhere.
Any ideas?" He passed one of the mugs to Laura.

She returned to the window, staring into the
park deep in thought, the mug left on the table. She came away at
last, her eyes bright. Without warning she flung her arms around
his shoulders, giving him the biggest hug he had received since his
eldest sister gave birth to her third child.

"
Marco Sartini, you're amazing.
You
know about the Living, and
I
know about the dead!"