Chapter 18 #2
“Well enough, except for the food. How long have we been locked up? Two hours? Three?”
“Forty minutes.” She smiled at my surprise. “Are you all right, Mr. Barratt? You look like you’ve had a shock.”
“You didn’t leave,” he said flatly.
“Of course I didn’t.”
Oscar put out a hand to Signore Scala. “I presume this is thanks to you?” It wasn’t clear if he was referring to our arrest or our release. I suspected Signore Scala was responsible for both.
He shook Oscar’s hand. “We will discuss this elsewhere.” He regarded the thick whitewashed walls, the small windows, and tugged on his collar as if it were choking him. He led the way outside.
I blinked up at the cerulean sky and drew in a deep breath. Freedom looked and smelled wonderful, albeit with a whiff of the fresh deposit the horse tied to the bollard had dropped.
“Is that De Angelis?” Oscar nodded in the direction of two handcuffed men being marched across the piazza toward the station by the Carabinieri.
“And his friend,” Miss Wheeler added. “They’ve been arrested for Giovanni Colombo’s murder, as well as intimidation and causing a public disturbance and other sundry charges related to being anarchists.”
“What are they saying?” I asked. “Or should I say, what are they shouting at the Carabinieri?”
“That they’re not guilty of murder,” Miss Wheeler said, translating. “They’re denying it was them. They’re saying they saw us leave the boatshed that night.”
Panic squeezed my chest. If it came down to their word against ours, who would the Carabinieri believe?
Miss Wheeler patted my arm. “It’ll be all right, Professor. Signore Scala has convinced the Carabinieri you are innocent and informed them that De Angelis was intimidating the Colombo family, and most likely murdered Giovanni.”
I pushed my glasses up my nose. “I see. That’s good of you, Signore, although it was thanks to you we were arrested in the first place, was it not?”
Signore Scala pressed a hand to his heart. “I apologize. It was not a good thing for me to do. I panicked. When Miss Wheeler and Signora Colombo came to me this morning and explained the situation, I agreed to retract my statement so you could be freed.”
Miss Wheeler rolled her eyes at that, although he didn’t notice. Clearly he was reluctant to admit to being blackmailed by two women. I was keen to hear the real story, but first we had to get rid of Signore Scala.
Not until I had a few more answers, however. “You said you panicked? Why?”
He blinked at my brusque tone. He must not have expected it from me. Out of the two of us, Oscar was the fearlessly direct one. I was usually deferential. But I’d had enough of Scala’s lies and games. Forty minutes in a police holding cell had pushed me to set aside my manners.
Signore Scala clasped his hands behind him and his spine stiffened.
He looked like he owned the very ground we walked on.
“My brother the abbot told me the boatbuilder was our half-brother after he learned it from Colombo himself. Colombo had gone to him at the abbey to show him the letter from our father, and to ask for guidance, and whether I would be agreeable to meeting him. He thought it would be easier to discuss the matter with my brother, a man of God, than with me.” Signore Scala scoffed.
“Naturally, my brother and I wanted the letter in our possession. Our father was not in his right in his mind near the end, and he could not think for himself. He was like a child. He should not have written that letter. We think the boatbuilder forced him.”
“It’s clear the boy is a relative,” I said. “One look at him will tell you he has Scala blood.”
“That is irrelevant. It means nothing.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Oscar gave me a quelling glare.
Signore Scala continued. “My father made promises in the letter that he should not have made. That is why I asked you and Mr. Barratt to get it, Professor. Then the boatbuilder died in tragic circumstances, and I started to worry that I might be blamed. When you called on me yesterday, I realized you were trying to find answers to the death, and I knew the family connection would be discovered soon. That is why I panicked. So that is why I had the Carabinieri arrest you.”
“We visited you yesterday morning, so why wait until this morning to have us arrested?” I asked.
Signore Scala shrugged. “I did not want to act straight away. I wanted to think. I still wanted you to get that letter, and I thought Mr. Barratt still willing to get it for me in exchange for the name of the bookseller. Then overnight, I decided the best course would be for you to leave Monteoro altogether as soon as possible. The arrest was merely to scare you into leaving today. You would never have been charged.” He gave a little bow, accompanied by a click of his heels.
“Again, I am deeply sorry for the upset. As I said, I panicked.” He indicated a restaurant across the piazza.
“I know the owner. Please, have breakfast on me.”
“But—”
“Gavin,” Oscar said sharply. “We’ll take Signore Scala up on his offer.”
I narrowed my eyes at them both as they walked side-by-side to the café.
Miss Wheeler hooked her arm through mine. “We need to be careful, Professor. Scala has a great deal of power here, and the danger of re-arrest is not over.”
She was right. Oscar, too. As much as I wanted answers, I wanted to remain free even more.
Thankfully, Signore Scala did not join us for breakfast. After we were settled, he untied the horse’s reins from the bollard and set off. The restauranteur positioned us at a table near the window, far enough from other tables that if we kept our voices low, we could talk without being heard.
Miss Wheeler explained that she had retrieved Signora Colombo from her hotel room after being freed, and they had gone together to speak to Scala.
Signora Colombo had been brave in telling him she had the letter hidden, and she would reveal it to the world if we were not released and De Angelis remained free.
Scala had given in to the demand, then returned immediately with Miss Wheeler to the station while Signora Colombo returned to the hotel where she’d left her son.
With De Angelis and his crony arrested, likely to face charges for the bombing in Milan, Signora Colombo and Emiliano didn’t have to hide anymore.
“She’s considering her future,” Miss Wheeler said, picking up her coffee cup. “She may still leave Pecco. She’s not fond of the place or the people.”