The scarlet Lady
Page 13
Rome, Cesare’s house, 10.10 p. m.
Cesare poured another glass of wine for his guests. He was happy he had helped them. He was touched when the two new fugitives embraced Kornblum in his house.
Letizia was so happy to see the Little again that she ran to hug him. She hadn’t realized how bad his condition was and when she recognized it she could hardly hold back the tears.
The three art historians were so happy about being back together again that they couldn’t stop talking and asking each other questions. Cesare and Tettamanzi had few chances to say a word. They stopped only when Cesare put a big portion of pasta all’amatriciana on the table.
«I found a way to make you shut up, eh?» Cesare said amused and passing them the dishes.
«If I was not ashamed I’d ask you for some more, Mr. Cesare» said Alessandro who had eaten at an impressive speed.
«When did you start to feel ashamed?» commented Kornblum laughing.
«Two minutes ago.»
«Pay attention to this one – said the Little to Cesare – or you won’t have anything else to eat in the kitchen!»
The tension and fear of the last days were finally diminishing. They were together again, with trusted friends. After dinner they felt ready to speak about their work in palazzo Biraghi.
Alessandro and Letizia, without mentioning directly the secret papers but reporting their contents, told Kornblum what they thought they had discovered. Cesare and Tettamanzi were not very interested in the discussion so they took two chairs and placed them in front of the entrance to smoke, chat and more effectively monitor the street.
«I found some papers with the skeleton – whispered Letizia – I took them without telling anyone. I didn’t want someone to steal the results of my work again. I acted instinctively but now, even though I did it for personal reasons, I know I was right.»
«Papers?» asked Kornblum.
«Yes. Some papers written by the entombed woman.»
«It’s a kind of map and a memoir. It recounts some of the events of her life but it hides clues to finding a treasure» explained Alessandro.
«We think it speaks about the Olgiati’s treasure – Letizia began – A treasure in which the government is very interested. They spied on us during the work and they put us under supervision. They wanted every note we had and even sent Blackshirts to monitor us. We heard them speaking about the Olgiati and we believe they are convinced that in Poggio Catino’s Ravine or in some nearby place a treasure is hidden and that the skeleton could provide clues to finding it. Even without knowing about the secret papers, they are quite right.»
Kornblum stayed silent for some minutes. Then he spoke quickly as if he was convinced he didn’t have a lot of time left.
«I am not convinced at all. Why should the skeleton be somehow connected with the Olgiati’s treasure? I think that all the stress of the last days has made you lose your powers of reasoning.»
«What do you mean?» asked Alessandro.
«I mean that if I hadn’t known you as good researchers, I’d think you are ignorant or that you have gone mad.»
«Aren’t you exaggerating now?»
«No, I am not. You let them convince you and you believed at that silly Olgiati story.»
«But…»
«No but. Do you really believe that if it is about a treasure it is the Olgiati’s?»
«Well… yes. A priest of Salisano writes about a treasure in a commentary on some of Farfa’s archive documents. We eavesdropped on Morelli and the others speaking about it. When they attacked me at the Ravine, they wanted to know about the treasure» said Letizia.
«Then maybe they are really convinced about it. Very good. It is convenient for us. But I still think you foolishly believed them.»
«What is the real truth?» asked Alessandro.
«The real truth is that the dates are wrong. The skeleton is dated from the beginning of the XVI century, right?»
«Right.»
«And the Olgiati?»
«Well, some members of the Olgiati family are traceable in the Como area till the Middle age – answered Letizia – Gerolamo Olgiati killed the duke of Milan in 1476.»
«True. But they became Lords of Poggio Catino only at the beginning of XVII century. Can you please tell me how our poor entombed woman could know the whereabouts of a family treasure that arrived nearly one hundred years after her death?» asked Kornblum.
Alessandro and Letizia looked at each other. It was the mistake of a beginner.
«I knew that without his proverbial German fussiness we couldn’t resolve this mystery!» exclaimed Alessandro.
Kornblum smiled. They were a team again.
«What else is written in those papers?» he asked.
«The entombed woman our scarlet Lady, as we called her, seems to be the daughter of pope Alexander VI and a Jewish woman.»
«Alexander VI the Borgia?»
«Yes.»
«The pope and a Jewish woman?»
«Yes. A Jewish courtesan of the Abrabanel family.»
«And also our scarlet Lady was a courtesan. Falling in love was the mistake that led her to her terrible death» added Letizia.
«And then there is the medallion.»
She took out the necklace hidden under her blouse.
«Here it is. It belonged to her mother.»
Kornblum looked for a long moment at the medallion.
«It is a very strange shape for a Renaissance jewel. And these letters H, Z, 09… U, N, G… And here in the middle? A stone is missing.»
«We found it like that. We think that the missing stone is part of the solution to the puzzle – explained Alessandro – if you observe it carefully, there seems to be some sort of mechanism in the centre that, thanks to the stone, might move or open somehow. Maybe it hides a little piece of a parchment or an engraving. I don’t know what it is but I’m sure it will help us.»
