Dreaming of Rome

by Dreaming of Rome (retail) (epub)

  ‘Fine. Is there anything you want me to do? I imagine it’s very likely he’ll spot me as I get on or off the plane.’

  ‘I wonder… Tell me something, Jo, when your tall American friend scared him off in Rome that time, did you tell Markus he was your boyfriend?’

  Jo had to stop and think. ‘No, I don’t think I did. I just said Ricky’d been in America.’

  ‘So could he maybe have just been a close friend or your cousin, say?’

  ‘Yes, I suppose so. Why? Do you want me to pretend I’m still interested in Markus?’

  ‘Jo, I don’t want you to do anything that could be dangerous. He isn’t a threat, but his Italian connections most certainly are. If he makes contact with you, just be pleasant and, if necessary, tell him the Yank was your cousin so as to keep him sweet, but do not, under any circumstances, go off with him. All right?’

  ‘Of course. Corrado’s waiting for me the other end anyway.’

  ‘Fine. Do me one last favour, would you? Send a text to this number once you’ve come through passport control, please. All right? Just send my name, George Wilson. That’ll be enough.’

  ‘Fine. Will do.’

  ‘And, Jo, I wasn’t joking. Stay well away from him and his connections once you get to Rome. They are very bad people.’

  Jo turned off the phone and headed down to the departure lounge. Fortunately, Markus was now standing a long way in front of her in the Speedy Boarding line which was already moving towards the doors. She handed over her boarding pass and hid herself among the crowd of ordinary passengers until the time came for them to follow the others outside onto the tarmac. Her seat was near the back of the aircraft and she was able to use the rear door and get to her place without catching sight of Markus who was, presumably, much nearer the front.

  It was a very smooth flight in near cloudless skies and Jo was able to relax, confident that Markus hadn’t spotted her and wouldn’t do so. All went well until they landed and trooped off the plane through the forward exit. However, as she emerged up the walkway from the aircraft into the terminal building, she almost bumped into him, standing to one side, digging something out of his bag. He looked up and did a double take. She did her best to look similarly surprised.

  ‘Markus, hello. Were you on the London flight as well?’

  ‘Jo, how lovely to see you. Yes, I’ve just come over for the weekend. So, we were on the same aircraft!’ He hesitated. ‘Have you come to see your American friend?’

  Jo shook her head.

  ‘You mean Ricky? Tall Ricky, my cousin? He’s back in the States now. He was just passing through. We’ve always been very close.’

  She read relief and renewed interest in his eyes. As she turned away to follow the crowd to passport control, she felt a touch on her arm as he started walking alongside her.

  ‘This is wonderful. I’ve been dying to see you to apologise if I maybe gave you the wrong idea back in London.’

  The wrong idea? Jo kept a friendly smile on her face, but it was an effort.

  ‘Water under the bridge, Markus. No harm done.’

  ‘I wonder if you feel like meeting up while we’re here in Rome.’ She saw him concentrate hard for a few seconds before continuing, ‘I’m afraid I have to go straight into a meeting when I get out of the airport, but I should be free by tonight. How about dinner?’

  ‘That sounds lovely. I’ll just have to check with my sister first. I’m staying with them, and my brother-in-law’s supposed to be waiting for me outside. Can I call you? I’ve got your number.’

  ‘Ah, no, not that one. That’s no good any more. I lost my phone and I’ve got a new one now.’

  He produced what looked like exactly the same phone and dictated the new number. Jo wondered if he regularly changed SIM cards to throw people like George off his scent. She had just added it to her contacts when his phone started ringing. He glanced down at the caller ID and then back up at her.

  ‘Sorry, Jo. I have to take this. Call me later, all right?’

  Jo was delighted to get away and she hurried along to the crowded passport control lines and waited impatiently until she got through to the baggage claim hall. Bags from her flight hadn’t yet started coming through so she had time to send a message to George.

  George Wilson. Markus has new phone number. He should be exiting in next five minutes or so. Jo.

  She added his new number and hoped it would help.

