Chapter 38
The Casanova Lounge on the third floor of the White Palace was one of the most beautiful spaces in the hotel. Small and intimate, it could be privately hired for weddings or parties, and boasted superlative views out towards the Lido, the long, narrow strip of island that protected Venice itself from the Adriatic Sea beyond.
Today, the spectacular room, with its flock wallpaper, velvet curtains and Murano glass chandelier, played host to four people. Gina sat on one of the low-slung sofas, with Marco sitting close beside her. One hand rested gently in his, and he kept glancing over protectively, checking to see that she was OK. On the adjacent sofa was Lucia de Santis, dressed demurely in a plain black dress, her platinum-blonde hair pulled back in a low ponytail, her face free of make-up.
She and Gina were both recovering well from their injuries. Lucia had moved back to her suite at the White Palace to recuperate, where Massimo catered to her every need. Gina had reluctantly taken time off work. She had decided to stay in her apartment, despite Marco’s entreaties that she should stay with him and Daniela so they could both look after her, but he visited her every day anyway, bringing gifts, food parcels and funny stories. Often Daniela came too, and Gina adored seeing her.
Marco had taken indefinite leave from Elicotteri Conti. The prospect of flying a helicopter again was not one he relished, and he had no intention of climbing back into the cockpit anytime soon. Nor did he want to sit in the office, chained to a desk and drowning in piles of paperwork. He needed to think about what his future would look like but, for Daniela’s sake, he couldn’t continue in such a high-risk profession. He had to start making changes.
Gina and Marco had spent hours talking, curled up together on the sofa in her apartment, making the most of their time together while Vittoria was at work and Daniela was at school. They’d opened up about their pasts, with Marco confiding how he’d struggled to cope when Stephana died, and Gina finally feeling brave enough to confess everything that had happened back in Cannegia. They’d discussed life and love and their feelings for one another. Marco had stopped wearing his wedding ring, and they were in the delicious honeymoon phase of their relationship where they couldn’t get enough of one another. But it felt as though their lives were in limbo, with Detective Gallo’s investigation hanging over them, and Gina felt it was tempting fate to start talking about the future.
If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans – isn’t that what they say?
Despite Marco’s company, Gina wasn’t used to having so much time on her hands, and it was sending her a little stir-crazy. She’d accompanied Vittoria to the White Palace on a few occasions, enjoying a coffee in the Casanova Bar and catching up with the team behind the scenes, just to feel the buzz of people around her. She’d met with Olivia and Max – she was still determined to organize their wedding, although Olivia had insisted on postponing it until Gina had fully recovered.
And finally, Gina had met up with Lucia. The two women had had a long, emotional talk, and that was why this meeting was now taking place with the fourth person in the room: Detective Gallo.
He sat across the coffee table from them, upright and formal on an antique chair. He switched on his Dictaphone and laid it on the table, pointing towards Gina.
‘As you know,’ he said, ‘your DNA was found on Lorenzo Mancini’s body. Your hair was found in the strap of his wristwatch, and traces of your skin were discovered beneath his fingernails, which is consistent with there being a struggle. Could you tell me, in your own words, what happened?’
Gina took a deep breath. She glanced across at Lucia, who nodded almost imperceptibly. Marco squeezed her hand for reassurance, and Gina began to speak.
Maria Monti was daydreaming as she walked home from church through the woods. She jumped as she heard a twig snap close behind her, whirling round in alarm. Almost as though she’d summoned him, Lorenzo Mancini was standing there. He smiled when he saw her.
‘Lorenzo! You gave me a fright!’ Maria’s heart was thumping, and she was both surprised and puzzled to see him.
‘I called your name but you didn’t hear me. Were you daydreaming?’ he teased, and Maria blushed. ‘What about?’ Lorenzo asked, then laughed as though he knew that she’d been thinking about him.
‘Why are you going this way? You don’t live up here,’ Maria frowned.
‘Can’t you guess?’ His smile grew wider, as Maria’s heart skipped a beat.
‘You followed me?’ she stammered, hardly daring to believe it.
Lorenzo stepped closer. He was over a head taller than her, and she had to tilt her face back to look at him. ‘You’re so beautiful, Maria,’ Lorenzo murmured.
Maria felt as though she were dreaming. Lorenzo Mancini thought she was beautiful? Impossibile! She didn’t even realize he knew her name.
Bashfully, she bowed her head, but Lorenzo reached out and placed one finger under her chin, forcing her gaze upwards. She shivered beneath his touch; the gesture felt so intimate.
‘Look at me,’ Lorenzo murmured.
Maria did as he commanded, as though she were under his spell. His eyes were dark, the pupils large. There was something intense in his expression, and it frightened her a little.
