‘I know it well. I have friends in Roccasecca. Liza and I were visiting them, which is how we came to be on the same train. Go on.’
‘The church was empty when I went in, so I put the picture behind the altar. There’s a curtain covering a wall with a hole at the bottom. I slipped it in there.’
‘Are you telling me the truth?’
‘Yes-yes-’
‘Have you left anything out? Think hard.’
‘No, I put it there, I swear I did.’
At last he released her. ‘If you’re lying-heaven help us both.’
‘I’m not lying. But someone might have found it by now.’
‘Let’s hope not. You’ve been luckier than you know. Roccasecca was the birthplace of a mediaeval saint. The picture is reputed to be him, and it belongs to the very church where you left it. If we can find it, we can argue that no theft was committed, since it was returned to its rightful owners.’
‘But what can you do?’
‘I won’t let anything happen to you. I need you too much. You are useful to me as nobody else can be. Because of that you can trust me to defend and protect you as nobody else would do.’ He gave a wry smile. ‘Selfish motives are always dependable. Remember that, and feel safe.’
She nodded. It was true.
‘So, if the picture’s still there, I’m going to arrange for it to be discovered, without involving you.’
‘But how?’
He shrugged. ‘An anonymous message, maybe. Now, I suggest that you go to bed and forget about everything that’s been said tonight.’
‘But suppose-’
‘Suppose nothing,’ he said firmly. ‘Forget tonight. Don’t allow yourself to brood. That is where madness lies. None of us know what the future holds.’
Next morning Matteo left the house saying he would be away for a couple of nights. He did not speak to Holly before he left, not even a goodbye, and she had no logical reason for believing that his departure was anything to do with her.
She knew at once that Liza was upset by his absence, and gave herself even more completely than usual to the task of keeping her thoughts occupied. Liza asked again and again where her father had gone. Holly and Berta both reassured her that his journey was necessary ‘for work’, and she would calm down for a while, only to ask a few moments later, ‘He is coming back, isn’t he? You promise?’
When she finally fell asleep that night Holly went to her own bed, exhausted and worried. She only slept a short while before being shaken awake by Berta.
‘You must come at once. She awoke with a nightmare and I can’t comfort her.’
In Liza’s room Holly wasted no time with words, but simply got into bed with the child and hugged her until she fell asleep. As she lay holding her in the darkness she was coming to a decision.
Next morning she said to Berta, ‘Your room’s right next to Liza’s, isn’t it?’
‘So that I am always close if she needs me.’
‘Will you change rooms with me?’
‘But, signora, you are in the best guest room at the judge’s orders. He will be angry with me.’
‘Leave him to me,’ Holly said simply.
By the time Matteo arrived home next evening the transfer was complete. As she had promised, Holly took care of the matter.
‘Liza’s happier now I’m on hand all the time,’ she said. ‘In fact I’ve had the bed moved into her room, so I’ll just use mine as a dressing room. I hope that’s all right with you.’
He nodded. ‘I bow to your wisdom. Do what you think right. But I wanted you to have somewhere better.’
‘It’s the best of all, from Liza’s point of view. Does anything else matter but that?’
‘Of course not. I leave such decisions to you.’
‘Berta will be glad to hear that,’ she told him cheerfully. ‘She was nervous about taking my old room, but I assured her that you wouldn’t object.’
‘Oh, you did, did you?’ he said ironically.
‘She won’t be there long. Alfio is pressing her to name the day.’
‘Then all problems will be solved,’ he said lightly.
‘Not quite all. Did you-have a successful trip?’
‘Entirely successful, thank you. You might say that I went on a hunting expedition.’
‘And your quarry?’
‘That was found where I’d hoped and is now safely back with its rightful owner.’
The relief was overwhelming, but she forced herself to be realistic.
‘What will happen now-to-?’
‘Your friend? For the moment nothing. He was granted bail in the hope that he would lead the police to the stolen goods, but he vanished. With luck he might never be heard of again.’
She nodded. ‘If he hears that it’s been recovered-’
‘He won’t. I pulled some strings with friends in the locality, and managed to get it kept quiet.’
‘But what about Sarah Conway?’ she asked cautiously.
‘Sarah who? She doesn’t exist, according to the police. Vanelli invented her to get the heat off himself. They’re not wasting valuable resources looking for a chimera.’
She closed her eyes, faint with relief.
‘Thank you,’ she murmured. ‘Thank you, thank you.’
Holly took a long, deep breath, suddenly aware of a weakness that threatened to consume her. He was telling her that the worst was over, and so it was. The realisation that the fear and dread had ended so abruptly was almost frightening.
And it had happened because he had willed it so. That was almost the scariest thing of all.
‘Holly?’ His voice sounded close, and when she opened her eyes he was standing right beside her, his eyes alarmed.
The force of conflicting feelings fighting for supremacy shook her to the core, making her sway. Instantly his hands were on her shoulders.
‘Are you all right?’
‘Yes,’ she said, a little breathlessly. ‘I’m fine-really-’
‘You’re not going to faint, are you?’ he asked, scandalised.
‘Of course not,’ she declared indignantly. ‘What do you think I am?’
‘Someone who’s entitled to faint if she wants to,’ he answered in a surprisingly gentle voice. ‘Someone who has been through enough to undermine the strongest woman, who was determined not to let her courage fail, and who had given everything in her to making sure that it didn’t.’
‘So what’s wrong with that?’
‘Nothing, but there’s a price to be paid in weakness and misery. Nobody can be strong forever. How many nights have you lain awake devoting your thoughts to Liza instead of your own troubles?’
‘Many,’ she murmured.
‘You were trying to forget the troubles, but now they have to be faced.’
‘But I thought they were over.’
‘Mostly they are. But they’ll haunt you and you can’t run from them. Don’t try. There’s no escape. They have to be struggled through in your head just as you struggled through them in reality.’
As sometimes before, she had the sensation that he was talking about himself as much as her.
‘How long will they live with me?’ she wondered.
‘All your life because now they are you. They’ve changed you into another person and you can’t go back.’
‘That’s true. And I don’t want to go back.’
He nodded. ‘You’re wise. The joy you once had-’
‘Thought I had-’
‘Is gone forever.’
