Smiling, Dial gave Payne a look that said, My clients are normally dead when I show up.
Payne gave him a look that said, Mine aren’t.
Meanwhile, Jones was all over Benito. He dislodged his weapon before wrapping his arm around Benito’s neck and giving it a tug. One little squeeze, and the old man stopped fighting. No threats. No struggle. No bribes of any kind. In Jones’s mind, it was kind of pathetic. He was expecting so much more from the notorious Benito Pelati.
‘Kill him,’ Maria begged from across the room. She was tied to her chair, staring at her father. The crazed look in her eyes told everyone she was serious.
She wanted Jones to snap Benito’s neck like a wishbone. ‘He killed my mother. He killed my brother. He deserves to die.’
‘You’re probably right, but -’
‘But what? Don’t you get it? They will never put him in jail. He knows too much about the Church! They won’t press charges against him. No one will press charges! He’ll be freed like you were in Pamplona.’
Payne listened to the two of them as he searched the room, making sure there were no surprises. He found one, though, behind the desk. Dante was lying there in a puddle of blood.
‘Maria,’ Jones argued. ‘I wish I could, but I can’t. I just can’t -’
‘Then let me do it! Just untie me. We’ll say he died during the rescue. No one will know.’
‘I’ll know,’ Dial said from across the room. ‘And since I’m in charge, I’d have to stop you.’
‘Besides,’ Payne said as he checked Dante’s pulse. ‘You’re wrong about your brother. He’s still alive.’
The police arrived a few minutes later, giving Dial a chance to call the NCB officers at the airport. They informed him that one of the crucifixion crews had been caught and were spilling their guts about the other three teams. Dial figured with a little luck that all of them would be captured by daylight. And the whole crucifixion ordeal would be over.
‘And what about me?’ Boyd demanded. His left eye was swollen shut. Gauze covered the gash in his forehead. ‘When will I get my reputation back?’
Dial grimaced. ‘That one might take a little longer. I’m working on it, though.’
‘I should bloody well hope so,’ Boyd said, only half kidding. ‘So what are you waiting for? Go work on it. I’ve got things to do and people to meet. I’m a busy man, Mr Dial.’
Laughing, Dial gave him a mock salute and headed for the dining room.
‘Good guy,’ Payne said to Jones, who nodded in full agreement. ‘Thank God he’s gone.’
Payne still didn’t know what had happened during the last few hours and was dying to be debriefed, not only about the laughing man but about the Pelati family. The last time they’d seen Dante he was loading Boyd and Maria onto a chopper. Now she was begging a doctor to save her brother’s life as they loaded him into an ambulance.
Obviously, they’d missed something important.
The house was abuzz with activity, so they went out by the pool where Dr Boyd filled them in on everything from the shooting to Dante’s hatred of his father. He also told them about his prior chat with Dante, which pissed Payne and Jones off until they realized that it occurred way before the events at Orvieto and had little bearing on their safety. In Boyd’s mind he didn’t know whose side Dante was on until they’d reached the house, so he kept that information to himself.
‘Wait a second!’ Jones blurted. ‘You’re telling me we weren’t in danger at the quarry? Come on, I don’t buy that for a second. His guards did not want us to leave that mountain.’
Payne agreed. ‘He’s right, Doc. I’ve got bruises all over my body to prove it.’
Boyd frowned, not wanting to talk about injuries, not with his face looking like that. ‘The guards worked for Benito, not for Dante. That forced him to keep up his ruse.’
Jones scratched his head. ‘If that’s the case, why did Dante bring you two here? For safety’s sake, you’d think this is the last place he’d want to bring you.’
‘If he survives, you can ask him yourself. In the meantime, there are more important things to worry about.’ Payne turned toward Boyd. ‘What did you find out about the laughing man?’
‘The who?’ Boyd chuckled at his little joke. ‘Ah yes, the mysterious laughing man. It seems that his identity wasn’t so mysterious after all.’
74
Nick Dial was tempted to leave the crime scene and drive back to the airport. It pained him to think that one of his suspects was being interrogated by someone other than himself. After all, he was the one who cracked the geographic relevance to the crucifixions, so he wanted to be present for the fireworks. Nothing gave him greater satisfaction than getting a criminal to talk.
With that in mind, he knew the opportunity to speak with Benito Pelati was one he couldn’t miss. No attorneys were present, and the local cops were too concerned with collecting evidence to be worried about a simple interview. In their minds Dial had made the bust, so he should get the first crack at Pelati. In fact, they even offered to watch the door as he did.
Pelati looked like royalty as he entered the back room. His clothes were flawless, and his stride was unrushed. His chin was high in the air as though he was about to address the peasants from the palace balcony. His hands were cuffed yet hidden by the fabric of his jacket, so they did little to shatter the illusion that Pelati strived to maintain. He was a national icon and expected to be treated as such.
The moment Dial saw him enter the room he knew their conversation was going to be pointless. In his mind he knew there was no way he was going to get anything from Pelati. He tried anyway, asking question after question about Pelati’s family, the crucifixions, and anything else he could think of. But Pelati didn’t flinch. He just sat there, unimpressed, like he was half disappointed that Dial was the best cop that Interpol could scrounge up.
Thankfully, a knock on the door changed everything. Dial was tempted to ignore it until he heard the door squeak open behind him. ‘What is it?’ he growled. ‘I’m busy here.’
‘Sir,’ a cop whispered, ‘there’s a Cardinal Rose to see you. He says it’s urgent.’
Dial smiled, realizing he’d get to thank the cardinal in person for warning him about the blackmail attempt on the Church. He also knew that Rose might have additional information that he could use when he questioned Pelati. ‘Yeah, that’s fine. Send him back.’
Though they had never met, Rose wasn’t difficult to spot. Not only was he dressed like a cardinal, wearing a scarlet robe and a red biretta on his head, but his gait was all Texas. He strolled down the hall like a sheriff heading to a gunfight. If the circumstances had been different, Dial would’ve lifted the cardinal’s garb to see if he was wearing spurs.
‘Joe, I’m Nick Dial. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’ The two shook hands just around the corner from the interrogation room. ‘So what’s up? I was told you had something urgent to discuss.’
Rose nodded. ‘I was given another update on Benito Pelati that I thought would help. But if now’s a bad time, I can always come back.’
‘Nonsense. I wouldn’t think of sending you away. Besides, I’m talking to Benito right now, and he keeps bringing up something that puzzles me. The guy will barely say a word to me, but when he does, he keeps alluding to some secret. I’ve pressed him, but nothing gives.’
‘This secret, has he given you any hints?’
‘I wish. It’d make my job a helluva lot easier… Oops. Sorry about that.’
Rose ignored the profanity. Most Texans swore, too. ‘Have you asked his family? Maybe they know something. I’ve never met the man, so I’m not sure what I can tell you.’
‘Actually, I think his son knew. That’s the reason Benito put two in his chest. To keep him from telling anyone else.’
Rose made the sign of the cross for Dante. ‘Did he?’
‘Did he, what?’
‘Tell anyone else. One of the cops told me there were several witnesses to the shooting.’
Dial nodded. ‘His bodyguards were nearby, but none of them spoke English. I get the feeling that was one of the requirements for his staff. It allowed him to conduct his business in private.’
‘Smart man. That’s the best way to do it. No fear of listening ears.’
‘Speaking of smart, why do I get the feeling that you’re aware of the secret? That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?’