The Devil in Music (73 page)

Lucia
wrung her hands. "Blessed Madonna, help me, tell me what to do
"

"The
minutes are ticking away, Lucia. They may all be dying. Would Orfeo
want that? And if he would, is he worth all this devotion? If you
believe he hasn't done anything wrong, then you've nothing to fear
for him "

"You'll
find something to use against him! You hate him so much, you might
even " She broke off.

"I
might even what?"

She
shook her head, saying nothing.

"It's
pointless to go on with this," said Grimani. "Good night,
Lucia."

"No!"
She caught his arm and looked beseechingly into his face. "You
would let three people die?"

"It's
you who are letting them die. I'm only doing my duty as a
policeman."

She
let go of his arm and stepped back, breathing hard. He waited. At
last she said, "Are those three men here the ones you brought to
me at Signor Ruga's?"

"Yes,"
said Grimani quickly. "Is Orfeo one of them?"

"Yes."
She hung her head. "If you take me to them, I'll point him out
to you."

"I'm
not to made a game of! Just tell me which one is Orfeo."

"How
can I? I don't even know their names." She lifted her chin.
"Besides, if I must betray Orfeo, I want to look him in the eyes
and tell him why. Even Judas didn't betray our Lord behind his
back."

"That's
blasphemy! What's more, it's an obvious ruse to warn the man and
give him a chance to escape."

"It
isn't! I promise I'll go straight to him and give him up to you."

"Will
you swear to that by God, the Madonna, and your hope of Heaven?"

"I
swear," she whispered.

At
about the time that the boatman brought Raversi's letter to the
villa, Julian was holding his lantern close to the portcullis to
examine it. It was so thick and hard, Carlo's small, sharp knife
would not make a dent in it. There was no protrusion on its surface
to catch hold of, and nothing with which to lever it up. It was
wood, which meant it would burn but slowly, and in the meantime they
would smother in the smoke.

"We
could let fly our pops at it, sir." Dipper brandished his
pistol hopefully.

Julian
shook his head. "That won't answer. A bullet would only lodge
in it or worse, glance off it and hit one of us." He added
musingly, "But you've given me an idea. Signer Conte, do you
have a powder flask?"

Carlo's
hand went involuntarily to his trouser pocket. "Why?"

"Be
so good as to lay it on the floor and step away from it."

"What
are you going to do?" Carlo persisted.

"If
Dipper and Nina agree, I'm going to have a try at blowing up this
door."

"You're
mad!" Carlo exclaimed. "It's too thick! You'll only kill
us with the explosion or the passage will collapse and seal us up!"

"As
we're already quite thoroughly sealed up, I can't see that that makes
any odds. And I'm not looking to blow a hole through the portcullis
only to shatter enough timbers to allow us to kick it in." He
turned to Dipper and Nina. "What do you say? I think we've a
chance of escaping by this means, but Conte Carlo may be right it may
merely seal our doom."

"I'm
for having a go, sir," said Dipper.

"Yes,
please!" Nina begged. "Anything to get out of here!"

"Very
well," said Julian. "Your flask, Signor Conte."

Carlo
did not move.

"You
must realize," said Julian, "I care very little whether you
give it to me, or I kill you and take it."

Carlo
pulled the flask from his pocket and threw it down. Nina jumped back
in fear.

"It's
harmless as long as it isn't lit," Julian assured her.

He
came forward and picked it up. It was of copper, pear-shaped, and
embossed on either side with the Malvezzi serpent and sword. He
shook it, and found it tolerably full. He opened the valve that let
powder into the pourer at the tip. Then he stood on a spot about ten
paces in front of the portcullis and walked toward it, pouring out a
thin trail of powder as he went.

"What
is he doing?" Nina asked.

"He's
making a fuse," said Carlo.

Julian
set down the flask at the foot of the portcullis, the open nozzle
touching the end of the end of the trail of powder. "When I
light the other end," he explained to Nina, "the flame will
travel along the powder till it reaches the flask."

"But
won't the powder explode when you light it?" asked Nina.

"Loose
powder doesn't explode," said Julian, "it merely burns.
Powder explodes when it's tightly packed which means the powder in
the flask should give us a considerable blast."

He
went over to where he had left the ropes that had bound Dipper's and
Nina's wrists. "Here," he said, giving them to Dipper.
"Tie Conte Carlo's hands behind him."

"Is
that necessary?" asked Carlo haughtily.

Julian
smiled wryly. "Oh, I think no amount of caution could be wasted
on you, Signor Conte."

Dipper
bound Carlo's hands. Julian glanced around the vaulted room, brows
knit. "We had better stand as far to the side as we can. The
explosion will blow straight back."

Dipper,
Nina, and Carlo retreated to one side of the Day of Judgement and
pressed themselves against the wall. Julian took the candle from the
lantern and lit the fuse. Then he joined the others by the wall, and
they all watched, mesmerized, as the tiny, sparkling, hissing light
crept slowly toward the flask.

The
night grew so chilly that MacGregor persuaded the marchesa to
withdraw from the terrace to the drawing room. There she resumed the
same anguished pacing she had been engaged in on the terrace ever
since the news of Kestrel's danger had arrived. MacGregor joined his
pacing to hers. Francesca and Valeriano sat on the sofa, looking on
in silent sympathy. Donati occupied his favourite chair in the
corner, Sebastiano standing beside him. St. Carr and Fletcher sat
in one of the window embrasures, while de la Marque lounged against
the wall close by.

