Revenge (40 page)

Enrico and Kate were discharged from the
hospital a couple days later, both of them sore from their wounds,
but fully on the mend. Tyrell assured Enrico that his son was safe,
that he’d made all the arrangements with Nico’s supervisor to keep
him away from London and out of reach for several weeks. It was the
best they could do without telling Nico anything directly. If all
went well, he’d never suspect a thing.

Sick of being cooped up in the hospital,
Enrico had taken Kate out to the back terrace to get some sun and
fresh air. They hadn’t been home more than a few hours when Ruggero
sought him out. “Antonio was right.” He held up a small black
device in a plastic bag. “This tracker was on the Maserati.”

Enrico extended his hand for it. He turned
the bag over, studying the device that had almost been their death.
“Are there others?”

“I am checking all the cars myself. So far,
no.”

“How do we find out who planted this?”

“I will have it checked for
fingerprints.”

“Do the
polizia
know about it?”

Ruggero shook his head, and Enrico handed the
tracker back to him. “Anything from the surveillance?”

“Nothing conclusive.”

“I don’t like not knowing.” Enrico tapped his
fingers against the armrest of his chair.

The grim lines of Ruggero’s face hardened.
“Neither do I. We will have an answer soon.”

“I hope we have it in time.” Enrico reached
out and took Kate’s hand. Then he looked back at Ruggero. “There
are three of us counting on you now.”

Ruggero nodded. “I will not fail you.”

Giacomo Parini arrived later that afternoon
with a large black case. He met privately with Enrico in his study.
“I have brought what you asked for, Don Enrico,” he said, opening
the case.

Enrico studied the rings before him. “Which
would you give to the woman who owned your heart?”

“This one.” Parini pointed to a ring in the
middle row. “It’s not the most expensive, nor the largest. But the
diamonds have the most clarity, the most sparkle.”

Enrico held the ring under the lamp on his
desk. The diamonds refracted the light beautifully, sending out
prisms of color. “I’ll take it.”

“
Bene
.” Parini smiled, then his face
sobered. “I’m worried, Don Enrico. This attempt on your life, it
was most serious. I’m not the only one who’s concerned. Many
merchants have come to me, questioning whether they should go over
to the Andrettis. They fear what will happen if you die.”

“So, to avoid the lava, they would jump into
the mouth of Vesuvius?”

Parini shook his head. “I know. Your father
told me the reason for Andretti’s exile. About the boy in the
barrel. Perhaps more people should know that story?”

Enrico shrugged. “Do what you think best.” He
gripped the old man by the shoulder. “If something happens to me,
the
cosca
will protect you. It will go on without me.”
It
just won’t be the same.

“I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

He smiled at Parini, hoping it reached his
eyes. “I have a wife to marry and a child on the way. I have
everything to live for. I
will
see Carlo Andretti in the
ground.”

After Parini left, Enrico sat at his desk
admiring the ring. Where and when should he give it to Kate? He
wanted to make it a moment she’d always remember. He’d love to take
her back to Capri, to propose in that lush little thicket where
they’d made love. But there wasn’t time right now. He needed
something nearby.

What about the gardens at the Villa Carlotta,
or maybe that elegant little bistro in Bellagio? Both were nice,
but he wanted something more grand.

Then the perfect place came to him: the
beautifully laid-out formal gardens of the Villa d’Este. Just the
place for a marriage proposal, maybe even the wedding itself. And
after he proposed, they could have dinner at the hotel. He called
the maître d’ and arranged dinner for the next evening. Any further
delay and the wait would kill him.

Fuente called on Enrico and Kate the
following day. The three of them met in Enrico’s study. Kate and
Enrico took the sofa; Fuente took a chair opposite. The expression
on Fuente’s face flashed Enrico back to their meeting just after
Kate shot Vincenzo. Fuente had looked then like a cat who’d just
swallowed a very tasty canary. He looked even more full of himself
today. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.

“Are you here to update us on the
investigation into Vincenzo Andretti’s death or on the attack a few
days ago?” Enrico said.

“We do have so many things to discuss, do we
not?” Fuente paused for a moment, until he was sure of everyone’s
attention. “
Signore
, an interesting story has come my
way.”

“Interesting?”

“
Molto
. It seems your name has come up
in yet another investigation. Another death.”

“What are you talking about?” Kate asked.
Enrico was wondering the same thing.

Fuente stroked his moustache. “Ah,
signora
, there is much you do not know about this man. I
understand you are to be wed?”

“Where did you hear that?” Enrico asked.

Fuente shrugged. “You know how these small
towns are. So hard to keep secrets.”

“What’s this story you mentioned?” Kate
asked.

