Private Rome

Chapter 30

Luna and I walked side by side along the terrace to the end of the house.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you the truth,” she said, “but I have spent a lifetime hiding this secret. My father imagines he is some kind of hero, a Robin Hood, when in fact he is a gangster who is bad news for Italy and for Rome.”

I was surprised to hear her talk in such unequivocal terms.

“What?” she asked belligerently. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“I don’t think you’re wrong. It’s just that those closest to us often lose the ability to see things clearly.”

“As detectives we have to remain clear-sighted, no?”

I nodded my head. “Yes, we do.”

“Matteo grew confused. Wasn’t clear about the focus of his job. He was supposed to pursue the truth above all else,” she told me as we followed a path beside the house.

I could see the driveway full of cars ahead of us.

“I know he works for you now, and I should probably be more discreet, but he had no business pulling us off the Lombardi investigation.”

“I agree,” I said, wondering what that meant for Matteo’s long-term prospects with Private.

But that wasn’t the issue I had to worry about right now. His contract included a termination clause for arrest and prosecution on any criminal matter. If he was found guilty, the clause would trigger automatically, but if innocent I would have to think about what to do with him and whether he could remain as head of the Rome office.

We reached the front of the house and I saw two heavy-set guys in suits standing beside a Mercedes GLA that hadn’t been in the driveway when I’d been brought in.

“They will take you back to the city,” Luna said. “They’re good men. Some of my father’s best.”

“Good?” I asked.

“Proficient then. If ‘good’ carries too many moral implications,” Luna said.

I paused as we reached the edge of the white-gravel driveway. “What about you? Are you good?”

She held my gaze and glared with suppressed fury.

“Will you help your partner?” I pressed.

“I’m a prisoner here,” she replied. “My father’s men are under strict instructions not to let me leave.”

“There are other ways to help,” I remarked, producing my phone. “These tattoos were concealed under the dead man’s sleeves.”

I found the photos of the shooter who’d attacked us by the scene of Lombardi’s death. She studied the intricate occult tattoos.

“I didn’t show these to your father in case it was one of his men who died, but I’m showing you now.” I presented her with the photos of the tattoos. “If you know what these are and what they represent, now is your chance to do good.”

I knew what the tattoos symbolized but wasn’t going to reveal anything so I could see just how deeply she believed in doing the right thing.

“These belong to a gang known as Destini Oscuri, the Dark Fates,” she said. “It’s a street gang. Vicious and brutal. They operate from a bar called the Inferno in Esquilino, one of Rome’s oldest and toughest neighborhoods. It is owned by a man called Milan Verde. They say he is the leader of the Dark Fates. There isn’t a police officer in Rome who would dare touch him.”

“What about police inspectors?” I asked.

“Not many of us either. He is known for his brutality.”

“Can you tell me the significance of this?” I asked, swiping to a photo of the tattoo of the fleur-de-lys inside the Jerusalem Cross.

Luna shook her head.

“That’s not one I’ve seen before. It might be new or signify some special rank in the gang maybe.”

“Thank you,” I told her. “You’ve restored a little of my faith.”

“In humanity?” she asked.

“In my own judgment. I thought you were a good person. You haven’t disappointed me.”

“A good person wouldn’t be here with these men.” She indicated her father’s thugs, who shifted impatiently.

“We can’t choose our family,” I said, suddenly thinking about my own fractured relationships with my father and brother.

Luna nodded. I was about to walk away when she took my hand. “Please do not go against the Fates. They are dangerous, and Milan Verde is a monster.”

“I go where the truth leads me,” I replied. Looking wistful, she nodded.

“I understand.”

She let go of my hand and I joined the villainous men who would take me back to Rome.