The
two soldiers who had been guarding Lucia brought her in. Grimani and
Zanetti followed. "Well?" said Grimani to Lucia.

She
looked across at de la Marque, St. Carr, and Fletcher. De la Marque
straightened, and St. Carr and Fletcher came to their feet. She
drew a long breath and went toward them slowly. She passed de la
Marque, passed St. Carr, and stood before Fletcher, looking
pleadingly into his face. "Forgive me. If I don't denounce
you, three people may die. You are Orfeo."

He
stared, opened his mouth to speak, then paused, searching her face.
His own relaxed into a smile. "I forgive you."

Her
eyes closed. She let out a shuddering sigh of relief.

"She's
mad!" declared St. Carr. "Hugo is no more Orfeo than I
am! Tell them, Hugo!"

"I'm
sorry, Beverley." Fletcher's eyes were still on Lucia. "I
couldn't tell you before."

St.
Carr gaped at him, speechless.

"But
this is marvelous!" cried de la Marque. "Of all possible
outcomes to the search for Orfeo, this is without a doubt the most
delicious! You must sing something for us directly!"

Fletcher
looked at him in exasperation. "This is hardly the time for
that!"

Grimani
was smiling in grim triumph. "Signer Fletcher, I arrest you in
the name of the Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia." He turned to the
soldiers. "Take him."

The
soldiers came forward and gripped Fletcher by either arm.

"You
don't have to do that!" Lucia chided. "He wasn't trying
to run away!"

"Don't
worry, Lucia," said Fletcher.

Her
face softened. "Call me Barbarina, as you used to."

"Barbarina,
then," he said, smiling.

She
turned fiercely to Grimani. "I've given you Orfeo. Now you
must save those people before it's too late!"

"It's
probably too late already," said Grimani. "But what I can
do, I will."

A
voice from the doorway said, "I wouldn't dream of putting you to
so much trouble, Signer Commissario."

Everyone
spun around. Kestrel stood there with Dipper, Nina, and Carlo.
Their clothes were torn and dirty, their faces and hands
powder-blackened, the stench of sulphur thick about them.

"Thank
God!" broke from MacGregor.

Lucia's
eyes lit up then filled with remorse and dismay as they fell on
Fletcher.

The
marchesa gave a cry, ran past them all, and flung herself into
Kestrel's arms.

Julian
clasped her close, even as he whispered, laughing, "You'll reek
of sulphur!"

"I
don't care!" Her voice was muffled in his shoulder. "If
you knew what I've been through when I feared I might lose you lose
all chance of mending things between us " She gave a little
gasping sob and drew away from him. "I can't tell you now, but
I will later, when we're alone."

MacGregor,
who had been hovering behind her, pressed forward and wrung Julian's
hand. "You've given us all a fright I won't soon forget! I did
warn you, when you wanted to get mixed up in this investigation "

"Yes,
my dear fellow," said Julian affectionately, "you were
entirely right and prudent, and I was entirely foolhardy and rash."

"Well,
I wouldn't go so far as to say that," said MacGregor gruffly.
"You did solve the murders, and came out of it with a whole skin
though only just!"

Grimani
confronted Julian, unsmiling. "Are you prepared to make a
statement against Conte Carlo?"

"Very
much so," said Julian.

He
gave a brief account of how Carlo and Guido had meant to bury them
alive in the Day of Judgement, how Carlo had been trapped with them,
and how they had blown open the portcullis with the powder flask.
The others listened in amazement. There was great curiosity about
the Day of Judgement, and the marchesa, suddenly light-hearted,
promised they would all go and look at it tomorrow.

"I
shouldn't advise that," said Julian. "The passage leading
into it is full of debris and may collapse in the wake of the
explosion."

"I'll
send for workmen to find out if it's safe," she said. "I
simply must see it the scene of your triumph, Giuliano!"

"And
someone ought to remove poor Tonio's body and give it a proper
burial," said Donati.

Francesca
was gazing in troubled bewilderment at Carlo, who stood a little
apart, his bound hands behind him, a patrician sneer on his face.
"Why did he do it?" she appealed to Julian. "How
could he kill his own brother and nephew?"

"We
all want to know that," said Beatrice. "But we mustn't tax
Signer Kestrel with questions until he's had a chance to rest and
change his clothes and take some refreshment. And Nina and Dipper
must be ministered to as well. Ring the bell, will you, Sebastiano?
I want candles, hot baths, coffee a great deal of coffee! I'm sure
none of us will want to go to bed till Signor Kestrel has told his
story!"

Grimani
said to Zanetti, "Have a party of soldiers take Conte Carlo to
the barracks in Solaggio. I expect Comandante Von Krauss can find
some place of confinement for him more appropriate to his rank than
the village gaol. And have the search parties who were going to look
for Signor Kestrel hunt for Guido instead."

He
turned to Fletcher. "It seems you have a respite from
interrogation, signer. It won't be long, I promise you." He
said to the soldiers, "Lock him in the billiard room, and keep
him there under guard. And, Zanetti, keep a close watch on Signor
St. Carr. He may know more than he lets on about Signor Fletcher's
activities."

"He
doesn't know anything," Fletcher said quickly.

"No,
you saw to that, didn't you!" St. Carr lashed out. "I
expect it was easy for you. Bird-witted Beverley, who can be told
any old story and won't know any better than to believe it!"
His lip trembled. "I trusted you! I trusted you, and you lied
to me!"