Sign of the Cross

world. So loving, so thoughtful. Always encouraging me to pursue my dreams. Just the way you’d want a parent to be…’

Her voice trailed off as she searched for the words to continue.

‘Unfortunately, my dad was just the opposite, at least toward me. I have two half brothers, and my father treated them like gold. Especially Roberto. Always showering him with attention. Always bragging about his potential. Always taking him to work and on business trips. But I wasn’t jealous. I had my mom and my brothers had my dad. I just figured that was the way things were supposed to be.’ She paused, her eyes focusing on the moonlight that streamed through the warehouse’s dirty windows. ‘At least I thought that way until I was nine.’

Maria took a deep breath. ‘I’d never heard my parents fight until that year. And I mean really fight. Screaming, crying, threats of all kinds. It was a nightmare. The two people in the world that meant the most to me were going head-to-head in a heated battle. God, when you’re a child, there are never any winners in a situation like that. And if that wasn’t bad enough, it got even worse when I figured out what they were fighting about.’

‘And what was that?’

‘They were fighting about me.’

She nodded her head, slowly, like she was still coming to grips with the memory. ‘They were in the kitchen, and my dad was screaming right into her face. The veins bulging in his neck. I still find this next part hard to believe, but my father ordered her to stay away from me. He told her that I was a girl and nothing could change the fact that I was worthless. Then he insisted that she start paying more attention to my brothers because they still had a chance to be something. Can you believe that? I’m nine years old, and my dad was already giving up on me.’

Boyd didn’t know what to say.

‘My mother argued that I could be just as good as a man, but he laughed at that. Literally laughed in her face. Then, when he was done laughing, he informed her that he was sending me away to boarding school so they wouldn’t have to deal with me anymore.’

‘You have to be joking.’

A tear rolled down Maria’s cheek. ‘I didn’t even know what boarding school was, yet I could tell from my mother’s reaction that it wasn’t a good thing. She immediately burst into tears and ran from the kitchen.’

‘My God! You were sent away?’

Maria nodded. ‘Nine years old and I was shipped off to the Cheltenham School for Girls.’

‘The one in Gloucestershire? That’s a top-notch academy, my dear.’

‘Maybe so, but it couldn’t make up for the things that were taken from me.’

Boyd flinched at her tone. ‘Maria, I didn’t mean to suggest that — ’

The anger in her eyes softened slowly. ‘I know. At least they had the decency to get me a good education, right? Well, that was my mother’s doing, not his. She figured, if she couldn’t stop him from sending me away, the least she could do was find me a school where women were treated with respect. And do you know what? For the most part, things turned out well. Once I adjusted, I started to thrive in my new environment. I was introduced to girls from several countries and backgrounds. I learned half a dozen languages. In fact, I got to the point where I started to look down on all things Italian. The language, the culture, the food. I figured if I wasn’t good enough for Italy, then Italy wasn’t good enough for me. It wasn’t until much later that I even set foot in this country again.’

‘Not even for the holidays?’

‘Why would I want to ruin my holidays? There was nothing in Rome but my father, and he didn’t want anything to do with me, remember?’

‘And what of your mom?’ he asked delicately. ‘I take it she passed on shortly thereafter?’

Maria took another deep breath. ‘My mother rang me a few weeks after I arrived in England. The call was against the rules, but she managed to get through by claiming a family emergency. I was expecting dreadful news — I mean, the headmistress was ashen when she came to get me, so what else could it be? — but I couldn’t have been more wrong. My mother was ecstatic. She told me she’d been looking for a way to get me home and finally stumbled upon a way to do it. She wouldn’t tell me what it was but assured me that I would be by her side very soon.

‘Well, as you can imagine, I was thrilled. I ran down the hall and started to pack, expecting her to be at the front gate that very night. Of course, she wasn’t. Nor the next night. Nor the night after that. This went on for weeks and not a single word from her. Finally, after two months, my headmistress retrieved me again, her face even worse than the first time. I picked up the phone, dying to hear the sound of my mother’s voice, but it wasn’t her. It was my brother, Roberto. Without so much as a hello, he informed me that my mother had died a few months back, although the official inquiry had only been wrapped up that day. The Italian courts ruled that she became depressed over my departure and had taken her own life.’

Boyd winced at the news. It wasn’t what he was expecting.

‘It was bad enough that my mother was gone, but to be told that I was the cause…’ She paused to catch her breath. ‘To be called several weeks after her death by one of the people who forced my departure, well, that somehow made it worse.’

Boyd had always assumed that Maria was a pampered rich kid who was biding her time until she inherited her father’s throne as the minister of antiquities. Now he knew different. This trip had revealed a side of Maria that he never knew existed. She was a fighter.

‘And out of curiosity, how is your current relationship with your father?’

Maria wiped her eyes while she thought of the appropriate words. ‘I wouldn’t call it cordial, but he’s definitely an important part of my life.’

‘Are you serious? That’s awfully surprising, considering the story you just told.’

‘Don’t get me wrong, Professore. I hate the man for what he put me and my mother through. But after giving it some thought, I decided it would be foolish to exclude him from my life.’

‘And why is that, my dear?’

‘Why? Because I want him to see that my mother was right, that his worthless little girl was able to make something of herself. I want that bastard to have a front row seat in my life so I can rub his nose in everything that I achieve.’

38

All of the police files were written in Italian, so Payne wasn’t very useful as Jones translated them and took notes. After ten minutes or so, Payne couldn’t take it anymore. He needed to do something productive while waiting for Frankie to develop the film, or he was going to start bouncing off the walls. Jones sensed it, too. ‘Did you forget to take your Ritalin?’

‘You know how I get. I’m not wired for this office crap.’

Jones laughed while pulling a phone number from his wallet. ‘Do you remember Randy Raskin? I introduced you two a few years ago.’

‘Computer guy at the Pentagon, right?’

‘Yep, that’s him.’ He handed Payne a card. ‘That’s his direct line. Tell him I need to cash in a favor — he’ll know what I mean. Have him search his system for any background info on Boyd. See if he’s dating anyone or has ever been married. Maybe this woman is his long-lost daughter.’

‘What about Donald Barnes? Maybe there’s something there that we don’t know about.’

‘Same with Manzak and Buckner. He might be able to find some dirt on them. I didn’t have enough time to dig into their files.’

Thankfully, Randy Raskin was more helpful than any computer-tech guy Payne had ever talked to. At first Payne figured Jones was just humoring him, giving him some busy-work so he’d leave him alone. Turns out that wasn’t the case at all, because Raskin hooked Payne up with some serious information. Payne scribbled furiously as Raskin told him everything that he needed to know about Dr Boyd and their friends at the CIA, Manzak and Buckner. He was so forthcoming Payne was tempted to ask him if the U.S. government still kept aliens in Area 51.

Anyhow, after thanking Raskin, Payne hustled back to Jones to brief him on his conversation. ‘Let’s start with Boyd. He’s been a member of the Dover faculty for over a decade. During that time he’s taken several leaves of