Marcus looked at the floor in embarrassment. Mickey, you really know how to win friends and influence people, he thought.
When the doctor was gone, Mickey said, “Well, she was rude. I’m going to make some calls about the best pediatric leukemia centers.”
Armando tried to argue that this was an excellent hospital, but Mickey didn’t want to discuss it. He stormed from the room with his cell phone to his ear.
*
“They match,” Lumaga said. “The fingerprints are a perfect match.”
He and Marcus were having a coffee in the hospital cafeteria. Marcus told him he wasn’t the least bit surprised and asked how long it would take to get the DNA results.
“I’ve discussed it with my superiors. We’re sending duplicate samples to the best laboratory in Milan and to Europol at the Hague. We can’t tolerate the smallest doubt. We’ll have the results in forty-eight hours.”
“Andreason wants them out of here. He’s got his plane standing by.”
Lumaga was adamant. “That’s not going to happen.”
“How’re you going to stop him?”
“A serious crime has been committed on Italian soil. Two kidnapped girls have been returned in an enigmatic state. Their parents remain unaccounted for. An investigation that had gone cold is now extremely hot. As you know, the Carabinieri are under the direction of the Ministry of Defense. However, the Ministry of the Interior also has a role in this case as a referral was previously made to the Commissario Straordinario per le Persone Scomparse, the special commission for missing persons. I have already received instructions from both responsible cabinet ministers. They have ordered me to block the takeoff of Andreason’s jet and as a last option, to arrest him for obstruction of a Carabinieri investigation.”
“You’d arrest a grandfather trying to help his sick granddaughters? How’s that going to play in the papers?”
“It may not play well in America, but the Italian people will support it. The crime happened here. Our system of justice must be respected.”
“He’s going to go around you. He’s got a lot of pull with the US government. He’ll get senators, generals, the US ambassador to cry foul. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on your government.”
“I am assured that we are prepared for this. Your ambassador has already been informed of the decision to keep the girls in Italy.”
“They have leukemia, Roberto. And he doesn’t have confidence in a provincial hospital.”
“Then we will permit them to receive their treatment in Rome. I am assured that the children’s hospital, the Bambino Gesù Hospital, is one of the best in the world for their condition. Please help him become comfortable with this option.”
“I can try.”
A minor commotion at the cafeteria entrance got both men’s attention. A TV cameraman and a reporter were being turned away by a hospital security guard. The reporter who was not easily cowed, called out to Lumaga by name to answer her questions.
“There’s a rumor that there has been a development in the case of the missing girls. Can you confirm it?”
“I don’t have anything to say,” Lumaga shot back.
When the crew had been shooed away, Lumaga told Marcus that they’d have to hold a press conference. “There’s no holding back the tides,” he said.
“When?”
“This afternoon. We’ll do it at the Carabinieri headquarters. I’ve let the doctors know that I’ll need to interview the girls soon.”
“Can I sit in?”
He responded with a Lumaga shrug.
“Look, Roberto. You want my help with Andreason. It’ll be easier handling him if I know what’s going on.”
“Okay. But please let me ask the questions.”
“I’ll just observe. Did your forensics people come up with anything?”
“Nothing helpful. The girls entered the villa via a rear door that was forced open. The housekeepers hadn’t armed the security system after their last visit. They come every day to check on the property and they haven’t felt the need.”
“But the gate was closed, right?”
“It’s possible that someone climbed the fence, entered the house, activated the gate with the button by the front door, and returned to a waiting car that held the girls. Once again, we have been handicapped by the lack of cameras.”
“Don’t look at me. I was fired, remember?”
“How could I forget? There were two sets of fingerprints from the house that did not belong to the Cutrìs, the housekeepers, or the girls. I am willing to bet my salary for September that they belong to you and Signor Andreason but we will need to fingerprint you as soon as possible.”
“Of course.”
“We got the results from the facial recognition software. The way the girls appear now is identical to photographs from shortly before they disappeared. Still, we’ll wait for the DNA.”
“It’s them, Roberto.”
“Personally, I’m completely with you on this, Marcus, but I don’t plan on being definitive with the journalists. The white shirts, shorts, and undergarments the girls were wearing were plain cotton with no labels. I’m told they could have come from anywhere in the world.”
“How about anywhere in the universe?”
“Very amusing. Anyway, that’s where we presently stand.”
“I’m glad it’s not me facing the press.”
*
Marcus took Mickey into the empty patient room to avoid a public scene when he told him about Lumaga banning the girls from leaving the country. Predictably, he raged at the news.
“Does he think I’ll lie down and let some fucking nonentity of a policeman prevent me from doing what needs to be done for my family?”
“No, he’s expecting a fight. But he’s got his political ducks in a row. He’s confident he’s going to win.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“I think you should cooperate,” Marcus said.
“Why should I care what you think?”
It was hard to control himself, but he did. “Tell you what, Mickey,” he said calmly. “You can forget I might have an informed opinion and I can forget that I’m an idiot for letting myself be persuaded to come back here.”
“Fine,” Mickey said. His tone carried a whiff of apology. “Tell me what you think.”
“You’ve got your granddaughters back and that’s a very good thing. Now you want Jesper and
