Conor Fitzgerald: Fatal Touch

“I see the knock on the head left you pretty much the same devious bastard as before, Blume. If you write that report, I want you to write a longer version, too. Just in case, God forbid, your version is viewed as not fully credible.”

“I also think the American Embassy might put in a word on our behalf with the Ministry,” said Blume.

“You think so? Well, that would be unaccountably nice of them.”

“I have a favor I can do them. All I shall ask in return is that the Ministry recognizes the skill with which the Questore of Rome has handled a very difficult and complex case. I think what’s-his-name the ugly little Minister from the Northern League would be chuffed to receive a pat on the head and a tickle under the chin from the Americans.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Blume.”

He handed the phone back to Caterina.

“I think it was probably Rospo who told the Questore to use my number to contact you,” said Caterina. “In case you were wondering.”

When they arrived outside his building, she opened her bag, took out a set of keys, and handed them to him.

“These are yours,” she said. “Your apartment has a new door, remember? I picked them up for you.”

“Right. Thanks.” He fingered the three long new keys. “I don’t suppose…”

“I need to get back to Elia,” said Caterina.

“Right.”

“But call me.”

When he reached his apartment, he was shocked, then overcome with emotion, to see it pristine clean. She had picked everything up. The slashed cushions sat in a corner waiting to be stitched back up. The sink gleamed. On the kitchen table sat the three notebooks, looking a little dusty and tired now. He took them into the study, filed them away.

He passed across the hallway into his bedroom. The bed was freshly made, his clothes were folded in a pile on the polished dresser.

The following morning he called the American Embassy and asked to be connected to Kristin Holmquist.

“Alec! Lovely to hear you. I’ll phone you back.”

She kept her word, but leisurely. Three hours passed before she finally rang his cell phone.

“I hear you were in the hospital again.”

“Just a checkup, really. Home now.”

“Great, I was beginning to feel really bad about not visiting.”

“I picked up the anguish in your voice right away,” said Blume.

“Yeah, well, you sound fine to me,” said Kristin. “Were you making a personal call or is this business?”

“Business. I can talk on this line, right?”

“Sure. Not that I would vouch for your phone but shoot. Maybe be a bit oblique if you’re going to supply me with more of that vital intelligence info you’ve been feeding us.”

“Actually, I do have something you might be interested in.” He paused, waiting for her response. “Kristin? Are you still there?”

“Don’t you know the sound of bated breath when you hear it? Give me what you got, Alec. I’m busy.”

“It’s old stuff, not current or all that sensitive any more, but of some diplomatic value. The relationship between the US Embassy and the Christian Democrats back in the day. The hostage negotiator flown in-the guy who writes the books? We spoke about it after a pleasant Mexican chili in my house?”

“Got you,” said Kristin.

“I’m pretty sure the manuscript won’t go into the public domain unless I allow it.”

“It would be nice if you didn’t allow it. Can you do that?”

“Well,” said Blume, “getting rid of it would be one way, giving it to you would be another.”

“I prefer the second option,” said Kristin. “Mainly because I am curious. You’ll really hand it over this time?”

“Yes. The thing is, I have a very complicated police report to prepare, and I am going to find it hard not to refer to Treacy’s memoirs to explain certain actions. That could kick-start an inquiry, get a magistrate interested, and then it gets all messy and public. See the problem?”

“You can’t keep Treacy’s memoirs out of your report?”

“I could write a report with minimal references, but to do that I would need the Questore to be backing me.”

“I know your Questore,” said Kristin. “He’s a good guy.”

“Adorable though he is,” said Blume, “he answers to other people.”

“I see,” said Kristin. “Well, it is possible that at the next scheduled meeting-that’s in about three weeks-one of my colleagues might be able to bring his sterling efforts to the direct attention of the Minister. Would that help, do you think?”

“Almost certainly,” said Blume.

“It would be nice if we could meet,” said Kristin. “Rather than you coming to the embassy or me sending someone over to pick up a copy of the manuscript. Are you planning on keeping a copy, by the way?”

“No,” said Blume.

“How about we meet in the next few days? I’ll call you.”

“Great,” said Blume.

He watched daytime TV incredulously. He had not done so in twenty years. He was scandalized. Nobody seemed to want to have any personal secrets any more. He switched over to a station called K2 and watched cartoons instead. He watched one called The Fairly Odd Parents, and thought it was great.

His landline rang, and he answered to a woman whose voice was very slightly familiar.

“Alec, it’s Filomena,” she said.

Such a horrible name, he had heard it recently…

“Remember? Beppe’s wife. Widow.”

“I’m sorry,” said Blume.

“I am cremating him.”

“He’d have liked that,” said Blume.

“He’d have enjoyed being cremated?”

“As long as he was dead first, obviously.”

“Jesus. I can see why he considered you his friend.”

“I’m sorry,” said Blume. “It’s how we used to talk to each other.”

“Will you be there? It’s tomorrow morning. In Viterbo.”

“Of course I’ll be there,” said Blume.

“Some people think I’m wrong to cremate him,” she said. “It’s not popular.”

“People,” said Blume.

“Yeah. Listen… the thing that got him killed-it was his own fault as usual, wasn’t it?”

“It was the fault of the person who killed him,” said Blume.

“But he put himself in harm’s way, didn’t he?”

She seemed to want to think this, but he did not want to exonerate himself.

“No. I put him in harm’s way.”

“If you think that, then I bet you want to make things right, don’t you?”

“I can’t do that.”

“No, you can’t. You were his best friend. He always said that. He was a violent man, too. It’s what lost him his job.”

“He was a good man.”

She continued as if she had not heard him. “Our son, Fabio, is going the same way. He has the same vengeful mindset as his father. Now I have to pick up the pieces, all over again.”

“If I can help… ” said Blume.

“You can,” she said. “You know who killed Beppe, don’t you?”

“Yes.”

“I want you to leave him alone. I do not want you or anyone else to do him physical harm.”

“But… ”

“You said you would help. Promise me.”

Blume stayed silent.

“Promise me. I know you don’t know me that well, but I knew Beppe and underneath it all… to save his son he would have renounced all vengeance. He wanted Fabio to be better than him. He always said so.”

“OK.”

“And promise no one else under your orders will harm the bastard?”

“That, too.”

“There is one more thing you have to do. Not immediately, but soon. You have to talk to Fabio.”

“I’ll try,” said Blume. “But I don’t have kids, so I’m not going to be much good.”