“We just want to ensure that they key does not get jammed in the lock.”
“You need not worry about that. I am aware of how deep I have gone, as you must surely realise. In the meantime I will run the company according to the instructions as promised. The family trusts me completely; Sir Rupert can be certain of that.”
We had caught the name, thrown into the air with the utmost carelessness. I noticed how Holmes’s ears pricked up. The young consigliere, however, probably for security reasons and according to instructions, did not utter his future employer’s surname.
“All right,” said the detective. “All must continue as was agreed.”
His relief was evident.
“Gentlemen, I did not mean to be rude to you. After all, the three of us get our orders from the same boss. I just lost my nerve when I saw you in the palace. The lady is very excitable; it is always a struggle for me to get her to make the right decisions and any pressure could destroy my work.”
“After Minutti’s death you became the helmsman of his empire.”
“I could not put it better myself,” said Pascuale. “Do you have a cheque for me?”
Holmes was taken aback.
“No,” he said, shaking his head slowly. “But you will receive it shortly.”
“In the regular way?”
“Of course,” said the detective. “And lest I forget, Sir Rupert also asked us to personally assure him that your plans regarding the secret investigation are safe and that nobody else can obtain them.”
“You can assure him that they are in my safekeeping.”
“May we see them?”
Pascuale was taken aback momentarily, but then reluctantly stood up, returned to his desk and removed a key. He walked to the wall, which contained a steel safe, unlocked it, entered the combination and swung open the heavy door. From where we were seated we could see that the safe was divided into compartments full of documents. There was also money, laid out in neat stacks, and a cloth tube. Luigi removed it and brought it over to us.
“Gentlemen, please convince yourselves that everything is in order,” he said, opening the tube and pulling out a roll of blueprints. “These are the specifications for a tracked vehicle for rugged terrain, samples for deadly chemical substances and explosive bullets for our special guns.”
The detective quickly surveyed the plans. I knew that he was trying to remember as many details as possible.
“Does Sir Rupert also have all of these plans?”
“Of course, I sent them to him several months ago,” Pascuale confirmed.
“Then everything is in order,” said Holmes, returning the roll to him. “Guard it carefully. This could mean a revolution in the arms industry, and if worse came to worst, it will help us win the war!”
“Those were Sir Rupert’s words exactly,” said Pascuale, rolling up the plans and returning them to the tube.
He sealed it and locked it back in the impregnable safe.
It occurred to me to ask whether there was a prototype of these things, in particular as the kind of gun that we had seen on the paper corresponded to what may have killed Minutti.
My impetuous question almost gave us away. The secretary’s eyes
narrowed with suspicion.
“No,” he replied deliberately. “Signor Minutti refused to make these weapons as he considered them too barbarous. He did not even want to hear of them. But you must have known that, no?”
I froze, not knowing what to say. But the detective saved the situation.
“You did not understand the question, sir,” said Holmes calmly. “My colleague was simply wondering whether you personally have initiated steps towards their production.”
Pascuale took offence and immediately forgot his suspicions.
“I received no instruction. I assumed that his Lordship would take care of this in one of his other factories!”
“Very well,” said Holmes, rising. “There is no reason for concern. Continue working according to the original instructions, as though we were not here.”
“If this was meant to be a surprise inspection I am happy that I have stood the test.”
“You said it yourself,” said the detective, slapping him on the shoulder. We then bade him a hasty goodbye, saying that we were in a hurry to
catch a train.
The assistant escorted us out and we headed to Valeri station in order to make the connection to Venice.
We settled on a bench on the platform, basking in the pleasant sunshine. Holmes for the second time that day attempted to piece together the various clues. After our visit to the factory many things had become clearer.
“I now know without a shadow of doubt that a certain Sir Rupert is behind Minutti’s death,” he said. “The given name corresponds to that of the man who issued the cheque for my death to Pastor Barlow. A concrete motive is also starting to form. Mycroft was right to fear the changing influence in the leadership of important European arms factories. His Lordship perhaps was not able to buy Minutti’s factory, but with secretary Pascuale in place and the police bought off, he does not need to. And he already has obtained their patents.”
“But Pascuale himself did not murder him.”
“No he did not,” agreed the detective. “Mr Pascuale may be capable of selling his own grandmother, but I do not believe he would kill his master in cold blood. Besides, he has a watertight alibi. He was abroad at the time of Minutti’s murder.”
“Perhaps now with the help of your brother we will succeed in determining the full name of this scoundrel. And then we can put the screws on Pastor Barlow!”
“Watson, where does this lust for revenge come from?” laughed Holmes. “Nevertheless, you are right; there is no longer a reason to protect him. As soon as we return to England we will pay him a visit. We must also find out who inherits the companies in the case of Lord Bollinger’s death and find this person’s connection to Sir Rupert. This will be the key to solving the case.”
“Do you think Bollinger is dead?”
“I hope not, but we must be prepared for the worst.”
“What about those weapons?”
“The explosive bullet assembled according to the secret plans of Minutti himself was designed to confuse investigators and act as an insurance policy if the bribes failed. But we still do not know who pulled the trigger. Our mysterious nobleman certainly did not sully his hands. Nevertheless, the circle of suspects has been narrowed.”
“But what is the reason?” I asked. “So far it does not appear to be political.”
“At this point nothing occurs to me besides industrial espionage, and of course money, the oldest motive in the world,” said Holmes. “In this day and age, when we are all engaged in war, whoever controls the arms industry has the power to dictate terms.”
“War: even the word itself clouds men’s minds,” I sighed.
The detective said something else, but his words were lost in the whistling of the arriving locomotive.
We returned to Venice and to our hotel. On the way we stopped at the drop off point to pick up a message from Paolo and leave him a reply.
One that would cost the poor fellow his life.
VI: Death on the Canal
The message from Paolo contained good and bad news. In it Mycroft told us that he had succeeded in obtaining a list of Silver Ghost owners, and wrote us the only name that corresponded with the letters in the signature which Holmes had deciphered. Rupert H. Darringford. Touché! We were one step closer. The secret service was already verifying it and promised quick results as long as it was not an alias. The other group, on the hunt for Lord Bollinger independently from us, so far had not reported any success.