Page 38 of Murder at Christmas

Getting back down from the top of the boulder turned out to be unexpectedly enjoyable. Oscar showed us the way by throwing himself down the steeply sloping gulley and sliding nose first all the way to the ground. When he reached the bottom, he turned and looked back up at us, tail wagging, and barked a couple of times as if to tell us to do the same. The three of us looked at each other for a moment or two before Anna came to a decision.

‘Well, if there’s one thing I know I can do, it’s slide down snowy slopes, so let’s see if I can do it here. I’m not as brave as Oscar, so I’m going feet first.’ She stretched out on her back at the top of the gulley, for all the world as if she were at the top of a fairground slide, and pushed herself off. Cinzia and I looked on anxiously, but she slid smoothly to the ground, landing in a snowdrift where she was joined by a very happy Labrador. I glanced at Cinzia. There was something I wanted to say to her while the two of us were alone.

‘Can I tell you something about your husband?’ I saw her eyes narrow, but I continued. ‘What he did in taking that money was very wrong, but you need to know why he did it. He did it for you. He was trying to somehow make amends for the fact thathe couldn’t give you the child you’ve always wanted. He did it for love, Cinzia, so maybe you should give him a second chance. He’s going to lose his job and he’ll need your support. Think about it at least.’

She stood there for a few seconds, staring down at her feet, before raising her eyes and reaching out to catch hold of my arm for a second or two. ‘Thank you, Dan. You’re a good man.’

With that, she turned, sat down at the top of the gully, lay back and looked up at me once more. ‘Help me on my way, will you? I promise I won’t be coming up here again.’ There was even a hint of a smile on her face. It looked as though a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Obediently, I gave her a push, and she set off down the slide. I waited until she had safely slid to the ground before taking a last look around, reflecting on what had happened up here so recently.

I could see why ancient man had chosen this spot as a sacred place, halfway between the earth and the sky. Maybe they had come up here to appease their gods, and it wasn’t hard to believe that this remote space, now covered by a serene carpet of fresh snow, could tell tales of brutal sacrifice. For Bartolomeo, it had been his refuge, his escape from the pressures of everyday life but, ultimately, it had claimed his life. Maybe thecoppellehad been crying out for another sacrifice, and his death had been murder, just not by a human hand. I felt a shiver run down my back that had nothing to do with the icy conditions.

Keen to get away from this sinister place, I had no hesitation in following Cinzia down the slide, but I realised halfway down that it would have been a good idea to zip my jacket tightly before setting off. By the time I had reached the bottom, I had snow up my back and coming out at my collar. The first thing I had to do was to pull the jacket off and shake myself. As I did so, I caught Anna’s eye and saw her grinning.

‘You see, Dan, you might be able to ski, but I’m a better snowplough than you’ll ever be.’

As we made our way to the villa, I let Anna walk side by side with Cinzia and I deliberately stayed a few paces behind to let them talk. We got back just in time to see Ingrid’s Ferrari heading off along the track, the rear wheels snaking from side to side when she accelerated. I hoped she would make it safely.

When we got back inside the house, Anna went straight upstairs with Cinzia. I draped my jacket over a radiator and was about to go and change out of my damp trousers when Marina appeared.

‘You found Cinzia, then? Is she all right?’

I had been thinking about this as we walked back. ‘Yes, I think she’s going to be all right now.’ I didn’t say more, and Marina didn’t ask. ‘Any idea where Orlando is?’

‘He’s in his father’s study – well, I suppose it’shisstudy now – and Valentina’s with him.’

I thanked her, walked along the side corridor to the end and tapped on the door. It was opened a couple of seconds later by Valentina, who smiled as she saw me. ‘Hi, Dan, we were just talking about you. Come on in.’ She closed the door behind us and crouched down to pet Oscar. As she did so, there was a movement, and I saw Winston heave himself to his feet and wander over, tail wagging in greeting. Somebody had tied a large, red bow around his neck and had perched a pair of red plastic reindeer antlers on his head. He looked like the spirit of Christmas personified.

‘Dan, everything okay?’ Orlando was sitting behind his father’s desk, and the first thing I spotted was the folder of plans for the Alpine resort open in front of him. ‘Do sit down.’

I thanked him but refused. ‘I’d better not. My trousers are soaking wet, and I wouldn’t want to ruin your chair. I’ve just spent five minutes sitting in the snow talking to Cinzia.’ I didn’tmention her pregnancy. This would be up to her if she felt like it. ‘I’ve been helping her come to terms with the fact that her husband has been stealing from the company.’

Orlando nodded. ‘About that: I took your advice and spoke to him. He was immensely grateful to be given a chance to make amends and he’s already instructed his bank to repay everything he took from us.’ He tapped a piece of paper sitting at the side of his desk. ‘I didn’t need to ask him for his resignation. He had already prepared it.’

I gave a satisfied smile. ‘I think that’s the best outcome for everybody. Of course, this means that now you’re going to need a new Head of Accounts.’

Orlando glanced across at his sister before looking back at me. ‘Valentina had an interesting suggestion. I’m going to sit down with William after lunch and see if he feels prepared to take on the job.’

I caught her eye and gave her a surreptitious wink, smiling as I glimpsed a little flush of embarrassment appear on her face. I returned my attention to her brother. ‘I’m sure he’s the right man for the job.’

Orlando carried on. ‘Valentina and I both want to thank you for everything you’ve done. To be perfectly honest, I think my father had only himself to blame – not only for the way things ended, but for his behaviour generally, but I’m very glad you’ve been here to investigate all the same. Can we take it that you agree with the Carabinieri that it was an accident?’

I had been expecting the question and had prepared what I hoped would be a suitable answer. ‘They’re the experts. I went up on top of the boulder this morning to see for myself, and I ended up sliding down again on my backside. It would have been easy for him to slip and fall.’

If either of them noticed that I hadn’t given a clear-cut answer to the question, they made no comment. Instead,Orlando asked me what plans I had now. I had been thinking about this as well.

‘I think I’ve done all that I can do here, so Anna and I will be leaving this afternoon, if that’s okay with you. We’re driving up the Aosta valley to meet her daughter in Courmayeur.’ I pointed to the open plans on the desk in front of him. ‘Would I be right in thinking that you have the Alpine resort project there? Are you going to go ahead with it?’

Again, I saw him exchange glances with his sister before replying. ‘Maybe. This is the first time we’ve seen the full plans and we both feel it’s altogether too ambitious, too invasive. I’m all in favour of creating the new resort, but it needs to be done tastefully and with minimum environmental impact. I need to get expert advice to see how the project can be reduced to less overwhelming proportions but, yes, if we can do that, I’d like to see it go ahead.’

I sensed his sister’s hand in this very sensible decision, and I queried the other project with her. ‘Are you going to reopen the old mine? If there’s cobalt there, it could be very profitable.’

Valentina shook her head. ‘Not for now. Yes, it could make us a lot of money and it could offer valuable employment prospects here in the valley, but it would also inevitably risk spoiling what is an area of outstanding natural beauty. First things first, I’m going to get some solid new gates made and I’ll see that the entrance to the mine is sealed, so that no more mineral hunters can go prospecting there. If we ever decide to carry out a survey, and it indicates a sizable deposit of cobaltite, we’ll need to talk to the local community before we consider reopening the mine. It’s the least we can do.’ She gave me a little smile. ‘Whatever we may think about our father, he was right about this being too nice a spot to spoil.’

I smiled back. ‘Looks like you’re both going to have your hands full. I’m pleased for you.’

Orlando stood up. ‘You’d better go and change out of your damp clothes. I’ll see you at lunch. Thanks again.’