The Venice Conspiracy (24 page)

Carvalho and Valentina give him time to take it all in. They’ve already been over the kiss-and-tell article several times, and both of them would gladly lock Tina Ricci up for the rest of her days. It’s bad enough that she’s graphically detailed her steamy love sessions with the former priest: what’s unforgivable is that she’s described how he’s helping Venetian police with a murder hunt.

Tom finally puts the paper down. ‘I’m really sorry. I don’t know what to say to you.’ He lets out a long slow breath. ‘I can’t believe she did this.’

‘No one ever can,’ says Valentina coldly. ‘Journalists are specialists in deception.’

‘You’re not the first to be taken in by a beautiful reporter – not by a long way – and you won’t be the last,’ adds Carvalho with a little more sympathy. ‘But this is a really damaging piece for us. My boss went
pazzo
– totally crazy. Our switchboard is in meltdown with press calls, and the top brass in Rome are demanding a full report.’

Tom studies the pages again. He feels a sickening mixture of anger and shame. ‘I’m truly sorry. I somehow thought travel-writing meant she was different from other news reporters. Guess I got that all wrong. What can I do to make things easier for you and the investigation?’

Carvalho smiles. ‘Aside from catching the killer? Probably nothing.’ He glances at a clock on the wall. ‘Time for me to go and be kicked again by the brigadier. Please stay here until I come back. We’ll have to agree a statement to the Italian press.’

Tom forces a smile. Carvalho grabs a file and heads off.

‘Don’t worry,’ says Valentina, placing a reassuring hand on his arm. ‘Italians
are very forgiving about affairs of the heart. After all, we have a president who has more mistresses than there are gondolas in Venice. You want some coffee?’

Tom manages a laugh. ‘Thanks. I feel stunned.’

‘It’s how women feel when they find their man has been cheating.’ She looks deep into his eyes. ‘It’s betrayal, Tom. Not a good feeling. Not something you should ever put people through.’

He guesses she’s speaking from some past personal pain. ‘No, it’s not.’ He pushes at the article in front of him. ‘You know, I don’t so much mind this hurting me. I’ll chalk it up as one of many emotional lessons I have to learn. But I’m really sorry she’s made things so awkward for you and Vito.’

‘Hey, after everything that’s happened to me recently, I can tell you, this is nothing.’ She smiles, a warm smile that ironically reminds him quite painfully of Tina.
‘
I’ll get us the coffee.’

Left alone in the room, Tom instantly becomes reflective. Wonders if Tina
had
been acting all along, if everything she’d said and done had been just a pretence, a way of getting a good story out of him.

More worryingly, he wonders how he’ll ever be able to trust another woman in his life.

26 dicembre 1777

Sestiere di Dorsoduro, Venezia

Neither of the two strangers who’ve already had paid sex with Louisa Cossiga have seen so much as a glimpse of her face.

Despite their pleadings for intimacy, the raven-haired courtesan has kept her tailor-made mask on throughout their pathetic frenzies.

It’s better that way.

Always better that way.

She learned long ago that a person’s face is at its most revealing during intercourse. The journey to orgasm shows what’s on the mind – the nature of the heart – the state of the soul. All things that she has no
intention of revealing to strangers, especially those who only count her worth in coins.

The first tonight had at least shown her the courtesy of being quick. Given his speed, it was probably the most profitable three minutes of her year. He had nice eyes. Kind eyes. It was those – more than anything – that made her decide not to pick him.

Lucky him.

The second is the one she has chosen.

A brute of a man. The type likely to beat his wife and children, abuse his servants and cheat his business associates.

When he undressed, he smelled like roasted pig. Even grunted and rutted like swine. Louisa shudders as she remembers his hairy white scrotum swinging between her legs.

Amun, he calls himself. Says it’s Egyptian, meaning mystery. Louisa finds that amusing. Maybe even ironic. The man of mystery is currently washing his cock in her vanity bowl and shouting for wine.

Louisa finishes dressing. ‘Some friends are throwing a ball tonight. A select and secret affair. A palace of pleasures – the kind only a sophisticate like you could appreciate.’

‘How much?’

‘For you? Nothing. You have paid me enough already. There will be five women to every man, sufficient even for your vast appetite.’

