We said thanks as we took the pizzas.
“What did you find?” Mo-bot asked.
I sighed. “Duval was a member of Propaganda Tre. I can’t believe I was played by him.”
“Me neither,” Mo-bot remarked. “His background check was clean. It takes real skill not to leave a trail I can find.”
We were silent for a moment. Sci opened his pizza box, picked up a slice and took a bite.
“We’re only human,” he remarked. “Eat. Everything will seem better then.”
I nodded and started on mine. He was right, I felt better after the first mouthful.
“There’s no way Carver is part of this, is there?” Mo-bot asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t see it, but if you’d asked me if Duval was clean, I’d have given you the same answer up until earlier today.”
“You can’t feel bad for trusting him,” Justine said. “I’m trained to spot liars, and he got the better of me too.”
“These groups are designed to be invisible,” Sci added.
“Why did they kill him?” Justine asked.
I shrugged. “Maybe they knew we were getting close? Or maybe he’d betrayed them somehow? I can’t imagine being in a group like that, engaged in such evil, unable to really trust anyone because everyone around you is crooked.”
“I’ve been looking at what Rome police uncovered during the prosecutor’s investigation of Milan Verde,” Mo-bot said between mouthfuls. “Like us, they believe the Dark Fates are the street arm of Propaganda Tre. Thugs and enforcers used for dirty work.”
“But they believed they’d smashed both groups,” Sci remarked.
“So did I,” I replied. “But they wouldn’t be able to smash parts of the organization that stayed hidden. Particularly those outside Italy.”
“Do you think Duval joined recently?” Justine asked. “Or was he a member when he was in government?”
“It’s a good question,” I replied. “And I think there’s only one way we’ll find out the answer.”
Chapter 53
I’d parked the Ford Kuga on a quiet road that curved around the hillside. Justine, Mo-bot, Sci and I stood next to it in a turnout overlooking the city, now almost at peace. It was a little after 3 a.m. and only the hardcore parties were still going on in the distance, but even they had a dwindling vibe about them.
We stood beside a concrete barrier. Immediately below it was a high rockface that loomed over a small estate of six villas set in well-maintained gardens. The estate was demarcated by a high perimeter wall and a gatehouse by the main road to the south, where two security guards kept constant watch on comings and goings.
Philippe Duval’s villa was directly below us, the property’s garden ending at the rough, high rock wall that led up to the turnout barrier. The house itself was a modern Mediterranean-style home with a lot of stone and glass. It couldn’t have been more than five years old.
“Just coming up to the vent,” Sci said, and my attention was drawn to the remote control slung at his chest. A night-vision image of the side of Duval’s house filled the screen as Sci piloted the tiny drone toward one of the air-conditioning units that serviced the property.
Moments later the drone was inside, flying through the vent, along a duct and through a grille to enter the interior of the house.
The place was spacious and tastefully decorated, with stripped wood floors, large pieces of abstract art, lush houseplants and striking sculptures. It seemed to be deserted.
“Check the bedrooms,” I suggested, and Sci piloted the tiny aircraft up the stairs and into each of the rooms.
“Guard is doing another foot patrol,” Justine said, gesturing toward the gatehouse.
This was the second patrol since we’d arrived.
Mo-bot checked her watch. “Looks like they’re every thirty minutes.”
“There’s no one home,” Sci remarked, pointing at the screen, which showed an empty bed in the last bedroom.
“His wife must have taken the kids to family,” Justine suggested.
I nodded. “Makes sense. Must be a terrible time for them.”
“Looks like we’re good to go,” Sci confirmed.
“Then I want us ready to move the moment the guard finishes his patrol,” I replied.
Chapter 54
Once the guard had returned to the gatehouse, a line attached to the tow-loop of the Ford and a simple waist- and thigh-belay was all we needed to descend the rockface into Duval’s garden. Mo-bot was the one who found rappelling the hardest, but even she managed it with only minor complaint.
Soon, Sci was at the back door, working the locks with his pick. Moments later, we were inside a modern kitchen that contained a large family breakfast table.
Mo-bot hurried toward an alarm panel that had started beeping the moment we entered. She connected a handheld code-cracker to one of the terminal posts and forced the system to reveal its secrets. She input the code displayed on her device, and the alarm system fell silent.
We were in.
“We’ll check his office,” Mo-bot said, nodding to Sci.
“We’ll search the rest of the place,” I replied, and we split into two pairs.
Mo-bot and Sci went upstairs to Duval’s home office, where the drone had revealed a computer and filing cabinets, and Justine and I began searching downstairs. We started with the kitchen cabinets.
“You think his wife knew?” Justine asked, as we moved quickly and methodically through the room.
“About him being part of Propaganda Tre?” I asked.
Justine nodded.
“I doubt it,” I replied. “It would have put her in danger.”
“Unless she was also a member,” Justine noted. “Women can be in secret societies, you know?”
“Can they?” I asked. “I’m not sure they can. Most of these corrupt organizations are just for men. Maybe we’re more easily led?”
“Maybe,” Justine scoffed. “Men-children playing at being spies and gangsters, trying to dominate the world rather than make it better.”
“Sounds about right,” I conceded.
“Imagine living a lie like this though,” she continued. “A normal family home, but beneath the veneer of respectability you’re part of a criminal conspiracy. The deception must eventually take its toll.”
I nodded. “I never want to find out what that’s like.”
“You couldn’t keep something like this from me.” She smiled. “You’re too honest. I can read your thoughts on your face.”
“I can lie when I need to,” I replied.
“It’s really not something to boast about,” she said. “Come on. There’s nothing in here. Let’s check the rest of the house.”
We moved into the hallway. A few streetlamps dotted the estate and their light fell through the windows at the front of the property, giving us just enough to see by.
I opened the door to the understairs closet and immediately sensed something was off. The dimensions didn’t feel right. It didn’t seem as long or deep as it should have been given the size of the staircase, and the space was devoid of any sign of family life. There were no coats or shoes or shopping bags, just bare white plasterboard.
I felt around the space and found a switch concealed above the inner door frame. I pressed it and a panel slid open in the wall in front of me, revealing an alphanumeric keypad.
“Mo!” I yelled.
Justine peered over my shoulder to see what I’d discovered.
“Mo, get down here,” I shouted past her. “I’ve found something.”
Chapter 55
Sci, Justine and I waited in the hallway while Mo-bot worked on the keypad under the stairs.