The Nosferatu Scroll

5

The dark blue powerboat was speeding through the inky darkness of the Venetian night, heading south, past San Clemente, towards a small island situated some distance from its nearest neighbour.

This island only covered three or four acres, and was dominated by a large and impressive Venetian mansion, a five-storey edifice in grey stone that sat at its highest point. Directly below the house was a substantial stone-built jetty capable of berthing perhaps a dozen powerboats. At first sight, the jetty seemed ridiculously large, but the lagoon provided the only means of access to and from the property.

Four other vessels were already secured to the bollards that edged the jetty, but the driver of the blue powerboat had plenty of space to manoeuvre. He brought the boat alongside the landing stage, put the gearbox into reverse, and expertly stopped the vessel close enough for one of the other men to step ashore. In moments, both mooring lines were secured and the engine shut down.

The driver assisted his two passengers in manhandling the rolled carpet on to the jetty, where they lowered it to the ground.

‘I think she can walk from here,’ one of the men said, unrolling the carpet and pulling Marietta Perini to her feet. The man with the taser checked her wrists were still securely bound, ripped off her gag, then aimed the weapon at her and squeezed the trigger. The girl shrank back as the evil blue spark jumped from one electrode to the other with an audible crack.

‘What do you want with me?’ she said, her voice trembling with fear.

‘You’ll find out soon enough,’ the man snapped. ‘Now, do exactly what we tell you, or-’ He triggered the taser again, then pointed towards the house. ‘Go up there,’ he ordered.

Marietta stared around her, at the small island with its grass-covered slopes, clumps of bushes and occasional small trees, and at the house itself. Beyond it lay the waters of the Venetian lagoon. Pockets of mist were drifting over the surface, driven by light breezes. She looked at the pitiless faces of the three men who had abducted her from the city of her birth. A surge of pure terror coursed through her body as she realized she was beyond help.

‘I have a friend,’ she said desperately. ‘I was on my way to visit him. When I don’t arrive, he’ll call the police.’

The man with the taser smiled at her, but it was not a smile of amusement. ‘I’ve no doubt he will, and I’m sure the carabinieri will make all the right noises and do their best to reassure him. But we left no clues, and nobody saw what we did. It’s as if you simply vanished from the face of the earth. The police will never find us, or you. And even if they did,’ he added, ‘it wouldn’t make any difference, because you’re not the first.’

Marietta stared at him, and then she screamed, a cry of terror that stopped only when the last vestige of breath had been driven from her lungs.

‘Feel better now? Get moving. We have people waiting for you.’

Marietta gasped for breath and stared round again, looking desperately for anything or anyone that might offer her some hope. But there was nothing.