Amun searches for a towel and can’t find one. He rubs himself dry on her bed sheet. ‘And you will be there?’

She looks him over and pretends to be aroused by his flabby, naked body. ‘How could I not be? Of course, I’ll be there. And tonight, among all the pleasures, you’ll see me as I truly am.’ She taps her silver
volto
mask, a uniquely hooded piece, tailored at the back in soft black velvet.

His eyes grow greedy. ‘Now. Take it off
now
and I’ll give you anything you want.’ He reaches into his cloak, hung on a door handle, and jangles a fistful of gold
zecchino
coins. ‘Name your price.’

She waves him away. ‘Save your money’ – she glances down – ‘and your
excitement
. Tonight all you crave will be yours –
for free
.’ She smiles mischievously. ‘But if you do not come tonight, then you will never have what you desire. The choice is yours.’

He silently pulls on his white shirt. Unfazed by her bargaining, he’s wondering whether he should just hold her down and take what he wants. Maybe slap her around, teach her to know her place.

Finally, the mystery and lure of an even more lustful affair proves too much to resist. ‘As you wish.
Tonight it is. Where is this ball? Do I come back here?’

She helps him finish buttoning. ‘No, my love. I will meet you. Be at the Ponte della Paglia in three hours. The ball is being held but a short boat ride away.’

‘Fine.’ He grabs his cloak, turns his back and without any pleasantries, leaves.

Louisa locks the door, pulls off her mask and shakes out her long, dark hair. She rubs her fingers through her curls. It’s good to feel the cool air on her face. A mass of
gummas
, soft boils caused by syphilis, is itching cruely on her skin.

She sits on a stool and looks in a mirror. Stares deep into her own eyes – the windows to her soul. She’s made the right decision. The Boatman will be pleased by her choice. And so too will the others.

Present Day

Carabinieri HQ, Venice

Vito Carvalho is smiling when he re-enters his office.

Tom takes it as a good sign. ‘So? Am I to be deported? Or fed to the lions in St Mark’s Square?’

‘Worse.’ The major slips into his seat behind the desk. ‘We’re going to throw you to the Italian press.’

‘The press?’

‘Fight fire with fire. A full media conference. The brigadier thinks the best way out of this mess is to get the TV, radio and print journalists all together and blow this away in one single session.’

Valentina agrees. ‘It’s a good idea. At least this way we have some control over the garbage they’ll write about you and the investigation.’

Tom can’t hide his shock. ‘I came here to
escape
the press. If you announce it’s open house, then you’ll have CNN, Fox and TMZ on your doorstep as well as the local vultures.’

‘Then we need to be quick,’ says Carvalho. ‘Let’s get it done and dusted before
the foreign hacks start pleading with their editors for a few days in Venice.’ He looks to Valentina. ‘Can you fix it with our media centre? We’ll use the main hall, five p.m. tonight.’

‘Will do.’ She smiles at Tom on her way out.

‘What do you want me to say?’ Tom asks.

‘The truth. Be as truthful about your own situation as you want to be. As for the enquiry, Valentina and our press officer will prepare a statement, which I’ll deliver. Hopefully we can use the situation to get members of the public to come forward with new information.’

‘On what?’

‘Anything. The first rule of running a murder enquiry is that someone always knows more than the killer thinks they know. We need to reach those people. With forensics struggling to come up with some leads for us to follow, we’re making no progress.’

Tom wonders about the logistics. ‘How will we do this? I mean, my Italian isn’t good enough either to speak or understand.’

‘Don’t worry, we have a translator. You’ll meet her beforehand and she’ll explain how it’ll all work.’ Carvalho looks down at the
National Enquirer
article. ‘Do you know where Signorina Ricci is now?’

Tom glances at the wad of faxes. ‘Not a clue. She’s a travel writer –
allegedly
– so I guess she’s travelling somewhere.’

Carvalho can see he’s embarrassed. ‘You haven’t spoken to her since she left?’

‘No. I rang her cell several times, but it just trips to voicemail. I guess she’s avoiding me.’

‘She probably has a new number.’ Vito scratches the back of his hand. ‘You want me to find out exactly where she is and what her new contact numbers are? I could call some friends at the Polizia di Stato – the border police will have records on when she left the hotel and, if she has left Italy, where she went to. The rest of the information will only take a couple of calls …’

Something in Tom’s conscience lectures him to turn the other cheek, to forgive and forget. ‘I don’t think so. Thanks anyway.’