‘Lorenzo,’ she breathed, but he took her words away with a kiss, his mouth closing on hers. Maria thought she might faint, her legs threatening to buckle beneath her – she was kissing Lorenzo Mancini!
His mouth was pressed down on hers, but it was harder than she expected, uncomfortable almost. She tried to pull away, but he held her tightly, pushing his tongue inside her mouth. This wasn’t loving or tender – it was forceful and rough.
‘ Lorenzo, no! Smettila! ’ Maria pushed him, feeling confused and a little scared. His body felt so large against hers, as though he could easily physically overpower her. Lorenzo’s breathing was coming fast, and there was something animalistic in the way he was looking at her.
A sudden burst of fear surged through Maria. ‘I need to go home, Lorenzo. My father’s not well. He’s waiting for me.’ She began to walk away, but Lorenzo ran after her, grabbing her arm so tightly that it hurt. ‘Ouch!’ Maria exclaimed, trying to shake him free. ‘What are you doing?’
‘Don’t play the innocent with me, Maria Monti. I saw the way you were looking at me in church.’
‘What do you mean?’ Maria knew exactly what he was referring to. Yes, she’d flirted with him a little, but had she encouraged him? Had she led him on? She knew what the boys at school said about girls like her – that they were a tease.
‘I know you want this,’ Lorenzo hissed. His face was no longer handsome but twisted with cruelty, his muscular body aggressive and threatening.
Maria’s adrenaline spiked. He lunged towards her and she reacted instinctively, both hands on his chest as she pushed him with full force. It was enough to throw him off balance and he stumbled backwards, dislodging loose stones with his heels. The ground seemed to give way beneath him and he tripped, his arms flailing as he vainly tried to stay upright.
With horror, Maria realized that he was teetering on the edge of a ravine, nothing but fresh air between him and the rocky gorge a dozen metres deep.
‘Maria!’ he yelled, thrusting his hands towards her, his eyes widened in terror, his mouth opening in surprise, as the stones beneath him gave way and he dropped, his body dangling over the side of the gorge as he desperately held onto the craggy stones that jutted out and were all that stopped him from falling.
‘ Maria, help me!’ His eyes beseeched her, but she felt rooted to the spot … she was the only person who could save him now …
She sprang forwards then hesitated, nervous as the ground crumbled and loose chips of rock disappeared into the deep gorge below.
‘Please!’ Lorenzo was desperate, she could see it in his eyes.
Quickly, instinctively, Maria lay down on her stomach, stretching out her hand. ‘Here, take it!’ she implored.
Lorenzo made a small movement, but his face was filled with terror. ‘I can’t let go,’ he gasped. ‘I’ll drop.’
Maria inched closer on her belly, reaching out for him. Her hand grasped his wrist. ‘I’ve got you,’ she cried triumphantly.
‘Pull me up!’
Maria tried, her muscles straining, the ache in her arms unbearable. ‘You need to help me,’ she told him. She realized she was crying, tears of exasperation and fear rolling down her cheeks. ‘I’m not strong enough. Try and pull yourself up.’
Lorenzo’s body gave a jolt and he almost slipped. Maria screamed as she was dragged forwards, Lorenzo almost pulling her over the ledge with him. Now she was terrified that he was going to pull her down too. Her hands were sweating, her grip loosening, his hand sliding through hers.
‘Maria!’ he screamed. ‘Don’t let go! I can’t—’
And then suddenly the excruciating weight pulling on her arm was gone, her shoulder muscles no longer screaming in protest. Her hand was simply dangling in mid-air over the ledge, holding onto nothing. There was a cry, and a sickening crack.
Maria opened her mouth to scream as Lorenzo fell, but no sound came out. It was as though she was too shocked. Her body reacted instinctively, scrambling back from the edge, unable to stand up but wanting to get as far away as possible.
She was panting from the exertion, sweat trickling down her back. Her stomach twisted, and for a moment she thought she might vomit. She clambered unsteadily to her feet, her legs shaking, and whirled round in terror, ready to run. But something stopped her. A sudden sense that, once again, she wasn’t alone. Through her daze, Maria heard a noise behind her.
She spun round, terror written across her face, and locked eyes with Lucia Santi .
Gina had begun to cry as she recounted what had happened. Marco put his arm around her, and Gina leaned into him, drawing comfort from his strong, solid frame.
‘It’s true,’ Lucia spoke up.
Everyone looked across at her, and she stared at Detective Gallo defiantly, a trace of her old spirit coming back. ‘Maria – Gina – didn’t kill Lorenzo. She tried to save him. I was there. I saw it all.’
Gina exhaled shakily. She’d lived for so long with the knowledge of what had happened, knowing that she’d been seen by Lucia, questioning whether there was anything she could have done differently to change the terrible outcome. Gina had tortured herself with the notion that her memories might be tricking her, that perhaps she had in some way been responsible for Lorenzo’s death. Guilt and fear and uncertainty had been her constant companions this past decade. Only her work had brought solace, and a respite from the dark thoughts running through her mind.
