‘Rocca’s not a problem,’ Paluzzi said from his chair by the window. ‘He couldn’t find his way out of a floodlit alley without asking for directions. You have to understand that the entire Rome cell of the Red Brigades was geared around Zocchi. He was the kingpin. The decision-maker, if you like. Ubrino and Rocca are good lieutenants in that they were able to see that Zocchi’s orders were carried out successfully. But neither of them is capable of running a cell, least of all the one here in Rome. It’s by far the most complex of all the Red Brigades’ cells. That’s why there are so many rumours around at the moment. Rocca doesn’t have the ability or the experience to deal with the situation. Zocchi, on the other hand, would have quashed them within hours.’
‘Paluzzi’s right,’ Calvieri said grudgingly, then sat down in the chair on the other side of the window. ‘Zocchi ran Rome as a one-man show. The cell is in chaos now, as Sabrina saw for herself tonight. It’s going to take a lot of hard work to pull it round again.’
‘At least something good has come out of all this,’ Graham said, eyeing Calvieri coldly.
‘Sabrina tells me you knew Nikki Karos,’ Kolchinsky said, breaking the lingering silence.
Calvieri nodded.
‘I’ve had dealings with him in the past. Strictly on a business level. His sort are anathema to me. Capitalists, driven by greed and power. The very basis of corruption in our so-called “free society”.’
‘Spare us the lecture, Calvieri,’ Graham snapped. ‘What about the Francia brothers? Do you know them as well? Strictly on a business level, of course.’
Calvieri smiled faintly at Graham’s irony. ‘I know of them. But I’ve never met them, if that’s what you mean.’
The telephone rang.
Sabrina answered it, then put her hand over the mouthpiece. ‘Tony, it’s for you.’
Calvieri took the receiver from her. He was pale with shock when he replaced it a minute later.
‘What’s wrong?’ Kolchinsky asked.
‘Signore Pisani’s dead,’ Calvieri replied softly. ‘He was shot.’
‘What happened?’ Sabrina asked.
‘The details are still sketchy at the moment. All I know is that a masked gunman got into Signore Pisani’s house and shot him, Rocca and four other Brigatisti. The only clue we have is that the gunman’s accomplice was black.’ Calvieri shook his head in disbelief. ‘I only spoke to Signore Pisani a couple of hours ago. You’ll have to excuse me. I must get over there straight away to initiate our own investigation.’ He noticed the uncertainty in Kolchinsky’s eyes. ‘I’ll still be working with you. That hasn’t changed. It’s what Signore Pisani would have wanted. I’ll arrange for one of the other brigade chiefs to take charge but I need to be there until he arrives.’
‘Any idea when you’ll be back?’ Kolchinsky asked.
‘Hopefully by the morning.’ Calvieri took a notebook from his pocket, wrote down Pisani’s telephone number, and handed the sheet of paper to Kolchinsky.‘I’ll be there if you need me.’
Kolchinsky waited until Calvieri had closed the door behind him, then slumped into the vacant chair beside the window.
‘Black accomplice. No prizes for guessing who that was.’
‘But why Pisani?’ Paluzzi said with a frown. ‘He knew nothing about the break-in until it was broadcast on the radio the next day.’
‘Young wouldn’t have known that,’ Sabrina replied. ‘To him Pisani was a legitimate target.’
‘If that’s the case then he could be intent on wiping out the entire committee,’ Paluzzi said. ‘That’s the last thing we need.’
‘I don’t understand your concern,’ Graham said to Paluzzi. ‘Young would be doing you a favour by wiping out this committee, as you call it. It would throw the Red Brigades into total chaos.’
‘God forbid. I know these committee members inside out. Bring in a load of new faces and all that painstaking work’s gone out of the window. I’d have to start the whole process again from scratch. We’d also lose our mole. And there’d be no way we could replace him. Not at that level.’
Graham stood up. He crossed to the door then swung round to face Paluzzi, his eyes blazing.
‘It’s the same old story, isn’t it? Better the devil you know! Instead of trying to smash the backbone of this committee you take the easy way out and leave them where they are because that way you can keep tabs on them and rap them on the knuckles when they step out of line. That makes you an accomplice, Fabio. You’re no better than they are.’
‘I can understand your bitterness, Mike–’
‘Can you really?’ Graham cut in with biting sarcasm. ‘Your family hasn’t been butchered by terrorists in the name of some cause the anarchistic bastards don’t even understand.’
‘Mike–’
‘Stay out of this, Sabrina,’ Graham snarled, without taking his eyes off Paluzzi.
‘You just can’t accept what you did in Libya, can you?’ Sabrina stood up and approached Graham. ‘And because of that you’ll find any excuse to attack others for what you regard as your own mistakes.’
‘Sit down, Sabrina,’ Graham whispered in a threatening tone.
‘No, not this time. This needs to be said. It’s long overdue.’ She held his withering stare.
‘You knew the risks when you joined Delta. So did Carrie. That’s why she asked you to get a desk job. You refused because you knew you wouldn’t last five minutes closed up in some office. You’re a field operative. One of the best. It’s where you belong. She knew that too. She may have never said it but deep down inside she knew you were right. Why else do you think she stood by you? And that’s what made your decision in Libya the right one. It’s what she would have wanted you to do. Why don’t you let yourself see that, Mike? Why?’
Graham’s fists were clenched tightly at his sides. She thought for a moment that he was going to hit her. Then he spun round and left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Kolchinsky shook his head despairingly, then rubbed his hands over his face.
‘Well done, Sabrina. You know exactly what he’s like when he gets into one of his moods. That’s all we need at a time like this.’
‘It had to be said, Sergei,’ Sabrina replied.
‘Don’t you think your timing could have been a little better? We’ve got thirty-six hours left before the deadline. This was supposed to be a briefing.’ Kolchinsky banged his fist angrily on the arm of the chair. ‘Next time you want to stir up his memories, try to be a bit more subtle about it. You, of all people, should know how touchy he is about Carrie and little Mikey.’
‘Precisely,’ she shot back. ‘Whenever their names are mentioned everyone clears their throats and someone quickly changes the subject. What good can that do him? It can only make him feel even more guilty than he already feels. The only way to help him is to make him confront the guilt that’s eating away inside him.’
Kolchinsky sighed deeply, then gestured to the telephone.
‘Just order some coffee, will you?’
She sat on the bed and picked up the receiver. ‘Fabio?’
‘Coffee would be good, thank you. And something to eat, if possible. I’m famished.’
She ordered three coffees and some sandwiches from room service, then hung up and turned back to Kolchinsky.
‘You know I’m right, Sergei.’
‘Let’s drop the subject, shall we?’
There was a knock at the door. Sabrina answered it. She had never seen the man before. He asked to speak to Paluzzi. The two men spoke in the doorway for several minutes and when Paluzzi returned to his chair he was carrying a folder.
‘What was all that about?’ Kolchinsky asked.
‘It was one of the men from HQ,’ Paluzzi replied, sitting down and opening the file. ‘I’ve had several teams working on the case from different angles. These are their reports.’