The Rome Prophecy

EPILOGUE

Three days later

Valentina and Tom are shown through to Lorenzo Silvestri’s office.

Neither of them is sure why they are there.

Lorenzo called and said they were to come. Valentina hardly questioned it. She’s learned the painful way that it’s best not to disobey the orders of a Carabinieri major.

The time of the meeting is seven p.m., and that gives her a clue. That and the fact that Lorenzo said they should both look smart. She thinks he’s a good guy, and is guessing that she and Tom are being invited along to share a glass of wine with the troops, get a slap on the back and hopefully an update on the case.

Lorenzo greets them both with a smile as broad as the Tiber. ‘Capitano Morassi.’ He spreads his arms wide. ‘You look even more magnificent than in Vanity Fair.’

She almost blushes. ‘You saw those shots?’

‘Valentina, everyone saw those shots.’ He embraces her warmly. ‘And Signor Shaman.’ He pretends to stand back and admire him. ‘Take away that sling and you look the perfect companion for our capitano.’ He extends his hand and shakes Tom’s firmly before pulling him close and kissing both cheeks. ‘Sit down, please sit down.’ He gestures to two black plastic chairs on the other side of his unassuming glass desk.

Lorenzo sits and folds his arms contentedly. ‘So – I have much to tell you. Where should I begin?’

Valentina helps him out. ‘How’s the little girl we found in the cells?’

He nods. ‘She’s very well. She’s called Cristiana, is eleven years old and has written a letter for you.’ He searches the top of his desk. ‘I’m sorry; I thought I had it here.’ He reads the disappointment in Valentina’s eyes. ‘I’ll find it later, don’t worry.’

He picks a manila file off a stack of three trays. ‘First, let’s tidy up some loose ends.’

Both Tom and Valentina note his change of tone. Perhaps this isn’t going to be any kind of celebration after all.

Lorenzo pulls out a black and white photograph and spins it round for them to see. ‘Not pleasant, I’m afraid.’

And it isn’t.

The picture shows the corpse of a woman in a shallow grave.

Her hand is missing.

Valentina picks it up. Her mind races back to Cosmedin and the time she stood in the bloodstained portico with Federico. This was the start of it all. She looks towards Lorenzo for an explanation.

‘We found the corpse inside the underground complex. The pathologist thinks she was buried alive.’

‘Dear God.’ Valentina returns the photograph to the major. ‘Scientists at the RaCIS told us that the blood from the severed hand came from Anna’s sister, Cloelia. Is that correct? Is this body that of her sister?’

‘It is.’ He waits for the news to sink in. ‘Forensics also found DNA that links the killing to one of the men we arrested. Blood from Anna’s sister was on this man’s robes, and his DNA was found on her, so we have a strong evidential chain.’ He puts the photograph back in the file. Sombrely he produces another picture and puts it down for them to see. ‘This one you know. Anna Fratelli.’

They both look at it and feel a pang of sadness.

She could have been so much more.

Lorenzo rubs his chin thoughtfully. He dips into the file again, produces two more photographs and puts them either side of Anna’s.

The first is a picture of the amphora that Tom discovered in the columbarium; the second is a mug shot of a woman in her sixties. The woman Valentina fired shots at in the underground temple.

Lorenzo taps Anna’s picture. ‘This is her genealogical table.’

‘I don’t understand,’ says Valentina, although a part of her actually does, and she simply doesn’t want to accept what she’s hearing.

The major touches the mug shot. ‘This is the woman they all call Mater. Her real name is Sibilia Cassandra Savina Andreotti.’ He looks towards Tom. ‘She claims to be a divine descendant of the goddess Cybele. I don’t believe in goddesses.’ He glances at Valentina. ‘At least not that kind. But what I can substantiate is that she is Anna Fratelli’s mother, and they both share the DNA of whoever was cremated and put in this pot centuries ago.’

The air seems to have been sucked out of the room. Tom and Valentina are speechless.

Tom clears his throat and sits forward in his chair.

Lorenzo looks towards him expectantly.

‘There’s something I should say.’

Valentina looks surprised. She and Tom have barely spoken about the case in the last few days. They’ve been trying to forget it.

‘The man who took me into the tunnels.’

Lorenzo names him. ‘Guilio Brygus Angelis.’

