The Venice conspiracy

CHAPTER 77

Getting a GPS check on Tom's whereabouts seems to take an age. These things always do. Only in films do techies work at warp-speed 9. In real life, time drags like a leg with a bullet in it.

Vito stays in the incident room while Valentina, Rocco and Nuncio finally get on the move. He's already mobilising troops and issuing weapons by the time Francesca Totti gets a fix on Tom's position.

'Lazzaretto Vecchio?' Vito repeats it like it's a curse. 'And all this time we've been so focused on Isola Mario. I should punch myself.'

Valentina can still hear him mumbling as her Carabinieri patrol boat kicks up a break of white water and roars away from its berth. Despite Tom's call for help part of her mind is preoccupied with Bale's painting.

Every brushstroke is branded into her memory.

The use of Roman numerals to spell out the word Venice over all three sections of the canvas is what's worrying her. She and Vito are both sure it means three locations – including Venice itself – are going to bear the brunt of whatever evil Bale has been orchestrating. Their best guess is that Venezuela is the second target, but what about the third?

The speedboat pulls left and Valentina lurches violently to her right. The shock seems to do her good. Like a cure for hiccups. Her disparate thoughts all come together and she comes up with a third location – Muscle Beach, Venice – the Californian hotspot where bodybuilders work out and pose. She ducks low from the wind and engine noise, cups her hand over the cellphone and calls it in. 'Major, the third target is not here, it's California – I'm sure of it. Muscle Beach, Venice. That's why those big cubes are there on Bale's painting, they're building giant muscle, not giant buildings.'

'Got it!' confirms Vito Carvalho, feeling a surge of adrenalin. He puts the phone down and hands out the instruction to call the FBI. With luck they'll safely shift everyone from the sands of Venice Beach. The Venezuelan government has already been alerted and they've assured him the area around Angel Falls is being evacuated. Back home, he has every available man and woman out on the streets and waterways searching for anything suspicious. Collectively, law-enforcement offices across the world are winning the battle against Bale. But maybe too slowly.

Vito glances at his watch.

Almost midday.

Coming up to 3 a.m. in California.

A hundred and eighty minutes until Lars Bale is executed.

Just three hours to find out if they've all been panicking unnecessarily, or if their worst nightmares are about to come true.