It was impossible to describe the relief that came from telling the truth and having her story confirmed by Lucia, daring to dream that her nightmare might be over, and she could finally move forwards. But Detective Gallo wasn’t finished with her yet.
‘Why didn’t you ever tell anyone?’ he questioned, looking at her intently with his sharp eyes that missed nothing. ‘You knew that everyone was looking for Lorenzo, wondering what had happened. A mother was pining for her son. Why didn’t you ever come clean?’
‘She was fifteen,’ Lucia burst out. ‘She was terrified. And that bastard had tried to rape her. She didn’t owe him a goddamn thing.’
Gina bowed her head. ‘No Lucia, we both know that not telling anyone was my fault.’
She turned to the inspector. ‘I told Lucia that we would both be in trouble if she told anyone, I made her believe that she would be implicated.’ Then she turned to Lucia. ‘I am so sorry. I would never have done that in reality, but I was terrified and not thinking straight. What if I hadn’t been believed? I would have brought shame on my family and it would have killed my father.’ Her eyes filled with tears. ‘The sad thing is that I think my mother was right, the secret destroyed him anyway.’
‘So, you brought Lucia into the lie,’ Gallo said, his face inscrutable.
‘No!’ Lucia interrupted. ‘Maria was traumatized. It is only now, looking back, and understanding what trauma and abuse can do to a person that I understand.’ A dark look passed across her face. ‘I have known this pain too, but that is my secret. Until recently I hated Maria, but she was not the guilty party, and there is no shame, or blame on her for what happened.’
‘Only my father knew the truth, though my mother suspected,’ Gina continued. ‘When Papà died, she blamed me. I had to get away, to reinvent myself as Gina, I even changed the colour of my hair and gave myself a new name. I just wanted to leave the past behind. Venice gave me the opportunity to do that. This city made everything possible.’
Detective Gallo sat forwards and said nothing for a few moments, then he turned off the Dictaphone and rested his face on his hands.
‘How did you know Gina was Maria?’ he asked Lucia.
‘Gina is very pretty and so was Maria, which I would have remembered. She is graceful too, and has a way of holding herself, something that Maria had too. I wasn’t sure, but when Massimo told me Gina was from the mountains, I took a chance. Her reaction when I confronted her confirmed it.’ Lucia smiled. ‘Gina doesn’t like lying and it shows.’
‘Lucia is one of the most famous voices in the world,’ Gina admitted, ‘she had the voice of an angel when we were children. I hoped she would have forgotten me, but I could never have forgotten her.’
The detective let out a deep sigh. ‘I need to write up my report and think it over. I won’t be making any arrests today, but the situation may change.’
‘I understand, Detective,’ Gina said.
‘Thank you for your time, all of you. I may still have more questions – please make yourselves available if I do.’ Detective Gallo then left the room. Instinctively, Gina stood up, stepping away from Marco and moving over to Lucia. The two women embraced.
‘Thank you,’ whispered Gina.
‘For what?’
‘Telling the truth. Whatever happens next, we know we were completely honest about everything.’
Lucia pulled back and looked at Gina. Gina took in every contour of her face, usually hidden beneath a mask of make-up, noticing how youthful and pretty she looked. Almost the same teenage girl she’d known back in Cannegia ten years ago. Then Lucia’s gaze dropped to the floor, shame crossing her face.
‘I’m sorry,’ she murmured. As Gina frowned in confusion, Lucia continued, ‘For the way I behaved. Holding Lorenzo’s death over you, using it as a threat … It was unforgivable. But the accident changed everything. I’ve had a lot of time to think – too much time, in fact, alone with my thoughts. I was a horrible person, so wrapped up by behaving in the way I thought was expected of me, with no consideration of how it might affect anyone else. But now La Leonessa is gone. Lucia Santi is back,’ she declared boldly.
Gina knew that Lucia had changed her surname, from the rather plain Santi to the far more glamorous de Santis, but she thought the latter suited Lucia much better. ‘Don’t be too hard on yourself,’ Gina smiled. ‘La Leonessa could be a lot of fun too.’
‘Well, perhaps she’s not buried completely,’ Lucia conceded, her lips curling upwards wickedly. ‘But Gina, you gave me the biggest gift anyone could. You saved my life, and I can’t thank you enough. I can never repay you, but if there’s anything you need, just let me know. I wish the two of you all the happiness in the world.’
The two women hugged for a final time, and there was real affection in their embrace. Gina knew that her nightmare wasn’t over yet, but Lucia was looking to the future, and Gina hoped she would soon get that chance too.