‘Guilio…’ Tom says it almost reverently. ‘He told me what had happened at Chiesa Santa Maria in Cosmedin. The sect members had recaptured Anna and taken her to the Bocca to frighten her and to find out if she’d told anyone about the temple and the rituals. They cut off her sister’s hand and said they would kill her and then do the same to Anna if she didn’t tell them the truth.’ Tom takes a breath to make sure he recounts things accurately. ‘Guilio appeared as Anna was screaming, and fought with the guards. During the fight, Anna picked up one of the ceremonial swords and killed the man who’d injured her sister.’

Valentina interrupts. ‘That’s why the blood on her robe was AB and didn’t match that of the handless victim, which we now know was Rhesus negative and belonged to her sister.’

Tom is unsure of the biological evidence. ‘I guess so; I’ll take your word for it. There’s more though that I need to tell you.’

Lorenzo motions for him to continue.

‘In the panic, Anna ran off. The Galli took Mater and the injured sister away. Guilio was left with the dead guard. He put the body into a workman’s sheet that had been draped over the portico so that people couldn’t see inside. He carried the corpse to the boot of his car, then drove down to the Tiber and buried it beneath some rocks.’

‘What about the mutilation?’ asks Valentina. ‘Did Anna do that?’

‘No. Guilio did. At first he tried to make the death look like an accident. He laid the body down by the river, chopped out much of the stomach and threw it in the water. He then piled rocks on the corpse, probably causing the skull injuries, and fled.’

‘We’ll need you to make a statement.’ Lorenzo gathers the photographs and returns them to their file.

Valentina wishes she was somewhere else. Anywhere other than back in the midst of already painful memories. She sits forward and tries to stay polite. ‘Are we free to go now?’

‘Not quite. There is still the note the child wrote for you. Uno momento.’

He picks up the phone and dials his secretary.

She doesn’t seem to be there.

He hangs up and looks slightly annoyed. ‘Sorry. I am having no luck today.’

Valentina gives him a resigned nod.

‘Still. I must not let you leave without the good news.’

She looks bored. ‘Which is?’

‘The disciplinary charges against you and Federico have been dropped. I have spoken with our chief of staff and he has spoken to the Commandante Generale. You and Assante will both be reinstated tomorrow.’

Valentina is relieved and shows it. ‘ Grazie. What about Louisa Verdetti’s complaints against us?’

‘Withdrawn.’

She raises an eyebrow. ‘And how is she?’

‘Getting better. The whole affair has shaken her up, as you would expect. Before you disappear, tell me, how do you feel about going back to work with Major Caesario?’

Until now, Valentina hasn’t thought about it. She takes some seconds to answer and tries not to sound disrespectful. ‘I’m proud of the job I do and proud of how I do it. I will be pleased to be back at work.’

‘After a little holiday?’ suggests Tom.

She smiles at him. ‘After a big holiday, I promise.’

Lorenzo smiles at them both. They make a good couple. ‘Only, if you don’t want to work with Caesario, I’d be honoured to have you on my team in the GIS.’

She looks surprised.

‘Don’t answer now. Vito Carvalho tells me I’d be lucky if you worked with us, and I believe him.’ Lorenzo checks his watch and gets up from his chair. ‘I’m afraid I must ask you to go now. I have some pressing matters.’

Tom and Valentina scrape their chairs back and head towards the door.

‘ Grazie,’ says Valentina. ‘I’m grateful for your help with my personal problem.’

‘You’re very welcome.’ He opens the door. ‘Let me walk you out.’

Lorenzo walks alongside Valentina and makes small talk until they reach the end of the corridor.

‘This could be your office,’ he teases, pointing at a closed door with an empty nameplate.

She treats him to a warm smile.

He can see she’s interested in the job. ‘I’m serious. Go on, take a look inside.’

She feels foolish. ‘Let me think about it, molto grazie.’

Lorenzo won’t take no for an answer. He turns the brass knob and pushes the door open.

The room is full.

‘Sorpreso! ’ choruses a crowd of familiar faces.

Party poppers and streamers explode and fill the air.

Valentina almost cries as she spots her parents – and Vito Carvalho – clapping her. Alongside them is Louisa Verdetti.

Finally she recognises half of the team from her own office at Carabinieri headquarters.

The day couldn’t get better.

Except it could.

From out of the forest of legs, a small girl appears.

Sweetheart is wearing a new bright blue dress and a smile that melts every heart in the room.

Valentina picks her up and kisses her.

Tom Shaman stands back a pace.

He’s never loved anyone as much as he loves Valentina. He just hopes she understands why, when their holiday’s over, he is going to have to move on.