Viper

85

Fuorigrotta, Napoli Gina Valsi's friend Tatiana had been right – the answer to all her problems was to find another man. Not an affair, though. What she wanted was a permanent new man in her life. She prayed to God that her father would kill her vicious bastard of a husband as quickly as possible. She'd grieve for a while. Be supportive towards Enzo. But then she'd start again. Slim down, shape up. Find herself someone who was sensitive. The kind of guy who couldn't kill a spider in a bathtub, but would pick it up and put it out of the window. A guy like that could change your life.

Her love for Bruno was dead. Finally gone. It was a relief.

She felt as if someone she knew were suffering from a fatal cancer. It would be merciful for them to die quickly. Get it over with.

Gina was still mentally rebuilding as she parked her silver BMW X5 outside her factory. She employed more than a hundred macchiniste who ran up counterfeit designer garments and made more than a million euros a year for the Family. Some of the clothing even got exported to her father's friends in Russia, Spain and France. The rest went straight into the shops her Family owned in Naples, Milan and Rome.

'Signora Valsi,' shouted a voice from a pace or two behind her.

Gina turned and saw two men. One was small and thin with geeky glasses, the other tall and clearly not Italian. His clothes, his face, everything about him told her straight away that he was a foreigner – probably British or American.

'Signora, I'm Lorenzo Pisano from the carabinieri. This is Jack King, an American colleague of mine.' Lorenzo held out his wallet ID. 'We'd like to talk to you about your husband.'

Gina was no stranger to men with badges or warrants in their hands and she knew immediately that something wasn't right. Why hadn't they called at her home, her father's home or contacted her through Mazerelli?

'Gina, this is an off-the-record chat,' said Jack, reading her silence. 'It'll take twenty minutes of your time and then we'll be gone.'

Gina bagged her car keys and high-heeled past them. 'Guys, if you don't have any paperwork that says I have to see you, then I don't see you.' They were pushing their luck and she knew it.

'Your husband, Bruno, I'm betting that you're sorry he ever came out of prison?' Jack knew he had to hook her quickly. 'We don't want you to testify or give evidence against him in any way. I just need you to tell me what he's like as a person, what he's capable of.'

Gina screwed up her face in disgust. 'My husband's an animal – a pig – but at least he's not a filthy carabinieri pig like you two.'

Jack could see beyond the words. They barely hid her fear. He stepped forward a pace and blocked her. 'I'm not carabinieri. And neither of us is a pig. We're trying to protect people. Just doing our best to stop women like you getting hurt.' He'd touched a sensitive point. 'You know what I mean, don't you, Gina? He's hurt you in the past – hurt others – hasn't he?'

She moved away from him. He made her edgy. 'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'Where did you meet him, Gina? What was your first date?'

'What?' The question threw her. But it did everything it was designed to. It stopped her panicking, stopped her walking away. 'You want to know what? Where I first dated him?'

Jack smiled at her. 'Yep, that's all. Where and when did he ask you out?'

She relaxed a little. Hands on hips, Gucci bag over shoulder. She slipped back in time. 'He worked for my father. Drove me home from a nightclub after the birthday party of a friend. Asked me if I'd like to go out sometime, and I said yes. Simple as that.'

'Why did you agree to the date?'

'You kidding? Take a look at Bruno, there's not a woman in Naples who would say no to him. What is this? The carabinieri runs some marriage guidance service now?'

'Please, Signora Valsi,' pleaded Lorenzo.

She jerked her shoulders. 'He was a good-looking guy, I was a young girl and wanted a boyfriend. Goes on all the time. You guys should get out more; this kind of thing wouldn't be such a mystery to you.'

Jack took the cheek out of her voice. 'He once stabbed the father of a girl he was dating in the testicles, did you know that?'

Gina didn't answer. Nor, noted Jack, did she look shocked or repulsed.

Lorenzo finished off the story. 'And when the girl dumped him, he and his gang attacked her. They held her down and mutilated her.' He put a hand between his legs. 'Just to teach her a lesson.'

'These are sick lies you're making up. If they were true then Bruno would have been arrested. Listen, I'm very busy and have to go.' Gina turned away from them and headed towards the factory entrance.

Jack walked alongside her. 'One last question – I saw you at your father's house the other night. We were in the downstairs lounge and you and your son had just come in.'

'Lucky you. Must have been a treat for you.' She had thirty metres to go, then she'd be rid of these guys.

'What made you leave your husband? Was it because he was violent towards you? What did he do, Gina? '

She tried to look away from him. But in her mind Bruno was up against her again. Holding her back. Hand to throat. Eyes wide and dark. Ramming himself inside her. Hurting her. Laughing at her. Degrading her.

The door was five metres away.

Jack stepped in front of her again. 'What did he do to you that still frightens you so much?'

Three metres to go.

Jack touched her shoulder. He just let his fingers rest there to stop her moving and to see if he'd get the reaction he expected.

Gina jerked her body away. She stood her ground. Face blazing defiance. She looked ready to fight. Ready to kick and scratch and scream the sky down. 'Don't you dare touch me. Don't you ever fucking touch me again!'

Now Jack could see it. The full story. As clear as if she'd given a written statement that he had brutalized and raped her. Her own husband scared her so much that she'd fight him. Fight anyone. Fight to the death to protect herself and her child. It was a chilling and, for the profiler, an invaluable insight into what Valsi was capable of.

Gina was crimson by the time she reached the factory entrance. She tried to hide the shake in her voice. 'Leave me alone, or I'll call my lawyer.'

Jack and Lorenzo saw the flash of pure hatred on her face. The door banged and Gina was gone.