The Medici Dagger

In my mind I saw a collage of splintered wood, broken glass, the dead driver spreading red, heard Tecci’s threatening voice crackling on the walkie-talkie. I took in the sight of Antonia—the sunshine on her raven hair, the eager look on her face.

“Well?” she repeated.

“Simple,” I stated flatly. “You translate my page and lend me yours, and I’ll be on my way.”

“What? What about me, you prick? You brought me out here, got me shot at. You think you’re just going to send me home?”

She took her page of notes from my hand. “This stays right with me. And I stay right with you.”

“Antonia, you don’t understand. I can’t . . . do this with you. I . . . don’t . . . want you with me.”

Every cell in my brain knew that was a lie. I did want her. In that moment it didn’t even matter why. But I knew if I lost my focus one or both of us would get killed.

“Don’t want me, huh? And you think I want you? Like a horde of locusts, I want you. Listen to me, Mr. Reb Barnett. I came out to meet you and this happened. Now you’restuckwith me.”

She was right.

A shiny fish with an emotionless eye surfaced, then plunked back under the water. For an instant I envied that fish.

Antonia opened her bag to slip Leonardo’s page inside. “Hey,” she said. “What’s this?”

She held up a small, white envelope. On the front were three block letters:REB.

She looked at me suspiciously, her face flushing crimson. “When did you put this in my bag?”

“I didn’t touch your bag,” I said.“Not once.”

“Oh my God. Outside the Danieli, right before I met you. This guy bumped into me, practically gave me whiplash. Then he disappeared into the crowd. What’s going on here?”

“Did you get a look at him?”

“He practically knocked me down. Scared me half to death. No, I didn’t get a look at him.”

“Can I see the envelope?”

She gave it to me.

Inside was a small key labeled “104” that looked like it belonged to a lockbox, and an address written on a card.

“That’s near the Gritti Palace,” she said. “Do you have any idea who it could have been?”

“No.”

“Maybe we shouldn’t go.”

“We have to.”

“It could be a trap. Look, Reb, we have Leonardo’s pages. We can leave town. Once we’re safe, I can translate them. We can unravel the Circles of Truth.”

“Antonia, I have to check this out, alone.”

“Forget that! We both go. So . . . now what do we do, drive this damn boat back to the Danieli?”

Looking over at Big Nose I said, “I don’t think so.”

“Wait,” she said. “I’ve got access to a car.”

“Where is it?”

“In Chioggia. It’s a fishing village a little south of Lido.”

“Great.” I stepped over to Big Nose and hefted him by his armpits. “Could you give me a hand?” I asked.

Antonia looked as queasy as I felt.

“I really don’t think he needs to go to Chioggia today,” I said to her. “Do you?”

six

We tossed Big Nose overboard and washed down the deck with a bucket. It was rotten work. Ten years in a slaughterhouse wouldn’t have prepared you for it. I reluctantly threw the Tomcat in after him. Though I preferred to be armed, I couldn’t afford to be caught carrying the weapon that had killed Tecci’s men.

Antonia navigated us to Chioggia. As we wove our way through the collection of masts and booms, no one even noticed our shot-up boat. Ditching the water taxi at an open slip, we proceeded on foot into the crowded town.

On the way to where Antonia’s car was parked, I asked if she’d told anyone where she was meeting me.

“No. No one,” Antonia said. “You?”

“No.” I thought for a moment. “Corta saw me at the Accademia. He had to have leaned on Francesca, or been eavesdropping from the hall. He must have told Tecci where I was staying.”

“Cazzo, porco Dio,”she swore, waving her hand with an Italian flourish. “That son of a bitch!”

“No, wait,” I said. “That’s not enough. Tecci had the yacht in place, and the water taxi. How would he know we