‘You sure?’ Carvalho picks up the telephone. ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to phone her out of the blue?’

Tom can see the attraction in that. There are certainly a few un-priestlike words he’s tempted to say to her. ‘I’m sure.’ He prises himself out of his seat. ‘You mind if I just run to the washroom? Too much coffee.’

‘Go ahead, you know where it is.’ Carvalho waits until Tom has left the room, then decides he’s going to put in the calls regardless. Even if Tom doesn’t want to speak
to the troublesome little bitch, he still intends giving her a piece of his mind and wants to find out exactly what her next story is going to be.

26 dicembre 1777

Ponte della Paglia, Venezia

Amun Badawi spends the rest of the evening drinking and gambling. He’s come to Venice to buy and sell a wide variety of goods, but mainly rugs from Turkey and carpets from Egypt.

He’s feeling as unsteady as a cabin boy on a maiden voyage and that’s before he even boards the boat that will take him to the secret party. Around the corner from the Ponte della Paglia, he leans against a wall and vomits.

He’s still cleaning food from his coat when he spots Louisa on the pier. Her silver mask is illuminated by the moonlight, her breath freezing in the air as she speaks to a masked boatman at the water’s edge.

Finally, she sees him and waves: ‘Amun! Come on, make haste. We are late!’

‘I’m
coming!
’ A beery belch erupts from his mouth and he dry-chews an aftertaste of greasy lamb.

As he gets closer he sees a small but sturdy craft roped to a mooring pole. The boatman offers up a bony hand. ‘Let me help you down, sir.’

‘I can manage.’ Amun brushes him off and all but falls into the vessel. It sways and splashes wildly. Rocks even more as he finds a seat. ‘This had damned well better be worth it. Boats – on a freezing night like this! I would have been better paying for a proper courtesan, not some backstreet whore with a yearning for midnight swimming.’

Louisa delicately steps down into the craft. She places her gloved hands on Amun’s shoulders and sits beside him. ‘These inconveniences will soon be forgotten. Now keep me warm and feed your imagination with thoughts of the pleasures to come.’

The boatman casts off. A sharp wind cuts across the Canale di San Marco as they head south. ‘You will find a flask of festive brandy and our visitor’s hood
in the bag beneath the seat,’ he tells Louisa.

Amun has his hand on Louisa’s thigh. Even though he’s drunk he’s still aroused by touching her. He presses his fingers hard between her legs. ‘Fuck me. Here. Now. In this boat. Warm my cock with that eager mouth of yours.’

Louisa tries not to sound angry as she pulls his hand away. ‘Not yet. The waters scare me.’ She reaches into the bag. ‘Here, let’s have a drink.’

Amun takes a deep slug of brandy from the silver flask she offers him. ‘Not much in it.’ He shakes it disdainfully. ‘You finish it,’ says Louisa graciously.

Amun downs the rest of the fiery liquid. He turns to the boatman. ‘You should sell this stuff. My workers would sell their souls for grog like this.’

The boatman smiles behind his long-nosed white mask.

Louisa holds out a soft woollen hood for her companion. ‘You must put this on for the party.’

Amun snatches it. Fumbles. ‘Which way round? I see no holes for my eyes or mouth.’

She takes it back, rolls it and begins to peel it down over his huge head. ‘It has none.’

He raises his hands to remove it but she grabs his wrists. ‘You must not see where we are taking you. The first rule of this party – like Carnevale – is anonymity. Without it, I am not allowed to bring you. Now, put it on or we turn back.’

Amun thinks about fighting, but actually the hood is warm and the brandy is doing its trick. He feels an excited contentment as Louisa moves over and guides his head down on to her lap. ‘How long?’ she calls to the boatman.

The sea is as black as coal, with only a thumbnail moon to light the sky. But the boatman could find his way across the world just by reading the stars. ‘We are turning into the Canale della Grazie. Not much further. Not much longer.’

‘Good.’ Louisa shivers as she gently rocks the big head resting on her lap. ‘Amun. Amun!’

He doesn’t stir.

The drug has worked its magic.

He’s unconscious.

Present Day

Carabinieri HQ, Venice