L'Oro Verde (5 page)

“Ah, yes, Giorgio was quite an active
child. He’s a doctor in Milano now, isn’t he? I’ll always have to make sure I
don’t go to him by mistake. I’m afraid he might remember how miserable I made
him when he interrupted the class.”

“Oh no, Sister. He talks very fondly of
you.”

“What was the occasion for the picture,
Mrs. Reni?”

“This was the day we brought him home. It
was in late April.”

“From the hospital? He looks so big. I
would never have guessed he was a newborn here,” the nun said, holding the
photo lower to get a better look through her bifocals.

Mrs. Reni smiled as tears welled up in
her eyes. “They kept him in the hospital for a while because of his
disabilities.”

Sister Angela looked up, surprised. “I
don’t think I ever heard the story. Was this the hospital in Petraggio?”

The woman smiled again and gazed at the
nun dreamily. “No. I went into labor while visiting my brother in Roma and had
Bernardo in the hospital there. We took the picture when we were finally able
to bring him home.”

“I’m surprised I never heard that
story,” Sister Angela said. “How did Giuseppe stay out of work for so long? I remember
he worked at the foundry in the valley, and they never seemed to let him take
time off. You came alone to several conferences when Bernardo was in school
because Giuseppe had to work.”

“He wasn’t with me in Roma. He remained
here in Montriano. I stayed at my brother’s house,” she said, turning to the
next page. “And did you see this one, Sister? This was

his sixth birthday party.”

“You have so many pictures. Do you have
any of you and Bernardo in the hospital?”

“No. I told you Giuseppe wasn’t there.”

“But surely Paolo had a camera. I would
think Paolo might consider getting some pictures for the proud father.”

“I don’t know why Paolo didn’t bring his
camera, Sister, but look at this one. He was seven here, I believe…”

And so passed the afternoon. Sister
Angela and Mrs. Reni went through every picture and reminisced about the boy
whose life had been cut so short. Giuseppe Reni did not return until late in
the afternoon. He had obviously been drinking, but Sister Angela felt she could
leave Mrs. Reni in the loving hands of her husband.

“A few last questions. Did Bernardo ever
mention being afraid of anyone? Other than the fact he lived away from home,
was there any reason to fear for his safety?”

“He never mentioned any problems,
Sister,” Giuseppe said.

“You must have something to eat, Mr.
Reni. May I pull a meal together for you both?”

“No, no Sister. I can care for my wife,”
he said. “I’ll make sure that she eats.”

*

The nun made her way down the hill to
her room. She could feel her stomach grumbling too. Dinner would not be for
another hour and a half. Perhaps she should stop by the station and to see
Alessandro. They could go over her visit. She would tell him everything
although nothing special happened at the Renis’. Bernardo’s childhood seemed
normal with no apparent troubles. It would not be a surprise to either detective
that they would have to dig a lot deeper for clues.

Sister Daniela loved taking over Sister
Angela’s first period history class. In fact, she would love to teach all of
the nun’s classes. Though teaching was somewhat threatening, it made her feel
important. Just a few years older than the students themselves, she had to
remind herself she was in charge before she walked through the door.

It was not only teaching the young
novice looked forward to. She also wanted to help Sister Angela with the murder
case. Sister Daniela knew solving crimes was intriguing and important, and she
longed to take part in her mentor’s cases. It was not only an idle or a
romantic yearning. Just last summer, Sister Angela recruited the novice to play
shopkeeper at a pottery store that was robbed three times at gunpoint. The
thief demanded money and threatened to

shoot and destroy the beautiful plates
and vessels that lined the shop’s shelves.

For two scary days, Sister Daniela took
over the register while Sister Angela and Officer Tortini hid in back. When the
thief returned with another demand for money, Tortini arrested him without much
of a struggle. The gun turned out to be a toy, but it looked real to Sister
Daniela. At the trial, Sister Angela learned that the thief was down on his
luck. She visited him in prison and, after he was released, helped him get a
job so he could repay the shopkeeper.

As Sister Angela’s student, Lazaro
Tortini loved to draw designs of sleek automobiles in the margins of his history
papers. She described him then as an adequate student and predicted he would
become a mechanic in Petraggio or design luxury cars at the Alpha Romeo plant
in Milano. Instead, he stayed in Montriano and broke into police work. At first,
he did little more than maintain the two police cars and painstakingly detail
their doors with police logos. He gradually became move involved in crime solving.
Back in school, Sister Angela never anticipated that either she or Lazaro would
work on a police case—and she certainly did not foresee that they would do so
together.

*

Vittorio made his way down the dark
hallway at the far end of the house and tapped on the door.