Fuente leaned forward, his face lighting up
with a cold keenness. “A judge and his family were assassinated
some years ago. This judge, Federico Dinelli, was well known for
his anti-Mafia views. At the time of his death, a case had come
before him. A tax-evasion case. Signor Lucchesi was the defendant.”
Kate turned to Enrico.

Where was Fuente going with this
?
And why
? “Yes, there was a case,” Enrico said. “It was
dismissed for lack of evidence.”

“But only after Judge Dinelli was
killed.”

Blood rose to Enrico’s face. “That was not my
doing.”

“No one has been able to prove that it
was.”

“I had nothing to do with it.”

“But you had everything to
gain
from
it.”

Enrico looked hard at Fuente.
Didn’t they
have an understanding
? “Mine was not the only case before him.
Carlo Andretti was facing charges as well.”

Fuente stroked his moustache again, looking
at the ceiling, as if considering Enrico’s words. “That is true.”
He played with the cap on his lap. “As you may recall,
signore
, some of the evidence in that case was lost. I was
curious and did some digging. It took me days and days of
searching, but I finally found that missing evidence. It had been
misfiled, almost lost for good. Do you know what I found?”

Enrico could hardly breathe. “Please,
enlighten me.”

“One of the murder weapons—as it happens, the
only one with fingerprints on it—was among the misfiled evidence.
And the fingerprints on that gun belong to Sergio Grantini. He
worked for you back then, yes?”

Adrenaline flooded Enrico’s body. Someone had
just put the first nail in his coffin. Someone who knew where that
gun had been hidden. Was it Dom? He focused on keeping his
expression neutral. “He did work for me.”

“But Grantini disappeared soon after the
murder.”

Enrico nodded. “He abandoned his wife and
son.”

“Why would he do such a thing?”

“How am I to know? Sergio was young and not
always faithful to his wife. Perhaps he ran off with a pretty
girl.” It could have been the truth. Only Enrico, Ruggero, and Dom
knew that it wasn’t.

“Perhaps.” Fuente paused, his eyes boring
into Enrico. “If we could find him, he could tell us why he shot
the judge and his family.”

“You do not actually know that he did.
Someone else could have used the gun.”

“Grantini’s prints are the only ones on
it.”

Enrico shook his head. “Gloves. The killer
could have worn them.”

“Perhaps, Signor Lucchesi, you should have
been one of us.”

“A
carabiniere
?” Enrico snorted.

Fuente waved the notion away with his hands.
“What was I thinking? No man as fine as Enrico Lucchesi would stoop
so low.”

“That is not what I meant.”

Fuente’s lips curved up. “Perhaps you meant
no man as
corrupt
as you would think of it?”

There was no winning with this man. Enrico
could feel the heat of Kate’s stare. “If you have enough evidence
to arrest me, I suggest you do so.”

“Or what? You’ll take care of me too?” Fuente
grinned at him aggressively. “Perhaps I’ll end up like the judge?
Or perhaps I’ll be ‘misfiled’ in some nondescript place like that
gun?”

Enrico sat back, feigning indifference. “You
have nothing.”

Fuente leaned forward. “Ah, but I do.” He
pulled their passports out of the inner pocket of his uniform and
tossed them on the table. “I assume you both would like these
back.”

“We would,” Enrico said.

“You are fortunate,
signore
. I am in a
generous mood.”

“Are we cleared?” Kate asked.

Fuente looked at her, a tight smile on his
face. “Patience,
signora.
Such matters take time.”

They don’t have to
. He had to get
Fuente out of the house so he could talk to Kate. So he could
explain. “Is there some… assistance you need with the
investigation?” Enrico asked.

“Not directly. But there is a matter that has
proven most distracting to me personally, and it has hampered my
ability to wrap up the investigation.”

“Is it something I can help with?”

Fuente put on an embarrassed face. “I would
not mention it, except it is the matter most pressing on my
mind.”

“What is it?”

“As you know, I have four children, and they
all plan to attend university. But now three of them have decided
they must go to America for that. Even with my recent promotion to
third rank, I will be hard-pressed to fund their tuitions. I have
heard, Signor Lucchesi, that you have sponsored some local
children.”

The audacity of this man
. “If they
have high marks.”

“My children are exceptional scholars.”

Enrico suppressed a sigh. “Well then, perhaps
they would qualify for my scholarship program.”

“I would be most grateful for any assistance
you could provide.”

Kate looked from one to the other of them,
her disgust undisguised. “Are we done here?” she asked.

Fuente smiled again. “For now.
Signora
, my business with you is concluded.” He turned and
addressed Enrico. “I am still looking for Grantini. We will talk
further when I find him.”

“I hope you do. I am still paying his wages
to his wife while we look for him ourselves.”

Fuente bowed his head. “You are a
most
generous man, Signor Lucchesi.” He rose and put on his hat.
“
Arrivederci
.”