Frankie heard the comment as he reentered. ‘What do you mean another?’
Payne did his best to explain. ‘The police were close to nailing Boyd in Orvieto before he shot down their chopper.’
‘He shoots down a helicopter? With what? Big gun?’
Payne shrugged. ‘We tried to investigate the crash site, but the wreckage had been removed.’
‘Is that normal?’
He shook his head. ‘Not where we’re from.’
Jones added, ‘Our colleague took some pictures of the scene, but we haven’t had a chance to develop them yet. We’re kind of hoping they can clear up the mystery of the wreckage.’
Frankie raised his eyebrows. ‘Do you still have film?’
‘Maybe,’ Jones answered. ‘Why?’
‘Because I have school photo lab. I can do pictures for you now, if you like.’
Pleased by the development, Payne looked at Frankie and said, ‘Yes, we like.’
‘Good! Just give me film, and I do my job quick!’
Reluctantly, Jones handed the film to Frankie and watched him leave. The instant he was gone, Jones said, ‘I hope you’re right about this guy. We just gave a big piece of evidence to a stranger. We don’t even -’
‘Relax! I got a good feeling about Frankie. He’s going to be a big help to us.’
As if on cue, Frankie walked back into the room, holding a photocopy in his hand. ‘Special delivery, Signor Payne. I think you want to see this.’ He accented his statement by kissing his fingertips in a classic Italian gesture. ‘The guard was right. This woman is bellissima!’
‘Really?’ Jones grabbed the picture before Payne had a chance to see it. ‘Wow! You weren’t kidding. This woman is beautiful. Where’d you get this?’
‘The polizia find image on security camera, and I get from them. I hope you is pleased.’
‘Very pleased,’ Payne said. ‘Exceptionally pleased.’
Frankie grinned at the praise. ‘Good! Is there anything else before I go make film?’
Payne shook his head, then waited for Jones to respond. Unfortunately, he was somewhere in la-la land, soaking up every nuance of the woman’s face. The intensity of his gaze told Payne his interest was something less than professional.
So Payne said, ‘D.J.? What do you think? Do we need anything else?’
Smiling, he looked at Payne. ‘Just time. Give me some time, and this woman is mine.’
37
The abandoned warehouse was crawling with spiders, yet Maria Pelati didn’t mind, since it gave her a safe place to rest. Dr Boyd felt the same way, even though it took him a lot longer to warm to the concept. To him, the thought of sleeping like a hobo seemed preposterous until he stretched his tired frame atop the concrete floor. Within seconds his body whispered its approval.
‘Professore,’ she said, adjusting the rag under her head. ‘May I ask you a personal question? I was wondering if you’ve ever been married.’
‘I should’ve guessed; the age-old query that has plagued me for years. No, my dear, I’ve never been married. Between teaching and traveling, I never found the right person… And what of you? Why is there no man in your life?’
‘In some ways I guess I’m following your lead. I’ve been working too long and too hard to screw things up now, especially with my doctorate close at hand. But I’ll promise you this: Once I obtain my degree, my life is going to change drastically.’
‘Just like that?’
‘Yes, just like that,’ she assured him. ‘I’ve always wanted a family. So there’ll come a point in the near future when my personal life becomes my number-one priority. And when it does, look out. No guy on the planet will be safe.’
‘A beautiful girl like yourself shouldn’t have difficulty finding a suitor. Or hundreds of them, for that matter.’
Maria blushed at the compliment.
‘And what does your family think about all of this? I’ve heard you grumble about your father on more than one occasion. Does he really look down on your choices as much as you claim?’
The color in her cheeks grew even brighter. ‘I don’t think he looks down on my choices as much as he looks down on me. My father has an old-world mentality, one in which women are considered the weaker, dumber sex. He truly believes that we were put on earth to serve men.’
‘Old-world, indeed! And how does your mother feel about his barbaric views?’
She paused before answering. ‘I wish I knew, sir… My mother passed away before I ever had the chance to ask her.’
‘Oh, Maria, I had no idea. I’m so sorry for bringing it up.’
‘That’s all right. I think it actually does me some good to get this stuff off of my chest.’
Boyd offered her a smile, then laid back to listen.
‘When I was growing up, my mother and I were best of friends. We played together, went to the park together, read books together. My father didn’t allow her to do any work – we had a staff of servants to take care of the house – so she had plenty of time to spend with me. And let me tell you, she was the greatest mother in the world. So loving, so thoughtful. Always encouraging me to pursue my dreams. Just the way you’d want a parent to be…’
Her voice trailed off as she searched for the words to continue.
‘Unfortunately, my dad was just the opposite, at least toward me. I have two half brothers, and my father treated them like gold. Especially Roberto. Always showering him with attention. Always bragging about his potential. Always taking him to work and on business trips. But I wasn’t jealous. I had my mom and my brothers had my dad. I just figured that was the way things were supposed to be.’ She paused, her eyes focusing on the moonlight that streamed through the warehouse’s dirty windows. ‘At least I thought that way until I was nine.’
Maria took a deep breath. ‘I’d never heard my parents fight until that year. And I mean really fight. Screaming, crying, threats of all kinds. It was a nightmare. The two people in the world that meant the most to me were going head-to-head in a heated battle. God, when you’re a child, there are never any winners in a situation like that. And if that wasn’t bad enough, it got even worse when I figured out what they were fighting about.’
‘And what was that?’
‘They were fighting about me.’
She nodded her head, slowly, like she was still coming to grips with the memory. ‘They were in the kitchen, and my dad was screaming right into her face. The veins bulging in his neck. I still find this next part hard to believe, but my father ordered her to stay away from me. He told her that I was a girl and nothing could change the fact that I was worthless. Then he insisted that she start paying more attention to my brothers because they still had a chance to be something. Can you believe that? I’m nine years old, and my dad was already giving up on me.’
Boyd didn’t know what to say.
‘My mother argued that I could be just as good as a man, but he laughed at that. Literally laughed in her face. Then, when he was done laughing, he informed her that he was sending me away to boarding school so they wouldn’t have to deal with me anymore.’
‘You have to be joking.’
A tear rolled down Maria’s cheek. ‘I didn’t even know what boarding school was, yet I could tell from my mother’s reaction that it wasn’t a good thing. She immediately burst into tears and ran from the kitchen.’