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She didn't know if she believed him, but it didn't matter."You must have been shocked and saddened by her death."
"I was furious and angry with myself for not getting more information and not making sure she was protected.After I spoke to her in the garden, I left the party.I suspected Catherine's brother, Matthew, might be involved, even though she hadn't confirmed that.But she had told me in previous conversations that her brother was prone to violence, and she tried not to have anything to do with him.That was easy when he was living in Paris, but after his mother died, he moved to Rome.I wanted to see if I could get evidence on Matthew.Since he was at the party, I went to search his home.I didn't hear about what happened until much later."
"What did you find at his house?"
"Nothing in the house, but as I investigated further, I found phone calls between Matthew and Inspector Gangi.That's why I left you and Nick a message yesterday.I wanted you to come in so that I could tell you not to trust the inspector, even though he was a friend of the family."
"We were in Firenze."
"I understand that now.Nick filled me in on what happened in the school.I had no idea that Catherine and Matthew were descendants of the Falconeri family.That was the piece I didn't have.I thought Matthew had just talked her into smuggling out the art, but she never told me why."
"Matthew was obsessed with recreatingLa Mano Nera, getting back what he thought was his."She paused."Do you think Dario Micheli was involved?He worked with Matthew."
"I don't believe he was, but we will continue working to make sure that assumption is correct.I did speak to Signor Micheli, and he told me that Matthew and the manager of the gallery in Firenze had been handling that robbery, so I'm sure that was orchestrated by Matthew."
"Why didn't Matthew just take David Leoni's painting?"she asked."Why didn't Catherine take the three paintings from the museum?Why hire a crew to break in?"
"Because the owners of the paintings would have demanded to know where they went.Catherine and Matthew had to cover the disappearance with a robbery.But Catherine was disturbed that her security guard was almost killed.That's when she decided to talk to me, to see if I could help her.I don't yet know how or when Inspector Gangi got involved with Matthew Pierre."
"Matthew told me that Stefano's father worked for the Falconeri's when they were running La Mano Nera, so Matthew approached him about continuing the tradition," she said."But I didn't get any more information than that."
Captain Lavezzo nodded."We'll find out the details of the inspector's involvement after he comes out of surgery."
"I think my grandfather was on to Stefano," Nick said heavily."Juliette must have talked to my grandfather when she decided to unburden all of her sins.That's why he had her ID.That's why he went to the school.And I'm guessing he talked to Stefano about Juliette as well."He drew in a breath and let it out."I'm fairly certain Stefano was responsible for my grandfather's car accident."He looked to the commissario."What do you think about that?"
The older man gave him a regretful nod."I believe that may have been what happened.We are still trying to piece everything together, but one of my officers just told me that Stefano had made sure to take over that investigation.At the time, no one questioned it because Stefano was distraught.Marcus had been one of his mentors."He paused."Your grandfather's death was a tragedy.I respected Marcus greatly.I wish I could change what happened."
"So do I," Nick said.
"What will happen to Stefano?"her mother asked.
She shot her mother a quick look at her question, wondering what answer she was hoping to get.
"He will go to prison for the rest of his life," Lavezzo said.
"You can be assured of that," the commissario added."He will face many charges.It may take time to get enough proof to convict him of Marcus's death, but I will do everything I can to make that happen."
"Good," Nick said.
"Good," her mother echoed, a steel glint in her eyes.
"So what now?"she asked."What happens to the paintings?Did you find the fifth one?"
"We did not," Captain Lavezzo replied, surprising her with his words."But we found an empty spot on the wall where we thought it should be.After bringing in the owners of the school, who were completely shocked by this, they informed me that there had been a painting hanging in that space for years.It was a copy of a painting by Caravaggio."
"But it wasn't a copy; it was probably the real thing."
"I believe so.I've examined records for all art stolen during that time period and that painting was taken in a robbery attributed toLa Mano Nera."
"Someone got to that one first," she murmured."I wonder how."
"I don't know, but we'll continue to investigate," Lavezzo said."That's enough for tonight.The three of you are free to go.Thank you for helping us resolve this case."
"Your vehicles are downstairs in the lot."The commissario added, putting their keys on the table.Then both men got up and left the room.
"It's over," she said."It's almost hard to believe."
"You can believe it," Nick said."Let's get out of here."
