by Tim Heald
Truth to tell, Bognor and Dibdini were well past their sell-by date and hopelessly optimistic. The death of Silverburger could probably only have been solved by search warrant or by similar crude and unfair methods. Motive, according to Bognor, was crucial, and yet Father Carlo had no motive. Even Bognor, who liked murderers and even if pushed, approved their crime, hesitated before conceding that lack of conventional motive was part of his “charm” and yet, and yet …
Bognor went on out loud, “At dawn, armed and uniformed police searched the unoccupied apartment of Father Carlo Quattrovani of the Frari in Venice. They found and removed one crossbow, one half empty box of ammunition, and one Harlequin’s outfit, complete with mask.” Bognor stared ahead without expression. “Case rests,” he said eventually.
It was a huge case from a publicity point of view, and Carlo’s alleged suicide in solitary while awaiting trial was the source of speculation, which would have been—or seemed—endless when newspapers were newspapers and before their attention span dwindled. It was evidence in Britain of Italian fecklessness and perfidy and the Catholic Church’s corruption. The general hypocrisy, to which Bognor did not subscribe, was “couldn’t happen here, guv.”
The trouble—one of many—was that in this worst of all possible worlds it might. It was obviously time for grass and retirement. Monica understood. Maybe Contractor. Perhaps Michael. Father Carlo himself. And Bognor?
Only too well, alas.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2014 by Tim Heald
Cover design by Neil Alexander Heacox
978-1-4804-6826-9
Published in 2014 by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
345 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10014
www.mysteriouspress.com
www.openroadmedia.com
THE SIMON BOGNOR MYSTERIES
FROM MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
FROM OPEN ROAD MEDIA
Available wherever ebooks are sold
Otto Penzler, owner of the Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan, founded the Mysterious Press in 1975. Penzler quickly became known for his outstanding selection of mystery, crime, and suspense books, both from his imprint and in his store. The imprint was devoted to printing the best books in these genres, using fine paper and top dust-jacket artists, as well as offering many limited, signed editions.
Now the Mysterious Press has gone digital, publishing ebooks through MysteriousPress.com.
MysteriousPress.com offers readers essential noir and suspense fiction, hard-boiled crime novels, and the latest thrillers from both debut authors and mystery masters. Discover classics and new voices, all from one legendary source.
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
FOLLOW US:
@emysteries and Facebook.com/MysteriousPressCom
MysteriousPress.com is one of a select group of publishing partners of Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
Open Road Integrated Media is a digital publisher and multimedia content company. Open Road creates connections between authors and their audiences by marketing its ebooks through a new proprietary online platform, which uses premium video content and social media.
Videos, Archival Documents, and New Releases
Sign up for the Open Road Media newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign up now at
www.openroadmedia.com/newsletters
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.OPENROADMEDIA.COM
FOLLOW US:
@openroadmedia and
Facebook.com/OpenRoadMedia