Kornblum studied the medallion turning it in between his fingers.
«You said it belonged to the scarlet Lady’s mother, right?»
«So it is written» answered Letizia.
«A Jewish courtesan… a Spanish Portuguese…»
«That we don’t know» said Letizia looking puzzled.
«Of course we know! The Ababanel family followed the more well-known Rabbi Isaac when he had to flee from Portugal to Spain finding a refuge in Castilla and serving the Catholic Kings. Later, after the banishment of Jews, he left Spain going first to Naples where he served at the court of Ferdinando II. As you know in Rome at the Borgia’s court there were a lot of Spanish people and it is plausible to think that there could have been relatives of Isaac Abrabanel like, probably, the mother of the scarlet Lady.»
The other two looked at each other without saying anything. They both knew that they would have never understood it on their own.
«So, a Jewish courtesan and a triangular medallion…» went on the Little thinking loud. His friends knew that when he was speaking with that contemplative tone, they shouldn’t disturb him.
«If we find the stone probably the medallion would open, turning on the central pivot…» he said putting the point of a pencil where the stone was missing.
«…revealing the rest of the map» concluded Alessandro for him.
«Oh my God! – exclaimed Kornblum without lifting the eyes from the jewel – to hell with the Olgiati! We are probably in front the map of the most legendary treasure ever hidden!»
«What are you talking about?» asked Letizia and Alessandro together.
«I am speaking about the Seal treasure!
«The Seal?»
«Yes. The famous Seal. It is a very old Jewish legend that talks about an immense treasure hidden by Jews before one of their many exoduses. The point is that nobody ever started to look for it because it has always been unclear which place and time the legend refers to. It could be about the Polish Ashkenazi, for example, the descendants of the Rhine medieval Jewish communities. Or about the Sephardic J
ews expelled from Spain at the end of XV century, or maybe the Jews thrown out of England in 1290, or those banished from France in 1306 and 1394. It could also be a treasure hidden by one of the many Jewish communities persecuted during the big Black death pestilence of 1348, when they were accused of spreading the pest poisoning wells and remaining immune. Actually, living in the ghettoes, because of their isolation and the particular hygienic and dietary rules they followed, they often avoided the plague spreading into their communities as well.»
«And this made them a perfect scapegoat» commented Alessandro.
«If this is really the key to the Seal’s treasure we will finally discover what it is about!»
«Unless it is only a legend» said Alessando.
«Why do you think it is this legendary treasure we are talking about?» asked Letizia.
«Because this medallion is its Seal.»
«Sorry, I still don’t understand.»
«If, as it seems, the medallion has an internal mechanism that rotates on a central pivot – said the Little showing her the movement the jewel could do – then, it is quite clear that it would reveal two equilateral triangles fitting and crossed…»
«The star of David» she exclaimed.
«Exactly.»
«Also called the Solomon’s Seal» concluded Alessandro.
Kornblum approached Letizia.
«Here. I think this is the safest place. If nobody knows it has been found with the skeleton, nobody will ask questions about it» he said attaching the necklace back around Letizia’s neck.
«We absolutely have to find the ruby» said Alessandro.
«Which ruby?» asked the Little.
«The one that goes in the centre of the medallion.»
«How can you be so sure it is a ruby?»
«Because it is what the scarlet Lady suggests in her papers. With the papers there was also this sonnet – said Alessandro passing his notebook to Kornblum already opened on the right page – I did a transcription of it.»
«…If I were of the Abrabanel, as in fact I am, / The red Fire I’d deprive from his eyes / And leave the living marble, to someone else.»
Kornblum was finishing reading the sonnet out loud when the captain arrived.
«Still busy with the riddle? You haven’t solved it yet, have you?» said de’ Risis entering followed by Cesare, Mario Tettamanzi and the blast of a cold wind.
Giulio spoke to all of them but he only looked at Letizia.
«No, not yet captain – answered Alessandro – but now that our friend Kornblum is with us…»
«Don’t exaggerate as usual – interrupted the Little – or I’ll make a bad impression.»
«I am happy to see you feeling better – said the captain to Kornblum – I was sure that Cesare’s good kitchen was going to put you back on your feet and seeing your friends gave you back something of a good mood at least. Unfortunately we don’t have a lot of time. Half of Rome is looking for you.»
A leaden grey fog descended in the room together with a painful silence.
«Come on Giulio, we are not in such a hurry, the train leaves in three hours» said Cesare trying to change the mood.
The captain nodded and took his coat off.
«You are right; pour me a glass of wine, please. Riding made me thirsty.»
To mislead the Blackshirts in case they were following him, the captain needed more than half an hour to get to Cesare’s house and, even if the evening was quite fresh, he looked flushed.
Letizia thought the light colour on his cheeks made him look even more handsome and she was convinced she could have followed him to the end of the world.