  It took another ten minutes before the luggage belt started moving and she was able to reclaim her bag. She kept looking over her shoulder for Markus but assumed he was travelling with just hand luggage and would be long gone by now. Still, it was a relief and a great pleasure to come out of the sliding doors and find Corrado standing right there, waiting for her. He hurried across to her and it looked very much as though he was going to kiss her before he transformed his outstretched arms into a chaste handshake.

  ‘Hi, Jo, great to see you.’ He took a closer look at her. ‘All well?’

  ‘Yes, thanks. And it’s great to see you too.’ And she meant it.

  He removed her heavy bag from her grip and slung it over his shoulder.

  ‘The car’s just a bit further along. I wasn’t quite so lucky this time. A five-minute walk.’

  They went out of the air-conditioned interior into the full heat of the August afternoon. Corrado led her along, parallel with the front of the terminal building, until they came to the car park. Then, as they were walking past the rows of parked cars, something unexpected happened. Just ahead of them, a big silver people carrier with dark tinted windows suddenly reversed out of its parking space, almost running into the two of them. They jumped to one side and Jo heard Corrado mutter something under his breath. As the vehicle came to a halt beside them, the rear door suddenly opened and, to Jo’s surprise, none other than Markus appeared, clawing desperately at the door handle, evidently trying to escape from somebody inside.

  Jo and Corrado stopped and stared as a hairy forearm caught him by the scruff of his neck and yanked him back inside. As he did so, his eyes momentarily caught Jo’s and she read abject terror in them. Then, as she and Corrado still stood there gawping, a slimmer arm appeared, holding in a manicured hand what was unmistakably a pistol. It took her a moment to realise that the vicious weapon was pointed straight at her. She found herself rooted to the spot, paralysed by fear.

  ‘Non avete visto niente.’

  The voice was as full of menace as the barrel of the gun and Jo gasped. Then she felt herself pushed out of the way as Corrado stepped in front of her, deliberately placing himself between the gunman and her body. As he did so, there was the sound of the door slamming, followed by a squeal of tyres as the vehicle accelerated away.

  ‘Bastards.’ Corrado turned back towards her and enveloped her in his arms. As she felt the tension release, she suddenly found herself weeping into his chest, clutching hold of him as though she never wanted to let him go.

  They stayed like that for what seemed like a long time, but which was probably no more than a few seconds, before she heard his voice.

  ‘Did you hear what the thug with the gun said; “You haven’t seen anything.” In other words, this never happened. Scum!’ Not trusting her voice, she just nodded blankly. He reached into his pocket with his free hand and brought out his phone. ‘We need to tell somebody. I’ve memorised the number plate. That might help the poor devil they dragged back into the car.’

  Jo took a step backwards, watching him dial the number of the emergency services. He kept a steadying hand on her arm and she was glad of it.

  She cleared her throat and spoke to him, her voice sounding strangely distant. ‘I’m sorry to be such a wimp, Corrado; it’s just that I’ve never had a gun pointed at me before.’

  He glanced down at her as he waited to be connected to the police and gave her a little smile. ‘Neither have I. It’s not a very pleasant sensation, is it?’

  ‘Thank you for trying to protect me…’ Jo’s b
rain suddenly cleared. ‘But the thing is, I know the man who was trying to escape from that car.’ As instructed by George, she hadn’t told Corrado, or anybody else, anything about Markus and his shady dealings and she saw a look of amazement on Corrado’s face. As she spoke, she pulled out her own phone and dialled George’s number. She was patched through to him almost immediately and she explained what they had just seen, giving him the vehicle’s number plate, while Corrado did the same to the Italian police. George took the message, thanked her and hung up.

  A few minutes later, they were back at Corrado’s Range Rover, being welcomed by an overjoyed Labrador. Corrado stowed her bag in the boot alongside the dog and they climbed inside. This time, Jo knew there was something she really had to do. She reached across, pulled him towards her, kissed him warmly on the cheek and buried her head against his chest. She felt his arms encircle her shoulders and she felt safe again.

  ‘Thank you again, Corrado. My knight in shining armour.’

