The Dark Heart of Florence: Number 6 in series (Michele Ferrara)

by Michele Giuttari

  In the two police officers’ eyes, on the other hand, there was nothing but sadness at the disappointment the woman would soon experience.

  San Gimignano

  As soon as he had finished reading Genius’s diary yet again, Ferrara set off with his team. There could only be one destination: the villa of that unknown Englishman.

  It was a beautiful old villa, almost a castle.

  When they rang at the dark wooden front door, the caretaker came out from his lodge, which was to the side of the main house, and let them in without protest.

  But he was not there. Or, rather, he was no longer there.

  The caretaker told them that his lordship, Sir George Holley, had left that very morning at about eight on a private flight from Pisa airport.

  The team got back in their cars, turned round and drove out of the vast courtyard. On the black wrought iron gate was a frieze of three entwined roses which Ferrara was convinced he had seen before, although he could not remember where.

  On the long drive back, Ferrara continued reflecting on what had happened, on the links between the various protagonists in this case, and on the mystery man known as the ‘Great Beast’. He suddenly remembered his telephone conversation with Markus Glock two nights earlier. He had found a note from Fanti on his desk saying that Glock had called, and had called him back immediately from his mobile. That was how he had discovered that Marshal Gori was in Munich.

  He now told Gori about the capture of Daniele De Robertis the previous day and about the incredible discovery that Daniele had been Leonardo Berghoff’s twin brother.

  He waited for some expression of surprise at the other end of the line, instead of which Glock burst into loud laughter.

  He already knew everything.

  The Carabinieri and the Prosecutor’s Department had slipped up massively: monozygotic twins were the only people to have the same genetic profile!

  ‘I’ll come and see you in Florence soon, Michele,’ Glock said cheerfully.

  ‘I look forward to it, you’ll be my guest. I know what you’ll really like: a Florentine steak and the last word in red wine.’

  For the rest of the journey all he could think about was the ‘Great Beast’.

  Was he, Sir George Holley, behind the deaths of Antonio Sergi and Fabio Biondi – and even the ‘suicide’ of Beatrice Filangeri?

  Was he the driving force operating behind the scenes?

  Was he the head of the Black Rose?

  The fact of the matter was, the man knew exactly what he was doing, when to make his moves, and must surely have contacts who were protecting him. For example, someone who had made it possible for him to flee before the police came knocking on his door.

  There were too many doubts filling Ferrara’s head during that car journey for him to think he could let all this go and start a clean page.

  When he closed his eyes he could still see Daniele’s demonic smile and, even more clearly, that frieze on the villa’s black gate. His obsession with Sir George, the ‘Great Beast’, would haunt his dreams until he threw light on these mysteries.

  It was time to get to the source of this long trail of blood.

  It was time to uproot the Black Rose.

  Acknowledgements

  My thanks go to my publishers, both Italian and foreign; to my editors Paola and Gianluca; and to my agents, Luigi and Daniela Bernabò. Daniela recently passed away, leaving a void behind her.

  And most of all, to my wife, Christa, for her enthusiasm and patience, and to my sister, Rosa, for her invaluable advice.