«I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to make you sad. All the years in the Royal army made my discipline better to the detriment of sensitivity»
«If I were fire, the iron I would liquefy – murmured the Little reading from Alessandro’s notebook – If I were stone, from the marble I’d take it out…»
«Did they hire you as well to solve it? – the captain asked Kornblum kindly – I believe the next two verses refer to Moses.»
«I believe it too» he answered without lifting his eyes from the sonnet.
«If I were Pope, I’d been my father refers to Alexander VI Borgia because according to the secret papers…» Letizia started explaining.
Alessandro looked at her shocked. Cesare and Tettamanzi were not going to give a lot of importance to what she had just said, but the captain…! She had served him on a silver dish the information for which she was in danger. He couldn’t believe it. He looked at her eyes again and he understood why that wasn’t just a stupid mistake.
«Which secret papers?» asked the captain surprised.
It was only when Letizia heard the question that she understood that she had said too much. She would have bitten her tongue but still she was not really sorry to share the information with him as well. It was incredible but she believed in him blindly and she simply wanted to lose herself in his arms. She knew he would protect her. At his life’s cost.
However she looked at Alessandro hoping he would help with one of his jokes but it was too late: she had to tell him the truth.
«Well, the truth is that in the room where we found the skeleton, there were more papers than what I allowed everyone to believe. I was the first one to get in and I took them because I didn’t want anybody else to steal my work. It has already happened to me in the past. I know, I was selfish and impulsive but considering what happened next maybe…»
«Maybe you did it right – Alessandro interrupted – even if now we don’t have only a riddle to solve and a treasure to find but we are also dangerous fugitives sought by all the fascists of the region!»
«True. So we are now looking for the Olgiati treasure, right?» said the captain without commenting on the news of the secret papers.
«Actually no – answered Kornblum – The Olgiati were Lords of Poggio Catino at the beginning of ‘600 and the skeleton is nearly a hundred years older».
The captain looked puzzled.
«We let Morelli and the others influence us. But it seems to be a Jewish treasure that we are looking for» explained Letizia.
Letizia was sure that she could totally trust de’ Risis. It was not only because of her feelings for him but also because by helping them the captain, Cesare and Tettamanzi exposed themselves to serious risk. So she decided to tell them all about the most important information she had got from the secret papers.
The captain looked both amused and pleased by all that she was telling him and he had the impression that the night he had helped them to escape from Poggio Catino he had probably come to the wrong conclusion. From the way she was looking at him it was clear that she wasn’t Alessandro’s lover.
«A Jewish treasure… it wasn’t a good moment for the Jews when the treasure was hidden and it is not nowadays. I guess we have to be even more careful with the search now» commented the captain.
«We have to?» asked Alessandro surprised.
«Yes, we. You don’t believe that after involving me in all this I’ll let you have all the fun, do you?»
Letizia smiled.
«Good. Since we are all in the same boat now, let us row together – said the Little – in a few hours I have to leave and I don’t know when we’ll meet again».
«But…» Letizia tried to say.
«No buts. I don’t have a lot of time and I want to use our last hours together to find some other clue to help you. It is quite probable it is the Seal’s treasure and so we have to find the stone, the ruby that fits on the medallion. This is the key.»
«Sorry… which medallion?»
«Uh, I forgot to mention it. In the skeleton’s room Alessandro found a medallion…»
«And since I found it when the situation was already quite complicated, and Musone and Boriello were already there… well, I decided not to tell everybody» continued Alessandro.
The captain looked first at Letizia and then at Alessandro. They both main
tained a guilty silence. It was a few minutes before his face broke into a beautiful smile.
«Who would have ever imagined that two art historians could hide so many secrets? But now please tell me, is that anything else you forgot to mention?»
«No. Nothing else» answered Letizia very embarrassed.
«Good. Can I also see this medallion then?»
Letizia approached the captain and showed him the jewel on her neck. He took it gently between his fingers and examined it pretending to do it with great attention. But the smell of Letizia, and the warmth of her body sent his mind in a totally different direction.
«So you think that the missing stone is a ruby» he said finally.
«Exactly» answered Letizia.
The nearness of the captain’s breathing made her feel dizzy.
«The secret papers and the sonnet seem to suggest it clearly» she added.
«We think that the sonnet is the key to the place where the stone is hidden. In fourteen verses she quotes the red Fire twice and she writes it with a capital letter» continued Alessandro understanding her embarrassment.
«I’m not a specialist but I love riddles. May I see this sonnet as well?» asked Cesare.
«Of course. And I think it will be quite useful to read it all together» said Letizia taking Alessandro’s notebook.
If I were fire, the iron I would liquefy,
If I were stone, from the marble I’d take it out;
If I were water, surely I would open up,
If I were God, I’d give him the Torrah.
If I were Pope, I’d been my father
Who the red Fire from my mother stole;
If I were emperor, you know what I’d do?
I’d give a truce to my Jewish ancestors.
If I were death, I’d go to my enemy,
If I were life, about him I’d laugh