“Nicola,” he said, knocking louder. When
she did not answer, he quietly entered. Letting his eyes adjust to the darkness,
he whispered her name again. “Are you all right, Nicola? I don’t understand why
you didn’t come to dinner. Should I call a doctor?”

“I’m all right, Papa. Please don’t
worry. I must rest so I can go to work tomorrow.”

He sat on the edge of her bed. “Is it
Enzo? Did he say something? Is your work too much?”

“No.”

“If Enzo says anything to you, you must
ignore him. That man isn’t any good, Nicola. If he offers to hire you, you must
turn him down.”

Nicola sat upright. “Why, Papa? What did
he do to you? Did he squeeze a few too many dollars from the business? Or are
you just jealous of his accomplishments?”

Vittorio rubbed his eyes. “You
ungrateful child.”

“I want to be successful too, Papa. You
don’t think so, but I’m capable of being somebody.”

“Why do you want to work at a plant,
Nicola? You know the orchards will always be here for you and Carlo.”

“I know they will be Carlo’s when you
are gone. I’ll have nothing. I’ll be
his
burden.”

“You know that’s not true.”

“I want to see the world, Papa. I can’t
stay here. I just can’t,” she wailed, her voice trailing off into sobs. “I no
longer have a reason to stay here.”

“My dear child, how I wish your mother
were here. Mariella would know what to do, what to tell you. I am so helpless.”

Vittorio stood up but was unsure if he
should leave her like this. “We need you here, Nicola. Neither Carlo nor I are good
with the customers. They love
you
, Nicola. We need you,” he repeated.
Dropping his hands, he quickly walked to the door. He had run out of words to
comfort her.

*

At the end of class, Sister Daniela
skipped over to the bulletin board outside the administrative offices to check
the schedule for the rest of the day. The mother superior posted the schedule
and all teacher-related notes there. Sure enough, Sister Angela’s name was
crossed off for the next class at eleven and again at two and three. Sister
Daniela’s name was penciled in.

“Wow!” she said. “This must be a big
crime.”

Sister Lucia was checking the board too.

“Congratulations, Sister. Looks like
you’ll be teaching for a while.”

“Do you know what pulled Sister Angela
away?”

“No. But I’m sure she’ll tell you first,”
she said, smiling. “And then you’ll have to tell all of us.”

Sister Daniela looked at the other
teacher, her mouth agape. “I can’t tell everyone about the crime. Sister Angela
would never trust me again. I have to respect her request for strict confidentiality.”

“Normally, you are such a chatterbox, my
dear,” said Sister Lucia, pushing a strand of hair behind the novice’s ear. “I’m
sure Mother Margherita says many prayers for your future here. But when you
work for Sister Angela, you keep your lips sealed tight. We would all like to
know her secret—how she gets the best out of you.”

“You are right, Sister,” Sister Daniela
said. “You are simply right. I wish I could be just like her.”

“I think I hear the bell, Sisters,”
Mother Margherita said, stepping out of her office. “What can possibly be
important enough to keep you talking out here?”

“Forgive us, Mother,” Sister Lucia said.
“Sister Daniela was telling me she wanted to be just like Sister Angela.”

“Good Lord,” the mother superior said as
the teachers hurried back toward the classrooms.

*

When Sister Daniela sat down to dinner,
she wondered where Sister Angela was. Rarely did her friend miss a meal. Just
then she noticed the older woman enter. As a novice, Sister Daniela did not eat
at the same table with the nuns so she could not get close to Sister Angela.
She watched her take her seat, wishing she could hear more about the crime. It
would have to wait until after dinner. She turned to the others at her table
and struck up a conversation about their classes. Novices had to attend school
too, preparing them to take their vows the following spring.

*

Mother Margherita observed the novice as
she sipped her soup.
Sister Daniela should be watched more carefully. I have
to remember to talk to mother the vicaress about the situation.

The novice became a postulant in Bologna
and arrived in Montriano well-recommended. The mother superior remembered the
report. She was perky and a bit talkative, but Novice Daniela had no doubt
about wanting to teach. The novice mistress at her former convent wrote that
she definitely would have encouraged her to stay there if her interests were the
care of the sick or handicapped. Unfortunately, the community in Bologna could
not train novices to be teachers—so they sent her to Montriano. The novice
still acted young but she arrived with excellent recommendations.

It must be her association with Sister
Angela,
the mother superior
thought
. That nun’s darn romantic dreams are leading the child’s mind
elsewhere.

Mother Margherita tried to think back to
when she first met Sister Angela. It must have been when the nun came to the
school. They were about the same age. The mother superior could remember very
little before she was promoted, but she could not forget Sister Angela. Since
Sister Angela first reported to her, there had been nothing but trouble—no, flux.
The clear-cut rules of the order were bent, and then re-bent, and then tied
into knots. Nothing was simple. Now the mother superior had to weigh the
arguments against that.

