The Devil in Music (72 page)

"If
you ask me," said St. Carr, "Orfeo's not a gentleman,
whoever he is. It just isn't the thing, letting a female get into
hot water on your account, while you play least in sight and do
nothing."

"And
if my aunt had been a man, she'd have been my uncle!" Fletcher
retorted. "We know that, Beverley! The question is, what are
we going to do about it?"

De
la Marque shrugged. "What can we do? Mr. Kestrel is resident
performer of miracles, and he isn't here."

The
three of them glanced toward the balustrade, where Mac-Gregor was
walking tensely up and down, watching for Kestrel's boat. The rest
of the villa party was scattered about the terrace, paying no heed to
the conversation.

Fletcher
turned to the marchesa, saying in his awkward Milanese, "Can't
Your Ladyship do something to help Lucia? At least make Grimani give
her a respite. No one should be questioned for hours without any
rest."

The
marchesa did not seem to hear. From her seat by the lily pond, she
was watching the lake as intently as MacGregor. But after a moment
she looked around, saying, "I don't think Commissario Grimani
would be willing to hear any more from me about Lucia. It was all I
could do to persuade him to bring her here and question her again,
instead of committing her to gaol out of hand."

"I
know that," said Fletcher, "and I'm grateful. But "

The
villa doors swung open. Grimani stepped out and came swiftly

down
the stairs, alternately appearing and disappearing as he passed
beneath the stairway lamps. Zanetti followed at a prudent distance.
Grimani crossed the terrace to join the others, his shoulders set,
his eyes narrowed and glinting. "Zanetti!" he rapped out.

Zanetti
approached him, quaking. "Signor Commissario?"

"Gather
a party of soldiers, and take Lucia to the village gaol. She is to
have a crucifix and a blanket nothing more. And no one is to visit
her, not even Don Cristoforo."

"You
would deny her religious consolation?" said Donati in dismay.

"This
isn't your affair, Maestro!" Grimani snapped. "I advise
you to keep to your province, and leave me to mine!"

"Look
here, Signor Commissario " Fletcher began.

"A
boat!" MacGregor shouted.

"A
boat!" The marchesa ran to join him at the balustrade.

There
was indeed a boat approaching the villa pier. The marchesa and
MacGregor strained to see who the passenger was. But there was no
passenger only the boatman plying his oar in the prow. The marchesa
turned away from the balustrade.

"I
know," said MacGregor in halting Milanese. "I hoped it was
Kestrel, too."

"He
must have been lost in the storm," she said in a low, unsteady
voice. "He was determined to return this evening. He would be
here if he could."

The
boat nosed up to the pier, and the boatman hopped out. Bruno, who
was on duty on the terrace, went down to meet him. "What's your
business?" he asked haughtily.

The
boatman was a spry, elderly man, with wrinkled brown skin and fingers
permanently curled from years of holding an oar. "I should like
to see the Englishman."

"Which
one?" Bruno puffed out his chest. "We've got a whole
parcel, you know."

"The
one that's always dressed so smart," said the boatman.

"That'll
be Milord Kestrel. And you can't see him even supposing he would see
the likes of you because he hasn't come back from Milan."

"But
he has," said the boatman. "I brought him from Como
myself, after the storm."

"You're
daft, old one."

"I'll
show you how daft I am! He gave me this." The boatman pulled a
letter from his jacket pocket and thrust it at Bruno. "But I

can't
read, and I don't know what he wants me to do with it, so I thought
I'd best bring it back to him."

Bruno
gaped at the seal on the letter. He screwed up his eyes,
painstakingly sounding out the words of the address. "Com-mis-sario
Al-fon-so Gri It's for the Commissario! You'd better come with me at
once!" He ran up the stairs. "Signer Commissario!"

Everyone
came forward to see what the excitement was about. Bruno bowed to
Grimani and held out the letter. "The boatman brought this.
It's from Conte Raversi. I recognized his seal straightaway, because
him and my master "

"Hold
your tongue." Grimani tore the letter open and read it under
one of the lamps. When he finished, he lifted startled eyes.

"What
is it?" the marchesa urged.

"Signer
Kestrel has presented evidence to Conte Raversi that Conte Carlo
committed these murders, with the connivance of his servant Guido."

"Carlo?"
she breathed. "That's impossible!"

"He
couldn't have!" chimed in Francesca. "Why would he kill
his own brother and nephew?"

"The
letter doesn't go into that." Grimani turned to the boatman,
who was hovering behind Bruno. "Where did you get this?"

"S-Signor
Kestrel gave it to me, Signor Commissario. I was bringing him here
from Como, but Conte Carlo's servant, the Neapolitan, came along and
said he would take him the rest of the way. So Signor Kestrel got
into his boat."

"Oh,
no " The marchesa put out her hands as if to ward off a blow.
"He can't have done so! Why should he, knowing what he knew?"

"I
don't know, Your Ladyship. But he did, and they went off to come
here, so I thought. But first Signor Kestrel gave me three times my
fare, and also that letter."

"How
long ago was this?" Grimani asked.

"I
don't know, Signor Commissario. Perhaps an hour. I wasn't sure what
to do, you see I didn't want to make trouble "

"You
know, Dipper's missing, too," said MacGregor. "I haven't
seen him in hours."

