The Rome Prophecy

110

The paraffin lamp has almost burned out by the time Guilio finishes his story.

Now Tom has the full and unmitigated account of Anna Fratelli’s fateful night in Cosmedin.

The truth is even more difficult to stomach than the lies Guilio was trying to fob him off with.

The eunuch looks through the yellow light into the face of the ex-priest. There’s one more thing he has to admit to – and he’s uncertain how he’ll take it. ‘The fire. The one at the policewoman’s apartment. I started it.’

Tom tries not to show his shock and anger. ‘Why? Why did you do it?’

Guilio fiddles nervously with his hands. ‘I didn’t mean to hurt her. Or you. I didn’t even know you were there until I saw you coming out and being treated by the ambulance people.’

‘You could have killed both of us.’

‘No. Not true,’ he protests strongly. ‘I’d seen her leave. I thought the place was empty. I just wanted to scare her away from Anna, frighten her off the case.’

Tom’s not letting him off that lightly. ‘What about neighbours? They could have died.’

Guilio plays with the lamp to hide his awkwardness. ‘It was a small fire. I’d rung the emergency services before I’d even started it.’ He looks up at Tom. ‘Believe me, if I’d wanted to kill either of you, I could have done. I’m sorry, really sorry.’

‘I believe you are,’ says Tom. ‘I can’t speak for Valentina, but I forgive you, and I’m sure God forgives you. Your desperation is understandable.’

‘ Grazie.’ Guilio leans into the light. ‘I need you to help me get to Anna. I have to see her, make sure she is all right.’ He looks close to tears. ‘Anna means everything in the world to me.’

Tom knows she does.

Guilio’s love for her is probably all that’s kept him sane. Without that, and his role as her protector, he’d have gone mad long ago. ‘I have to be outside,’ says Tom. ‘I need to get a signal to call Valentina. And I have to speak to Louisa, Anna’s doctor. They’ll be able to tell you about Anna.’

Guilio squints through the patchy light at his watch. ‘We’ve been down here more than an hour. It’ll be safe to go now, but not the way we came in.’

Tom looks surprised. ‘There are other ways?’

‘Of course.’ Guilio points towards where the black rat ran off. ‘There’s a thin passage through there. It will bring us out about half a kilometre away.’ He picks up the lantern and inspects it as he starts to walk. ‘We’ve probably got just about enough paraffin to get us there.’

Tom trudges along after him. ‘I still need to know why you were at Santa Cecilia, and why did you help me?’

‘I’ve been following you. Ever since I was released. I watched you with that priest having coffee near St Peter’s and I watched that other policeman, the one who questioned me.’

‘Federico.’

‘ Si, the lieutenant.’

‘Why?’

‘Simple. You didn’t want to hurt Anna, you wanted to protect her, and I was trying to think of a way to reach out to you.’

Guilio swings the lamp low to shine it on a nest of black rats. ‘Unusual. You don’t normally get this many black ones underground. The excavations must have disturbed them.’

The rodents don’t bother Tom; his church in LA was infested with them.

They turn a corner and they’re both pleased to see daylight filtering through a sloping tunnel straight ahead.

As they get closer, it’s clear that the light is being diced through an old gateway.

All around there is rubble and broken rock.

Guilio extinguishes the lamp and hides it away before opening the gate.

The sky is dull, but it still makes them squint.

They’ve emerged at the bottom of a hillside near a quiet road north of Santa Cecilia, but Tom has no real idea where he is as he phones Valentina’s number.

Please God, let her be all right.

It trips to her voicemail message. ‘This is Valentina Morassi, I can’t take your call at the moment…’

He cuts it off.

She’s probably busy calling him. Maybe she’s already left messages for him. He checks his own voicemail.

Nothing.

That seems strange.

He’s sure she would have rung him. Especially in light of the fact that she sent him after Louisa and hasn’t heard from him since.

The silence gives him a bad feeling.

He dials again, lets the answerphone play through, and then leaves a message. ‘Valentina, it’s Tom…’ He checks his watch. ‘It’s almost one o’clock. Please call me when you get this.’ He clicks off and looks at Guilio sitting on the kerb lighting the stub of a cigarette that he’s found in the gutter.

The guy looks as grey as the pavement, almost as though he’s a chameleon blending in with his new surroundings.

Tom scrolls through his phone’s memory and finds Valentina’s office number. He knows she’s not there but figures it’s the only way he’s going to get Federico’s cell phone number.

He just hopes his Italian is good enough to charm someone into giving it to him.