  He squeezed her tightly to him. ‘I’m just glad you’re all right.’ He released his hold on her and lifted her chin with one finger until he was staring down at her. ‘And I’m glad I’m all right, too.’ He breathed out with a rush. ‘No, definitely not a nice experience. Want to tell me what it’s all about?’

  So she did. After all, the cat was well and truly out of the bag now. He listened attentively and didn’t ask any questions. All he said at the end of her explanation was, ‘Let’s hope the police get them.’

  They set off out of the airport and headed up the coast on the road that Corrado told her was the old Via Aurelia from ancient Roman times, now a modern highway. They were about halfway to Porto Ercole when Jo’s phone rang. It was George with an update.

  ‘We’ve got them. You weren’t the only people to witness that little scene. Plain clothes officers rammed the vehicle at the entrance to the motorway and have captured the lot of them. I believe one or two were injured, but nothing life-threatening.’

  ‘And Markus?’

  ‘Markus Finchley, who was travelling on a Belgian passport this time under the name of Jean-Pierre Dupont, is apparently a very frightened man, but unscathed. He’s also a very lucky man, and he knows it. By the sound of it, he was destined for a very unpleasant fate. We aren’t sure why yet, but my Italian colleagues tell me he’s singing like a canary so, hopefully, this might be the breakthrough we needed. Jo, I can’t thank you enough. If you hadn’t contacted me, we would almost certainly have missed him again and he would have disappeared and, along with him, our current investigation.’

  ‘But why were they going to kill him?’

  ‘No doubt we’ll find out in due course. Maybe it was just that the bosses got wind that we were onto him and they wanted to dispose of the evidence. Who knows? Anyway, go off and have a wonderful holiday. You’ve deserved it.’

  Chapter 19

  They got to Porto Ercole at around four-thirty and were on the boat in the marina ten minutes later. As she slipped off her shoes and stepped off the pontoon onto the deck, Jo caught her breath, feeling suddenly apprehensive. As if being threatened with a gun wasn’t enough, she was now about to embark on a trip into the unknown – not so much unknown geographically, but unknown emotionally. Corrado hadn’t said much and she had had time to do a lot of thinking in the car on the way up the coast and the thing that had kept coming back to her, over and over again, was the fact that he had deliberately positioned himself between her and the gunman. At the very least, this was a sign of great courage. At best, it demonstrated a depth of feeling for her that he hadn’t expressed so far. But for now, she didn’t have much time for reflection.

  ‘Jo, I don’t know about you, but I could do with a swim… clear my head.’ He sounded a bit weary and she wondered if this was just as a result of the drive or maybe some form of delayed shock after their scary experience at the airport.

  She glanced round at the crowded waters of the marina.

  ‘I’d love a swim, but do you mean here?’ The water looked clean enough, but there were boats in every direction.

  ‘No, definitely not here. Just a short way off to the west of us there are some lovely little beaches. They’re pretty rocky, but the water’s clear and clean and there’s a bar up on the cliff above one of them. Sound good?’

  ‘That sounds fantastic.’ Jo was pleased to see him looking a bit more animated.

  ‘Right, first mate, I’ll start the engines and then, when I tell you, I want you to cast off. That means undoing the ropes from the rings on the pontoon.’ He took her to the low platform at the stern of the boat and showed her what to do. ‘Don’t leave the ropes behind and don’t leave yourself behind. All right?’

  ‘Aye, aye, captain.’ Jo gave him a mock salute.

  Barely a quarter of an hour later, they were close to one of the little beaches. As he had said, it consisted of little patches of sand interspersed with large boulders. There were three or four people splashing about in the light blue water by the beach, but otherwise it was empty and the scrub-covered hillside behind looked unspoilt and almost uninhabited. As they came to a halt, an electric winch whined as the anchor dropped and Jo watched it slip down to the sea bed. The water was so wonderfully clear that she was able to see a shoal of little silver fish twist and turn away from the chain as it ran out. Seconds later, they were firmly moored and Corrado turned off the engines. She went back into the saloon and met him there, accompanied by Daisy. The dog pretty clearly knew what was coming next and was jumping around in great excitement.

