The Venice conspiracy

CHAPTER 41

Present Day Palazzo Ducale, Venice A cool morning wind blows in from the Venetian lagoon, a stretch of water formed some seven thousand years ago when the Ice Age flooded the upper Adriatic coastal plain. Vito Carvalho stands by a gondolier station in the shadow of the Palazzo Ducale and stares out across the endless grey waves. He's thinking about what Umberto Castelli has just told him.

Murder.

Antonio Pavarotti's death was not an accident. He was murdered.

The young lieutenant's face comes to mind. Fresh and handsome. Always smiling. Attentive eyes, the type that women notice.

What a waste.

What a damned awful waste.

Vito finishes his cigarette, the second of the day, and walks towards his office. He goes slowly. He needs the time and air to think properly. His desk has been swamped with three murder cases – Monica Vidic and the two men recovered from the lagoon. Now he's got a fourth – Antonio. By way of consolation, he's got something else too – a tenuous lead, a straw to grasp at. Okay, so it's not much to go on, but what Castelli told him about Isola Mario is worth following up. Drugs are so often a factor in serious crimes.

Other things are troubling him too. He's badly short of manpower, and his staff are close to exhaustion. Castelli had already promised him two second lieutenants from his undercover division, but before he meets them, Vito has a more testing appointment. Bang on ten a.m., Valentina Morassi breezes into her boss's office, slim fingers holding a takeaway coffee. 'Buongiorno, I have your morning medicine, Major.'

'Grazie.' He takes the cardboard cup and waits for her to sit. Given everything that's happened lately, she looks amazing. Sure there's extra make-up to hide the puffiness beneath her eyes, but still, the girl has a strength that he can't help but admire. 'Did you hear from our ex-priest after the visit to the Salute?'

Valentina uncaps her coffee, blows away some steam. 'No, it's my first stop right after this.'

'Call him in. I need to speak to him here. I was watching his face yesterday – he saw something. When he looked at the blood smears, they seemed to mean something to him.'

Vito wants to carry on talking about other aspects of the case, to discuss the strange hippy commune at Isola Mario – anything rather than break the awful news to her. He looks down at his hands. There are nicotine stains between his fingers. It's a long time since he's seen that. He rubs at the yellow, then looks up and sees Valentina staring at him. Waiting for him. There's no putting it off any longer: 'I spoke to Castelli. The team investigating the explosion of Antonio's boat no longer think it was an accident…' He studies her face for shock. Not a trace. Only the questioning stare of a professional waiting for the rest of the story. 'Forensics found particles of plastic explosive among the wreckage.'

He watches Valentina draw breath. A slight tremble rocks her shoulders. 'I suppose you know he was working undercover on Isola Mario, the place owned by that weird internet billionaire.'

She nods. 'What now?'

Her bluntness throws him. 'Scusi?'

'How will the investigation be handled? Who will head it up?'

'I will. Major Castelli previously offered some of his officers to help and we'll have them on board very-'

She interrupts. 'I want to work it.' Her eyes blaze. 'Let me be involved.'

Carvalho thinks about saying no. 'You have a lot to do – the Vidic murder, bodies in the lagoon, the investigation at the church…'

Her eyes challenge him. 'All this is linked, Major. I know it is. I feel it. Whatever team you pick will have to work across all three cases.'

They stare at each other and share unspoken words. There's no forensic evidence to bind everything together, but Vito is sure she's right. Somehow it's all linked. He gives in. 'I've asked for a search warrant. I believe we've grounds to interview Antonio's workmates and his "employer".'

'The billionaire?'

'Si.' Vito doesn't look enthusiastic. 'We're police officers, we don't believe in coincidences, but tying all this together and making sense out of it is going to be a difficult task.'

Her face hardens. 'I'm ready – very ready for any difficult task that finds Antonio's killer.'

'Bene. But if you feel any of this starting to stress you, then you tell me.' He raises his right index finger and points paternally towards her. 'I mean it, Valentina, you must tell me if it gets too much. The last thing I want is for your work to make your life even worse than it is.'

'It couldn't be,' she says. 'Believe me, there's no way I could feel any worse than I do right now.'