"So
is Nina," said the marchesa.

"Which
way did Guido take Signor Kestrel?" Grimani asked the boatman.

"He
he said he'd take him back to the villa so "

"So
you didn't take any notice." Grimani shook his head. "He'll
be dead by now."

The
marchesa's colour fled. "You don't know that."

"What
are you going to do about this?" MacGregor demanded of Grimani.

The
commissa rio turned to Zanetti. "Gather together all the
soldiers stationed in and around the villa. Divide them into parties
and have them search the shore north of the villa and the countryside
further inland. And send someone out to question any boatmen still
on the lake. I'll have Signor Ruga and Comandante Von Krauss arrange
a search to the south, in and around the village."

"Yes,
Signor Commissario. What about the two soldiers guarding Lucia?"

"They're
to remain at their posts outside the billiard room. I don't want
anyone taking advantage of this crisis to let her out."

Zanetti
bobbed his head and ran off.

"I'm
going to write to Ruga and Von Krauss," said Grimani. "I'll
be in the library."

He
went indoors. The Hall of Marbles was in a flurry, with soldiers
streaming in, the news of Carlo's guilt and the Englishman's
disappearance spreading like fire among them. Grimani left them to
Zanetti. Taking a candle, he went into the library and wrote his
notes.

As
he was sealing them, Zanetti came in. Grimani handed him the notes.
"Have these delivered at once."

"Yes,
Signor Commissario. But Signor Commissario, I came to tell you,
Lucia is asking for you. She's been banging on the billiard room
door and telling her guards she must see you at once."

"Is
she ready to talk?"

Zanetti
hesitated. "She's ready to talk about something, Signor
Commissario. But I don't know what."

Grimani
went to the billiard room, which was in a back corner of the villa.
The two soldiers standing guard outside the door stood to attention.
Grimani unlocked the door and went in.

Lucia
ran up to him. "Signor Commissario, thank the Blessed Virgin
you've come! I have something to tell you!"

Grimani
set his candle on a table, locked the door behind him, and put the
key in his coat pocket. "Well?"

"I
heard all the noise in the house. I wanted to know what it was
about, so I listened to the two soldiers talking outside the door.
They said Guido took Signor Kestrel away in a boat, and he and Conte

Carlo
are going to kill him because he found out they killed the marchese
and his son. Signer Commissario, I think I know where they've gone!"

"How
would you know that?"

"There's
a secret place Conte Carlo knows about. He hid some guns there when
the Austrians came back, after the French were beaten. My father
helped him. He hadn't any choice Conte Carlo was his master then. I
followed them there one night. I didn't know then what they were
doing, but I was worried about Papa he seemed so afraid."

"Where
is this hiding place?"

"I
didn't see it for myself. It's underground, in the grottos, and I
couldn't go to look at it, or Papa and Conte Carlo would have seen
me. But I saw Conte Carlo go down the ladder with some guns, and when
he came back, he didn't have them anymore."

"He
probably put them in the grottos," said Grimani.

"No,
Signor Commissario, because I went down there the next day, and they
weren't there. There's some secret place that you can only get to by
turning a great handle that's hidden behind the fountain in the
Salon."

"This
is nonsense," said Grimani.

"It's
true! I saw my father do it! He twisted the nozzle of the fountain,
like this, and the back of the fountain came away from the cave wall.
There was a recess with a great crank inside, and my father turned
it and held it in place while Conte Carlo carried the guns down the
ladder."

"If
there really is such a device, and it was used to hide arms from the
Austrians, you ought to have reported it long ago."

"What
does that matter now?" she cried impatiently. "The
important thing is to prevent another murder. If Conte Carlo and
Guido were going to take Signor Kestrel somewhere to kill him, that's
where they would have gone! You must go after them and stop them!"

Grimani
regarded her with a steady, measuring gaze. At last he said, "I
have only your word for it that this hiding place exists. And you've
shown yourself to be a thoroughly untrustworthy witness. I can't
give any credence to your story."

She
stared. "You don't believe me? Why would I lie?"

"Why
should I trust you?" he countered.

"But
I'm telling the truth! I swear by God and the Madonna and all the
saints! What can I do to make you believe me?"

"Give
me Orfeo."

She
drew in her breath sharply. "But but you know now he didn't
kill Marchese Lodovico or Marchese Rinaldo."

"I
want him," said Grimani.

"But
why?"

"He's
defied the law. He's lurked here, making his presence known but
refusing to identify himself. He's mocked my authority, which comes
from the Viceroy. I'm not convinced he isn't the murderer. I have
no proof of Come Carlo's guilt except a letter from Conte Raversi,
based wholly on Signer Kestrel's evidence. And Signer Kestrel isn't
here to give that evidence himself."

"But
I'm telling you how to find him," she urged, "if you would
only listen!"

"I
have listened. And I repeat, I do not believe you."

He
turned to go. Lucia ran after him, caught him by the coat-tail. "Let
me see the marchesa!"

Grimani
turned back to her. "You will see no one. And no one will know
what has passed between us. If Signor Kestrel dies in those caves,
you will be responsible. I know you don't like him, but are you
willing to be his executioner? And not only his there are two other
people missing: his servant and the marchesa's maid."