  ‘Daisy doesn’t need to change, but I do.’ Corrado gave Jo a little smile. ‘And I imagine you aren’t planning on going swimming in that lovely dress.’

  ‘Just give me one minute.’

  Jo headed down the stairs to her cabin while he turned away and disappeared down the staircase on the opposite side of the saloon. She dug out the butterfly bikini and changed as quickly as she could, but he was already up there waiting for her by the time she was ready. He was looking unexpectedly serious and she felt sure the events at the airport must be weighing heavily on his mind. She saw him stop and stare for two or three seconds, before remembering his manners and dropping his eyes, but not before Jo felt the colour flood to her cheeks.

  ‘I’m pleased to see the bikini fits, Jo.’

  ‘It fits perfectly and it’s gorgeous. Thanks again.’

  ‘You’re very welcome.’ He was just wearing a pair of blue swimming shorts, and he looked perfect to her, and this new, more reflective Corrado was, if anything, even more appealing. He looked up and caught her eye. ‘Are you going to dive in, jump in or climb in?’

  Jo decided that a plunge into cold water was probably the best thing for her after seeing him in his swimming shorts. She had only been on the boat with him for less than half an hour and she was already perilously close to dumping all her good intentions and leaping on him.

  ‘Let’s see if I can remember how to dive. I used to be in the swimming team at school.’

  She went out onto the sun deck and across to the low guardrail. Stepping over it, she straightened up, took a deep breath, and dived over the side.

  The first impact with the water was cold and wonderfully refreshing and when she surfaced, she checked that her bikini was still in place, wiped the hair out of her eyes, and looked up just in time to see a large black object come flying towards her. Daisy hit the water with about as much grace as a sack of potatoes, sending a tsunami into Jo’s face, but the Labrador was definitely smiling as she doggy-paddled over, nose sticking up out of the water and her tail like a rudder behind, snorting and snuffling happily.

  ‘Ciao, Daisy. Are you a happy dog?’ It was a rhetorical question.

  ‘She’s a very happy dog. And that was a classy dive, Jo – yours, not hers.’

  Corrado appeared a few feet from her. Presumably he had also dived in, but she hadn’t heard him.

  ‘By the way, I’ve hung the ladder on the stern so you can climb out easily
any time you want. But, if you’re up for it, shall we swim in to the shore and go up to the cafe? See it, up there?’

  Jo followed the direction of his pointing finger. Sure enough, a path led up from the beach to a low construction set into the hillside with a shady terrace in front that almost concealed it from view.

  ‘Sounds good to me. I only ever do breaststroke, so you might have to wait for me.’

  ‘We’re in no hurry.’

  She was a good swimmer and as she swam in alongside him, she duck-dived down from time to time and opened her eyes underwater. The seabed was a mixture of sand and rocks, with lots of little fish darting about. Looking up, she distinctly saw Corrado floating above her, barely moving, waiting for her to emerge. The seabed shelved steeply up as they approached the land, and before long she found she could stand in the water. There were lots of rocks on the bottom, but most were worn smooth by the waves. She picked her way out of the water after him and together with the dog they climbed the short distance to the cafe. The path was well-worn and sandy and it wasn’t uncomfortable on her bare feet. As they got there, she had a sudden thought.

  ‘Corrado, I’ve just realised. I’m afraid I haven’t brought any money.’

  ‘I can see that. There isn’t really room in that bikini for anything but you.’ Seeing her starting to blush once more, he hurried on. ‘Luckily these shorts have got a zip pocket and I’ve brought some cash in a waterproof wallet.’

  ‘That’s a relief. I had visions of having to swim back to the boat.’

  ‘We will have to eventually, but not for a while.’ He led her across to an empty table looking out over the beach towards the boat. ‘At least we can keep an eye on Ippona from here.’

  ‘She looks lovely, just floating there. The water’s so clean and clear, it almost looks as though there’s nothing holding her up.’ In fact, it was so very clear, she could even make out the shadow of the boat on the seabed. She returned her attention to Corrado. ‘Thank you so much for inviting me. I just know this is going to be a magical holiday.’