After a moment, Lorenzo’s subdued voice comes from the back. “She says your obsession is putting us all at risk.”
I cannot argue with that. If not for me, Lorenzo’s bike would never have been tracked, and we would not have faced thissituation. They’re both already being hunted. How fair is it to involve them in my own dilemma? I am convinced that Albert wanted me to know about my past, and I need answers. But at what cost? The minibus crash and the quest to uncover my past are my burdens to carry, and mine alone.
“Go ahead and call Dr Romano,” I say.
Mrs Bellacci prods the car’s display panel and calls a number. Romano, as always, answers after only a few rings. Romano greets Mrs Bellacci in Italian, then speaks rapidly and tersely with sentences I cannot follow. Maybe that’s his intention.
“You are together?” he says eventually.
“We are,” I reply. “And it may be best if I’m the one to brief you. Lorenzo and Mrs Bellacci do not have all the information. I can fill the gaps. Then I have a few questions for you.”
I tell them about our trip to the lodge and the morning events, going into detail about Ivan, who, I am convinced, also spent time at the Hartfield Institute. When I finish, Romano says something in Italian, and Mrs Bellacci replies before reaching across to pull her mobile phone from the glove compartment.
“My apologies for not contacting you earlier,” says Romano. “Some things have only just come to light. I agree that they must have tracked you using the bike. But Teresa has a point. I understand how you might feel an affinity for this man, Aksel, but remember what Dr Callico told you. Trust nobody. And I would not rely on the word of someone whose loyalties are plain. There is a bug-detecting app and an attachment on Teresa’s phone. To be on the safe side, I suggest you and Lorenzo scan yourselves and your baggage. I also think it’s time you paid this man, Maurice Leblanc, a visit.”
Mrs Bellacci demonstrates by scanning herself from head to foot, then passes the device to Lorenzo, who checks our bags and himself.
“That’s what Lorenzo suggested. I planned to head to Carlisle as soon as we had your all-clear. But isn’t there an unofficial manhunt for me after the incident with Sylvie Leblanc? Lorenzo has seen nothing on the news or on police reports.”
“That was one of the reasons for my absence. They’d like to speak to you, but you are not a suspect. I am sure you will not be surprised to learn that the camera in the room had been disabled before the assassin entered. Only the duty nurse, the aggressor and Sylvie Leblanc saw you that evening. Sylvie’s speaking better now. She told them how she woke to find the night nurse passed out on her bed and a man standing over her with a hypodermic syringe. She also explained how you saved her life, that you caught the attacker by surprise and fought him off before going for help while she sounded the alarm. By then, of course, the fire alarms had been activated, and everything became chaotic. Naturally, they dug into your background and found you have military experience. Most importantly, Leblanc’s attacker is in police custody, but, as expected, is saying nothing.”
Having finished, Lorenzo passes the phone to me, and I begin scanning my clothes, watching the display for any anomaly. Is there anything a person cannot do with a mobile phone these days?
“And the bodies of the men who followed me?” I ask as I finish and hand the device back to Mrs Bellacci. “The ones Lorenzo took down?”
“Interesting, too. After our call, I sent an operative to check, but the whole area had been cleaned. Professionally. No blood and not even signs of gunfire, except for a tell-tale dent on a lamp post. You said that one of the men got away.”
“That’s right.”
“Then I can only assume they cleaned up their own mess.”
“Who was behind this attack?” asks Bellacci. “Puchinsky?”
“We heard about his death on the news,” I say before he can reply. “Did you have anything to do with that?”
Romano exhales a breath.
“Yes, Teresa, we believe Puchinsky arranged the killers. And no, Aksel, I did not. Had I not known about your current whereabouts, I might have asked you the same question.”
“Who, then?”
“The authorities believe he took his own life, that he folded under the pressure of public scrutiny. The man had become desperate and must have felt backed into a corner.”
“What about this friend he was staying with?” asks Mrs Bellacci.
“His most trusted confidante. They’d been having a small dinner party for close friends. According to the official report, Puchinsky went out onto the balcony alone to take a call and never returned. In the transcript I got hold of, they wrote that there is only one way onto the balcony, through the door in the living room. They found a half-smoked cigarette stubbed out on the wall and Puchinsky’s shoes, neatly arranged by the balcony balustrade.”
“Then he did jump,” says Lorenzo.
“That is my belief,” says Romano.
Everyone takes a few moments to process this information. Has justice been served? Perhaps not. Albert is still gone. But at least Puchinsky can no longer poison hundreds of thousands with his super vaccine.
“Did Puchinsky pay Spataro to have me killed?”
“Puchinsky would never use someone like Spataro.”
“Then who?”