“It’s not really clear in the rules,”
Sister Angela would point out. “But if you look at the teachings of Christ and
listen to doctrine, it’s so clear, don’t you think?”

Mother Margherita’s mind would soon be
in a muddle. She did not know how to debate it—either way was right, every way
was wrong.

No, she did not want the young novice
following in Sister Angela’s footsteps. The question was how to intervene.

*

After dinner, Sister Daniela headed
straight to Sister Angela’s room. Although she was not allowed to spend the night
outside the quarters assigned to novices, she could still visit.

Sister Angela seemed glad to see her.
“Come in, come in. How did class go today?”

“Perfectly. Umberto Filippi gave an oral
report on the Etruscans in Umbria. It sounded original.”

“You mean it was rough.”

“Yes, original.”

“And Vincenza in fourth period—did she
stay to take an exam?”

“Yes. It’s here among the papers I’m
giving back to you. I corrected most of them, but I have class later and won’t
be able to finish.” She sat on the edge of the bed expectantly. “Do you have
anything else for me?”

“Very definitely. I must ask you to look
up some information at San Benedetto. It’s about Bernardo Reni. Have you heard
of him?”

“I don’t think I have him in a class.”

“He was older while in my class here
several years ago,” Sister Angela said. “I need you to check his baptismal and
confirmation records at the church.”

“If you had him in your class, why don’t
you ask his parents? That might be easier.”

The nun looked up and smiled. “I’ve
talked to the parents already. I still have a question about when and where he
was born.”

“Didn’t the parents know that?”

“They provided no exact information.
Instead of bothering them further, I thought it would be better to look it up.
I know it’s a dirty job, but once we see the paperwork, we can make sure Mrs.
Reni hasn’t forgotten anything.” Sister Angela paused. “I need to know all the
paperwork is there—if everything is in place. I also need the name of the hospital
where he was born. I wrote down the names of the parents and relatives as far
as I know them. This will help you compare.”

“Does Father Domenic keep the papers
downstairs in the rectory?”

“They are in the church basement. I’m
afraid the records aren’t well organized. You might have to look carefully for them.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes. I need you to handle my afternoon
classes again tomorrow. I’m taking the bus to Petraggio at noon. I believe the
examiner is going to look at the body tonight,” she said. “I’ll write up some
lesson plans and leave them for you in the classroom.”

Sister Angela told her the terrible
story about Father Domenic finding the body in the nave. And Bernardo, poor thing,
poor parents—the whole incident was so tragic. That is why Sister Daniela had
to get as much evidence as possible. It was not going to be easy, examining all
those records, but she would not complain. The work was too important.

Sister Daniela skipped up the stairs to
her room.
Looking for clues is exciting
, she thought.

*

Sister Angela read over her notes. It
was difficult to read under the light in the center of the ceiling. She had a desk
lamp, but the bulb had gone out long ago, and she kept forgetting to replace
it. So far, there was only one avenue to search—Father Domenic. Sister Angela
noticed how uncomfortable he seemed during the interview. But why? She did not
believe the priest was involved in the murder. If he had not acted the way he
did, she probably would not have a niggling need to look into it further. Why
would he be so nervous? How would she obtain records about Father Domenic’s
past without word getting back to the bishop and his assistant? Would the
bishop be thankful if she found something disturbing about his acting pastor
before he officially installed him as pastor of San Benedetto? Decidedly not.
She bit her lip. But how? Should she go directly to the bishop? Again no—unless
there was no place left to go. Who did she know in Milano? Was there anyone who
might be able to get that information for her?

She was still racking her brain after
evening prayer and could not go to sleep until she knew what to do. Suddenly she
remembered Father Claudio at the university in Milano. She met him at a
function for the bishop years ago. He, too, had a streak of curiosity, and the
pair became close, sharing mysteries they read through letters. He would
certainly know how to get the information she needed.

*

The next morning, Sister Daniela walked
directly to San Benedetto and knocked on the rectory door. Father Domenic was
just finishing breakfast. Sister Daniela stood in the foyer while the
housekeeper checked to see if he was busy. When she was finally led into the
dining room, he had just finished his coffee.

“What can I do for you, Novice?”

“I’m here for Sister Angela. She asked
me to look up some information in the church records.”

The priest stiffened when he heard the
nun’s name. Then he rolled his eyes. “And what does she want to find out?”

Sister Daniela did not hesitate. She was
not nervous—unaware there might be reason to be. “It concerns Bernardo, Father.
She said you would know.”