Rendezvous in Rome (10 page)

“Could you open the door with a passkey?” Nancy asked. “Please? This is important.”

The woman hesitated only for a moment. She went to the front desk and came back with the key. Nancy held her breath as the door opened.

The room was untouched. There were no belongings in sight. A skeleton key on a wooden tag lay on the neatly made bed. “Francesco Ponti” was gone!

• • •

The next morning Nancy and Bess got up very early. They took the threatening note and the key down to the police station and left them for Officer Franchi, telling the officer on duty what had happened. Then they hurried back to the Spanish Steps to meet the others.

Claudia and Sandro were already sitting on a lower step when Nancy and Bess arrived, just
before nine. They weren't speaking, and Claudia still looked upset.

Bess had noticed it, too. She kept up a stream of chatter just to ease the tension a little. Suddenly Bess broke off, and her mouth fell open. Following Bess's gaze, Nancy saw that Massimo was approaching the group—with Karine!

“Hi, everyone,” Karine said in her musical voice. “When Massimo told me last night where you were going, I made him promise to bring me.” She flashed a brilliant smile. “I hope no one minds.”

Nancy noticed that Karine emphasized the words “last night” as if she wanted everyone to know that she and Massimo had been out together.

“We're delighted to have you,” Bess said, noticing Massimo's awkward posture.

“And I hope you're coming to that art opening tonight, too,” Nancy put in. “Were you invited?”

Karine looked down at her nails as she answered. “I received a note from Signor Andreotti that some young people were going and I should come along,” she said. “But I was going with my father, anyway. He was invited weeks ago.”

Massimo and Sandro spoke up; both were obviously happy about being invited to the opening. Nancy got the impression that they didn't usually attend this sort of fancy affair.

With an uneasy look at Karine, Massimo turned to Bess and took her by the arm. “Now let me tell you what we are going to see today,” he told her.

As Nancy watched them walk ahead, she hoped Bess would ask him where he had been yesterday afternoon at around the time Signora De Luca's Etruscan pin was stolen. Claudia didn't seem to be interested in being with Sandro, so Nancy paired up with her. Sandro and Karine lagged behind.

Keeping her voice low, Nancy told Claudia about the gargoyle head, leaving out the part about the mysterious Francesco Ponti.

“But that is terrible!” Claudia exclaimed. “Were you hurt? Was anything stolen?”

“I still have the necklace,” Nancy said, patting her purse. “It may have been a prank.”

As the group wandered down via Sistina, Claudia walked silently next to Nancy, darting glances at Sandro every few steps. Finally Nancy touched her arm. “Why don't you go talk to him?”

Claudia gave a wan smile. “Maybe I should.” Nancy fell into step with Karine so that Claudia and Sandro could be alone. Trying to strike up a conversation, Nancy asked Karine to tell her about the sights they passed as they walked.

“This is the Triton Fountain,” Karine said as the group stopped in the Piazza Barberini. Perched atop an open shell supported by four dolphins, a stone figure on his knees spouted water through a large seashell. The water dribbled a lazy path through the mossy rivulets on his chest.

“Do you draw statues like this one?” Nancy asked Karine as they walked on.

“Sometimes, but the gray chalk doesn't always come out so well on the pavement. I like color.”

“I'd like to see your drawings. Maybe sometime you'd draw that famous Botticelli painting of Venus standing in the shell. What's it called?”

Karine made a knowing nod. “
The Birth of Venus
,” she replied. “But I never take requests. I just draw whatever moves me at the moment.

“Actually,” Karine continued after Nancy didn't respond, “I draw for my father when he asks me to.”

“It's nice that he visits you in the piazza to see your work,” Nancy commented. “Not all parents are so involved in their kids' careers.”

“He isn't,” Karine said. “He's too busy for that. My father owns a big trading company. But sometimes he calls me in the morning to see what I'm up to. He likes to visualize what I'm doing during the day.”

Nancy looked at Karine, puzzled. “Your father calls you on the telephone in the morning?” she asked.

“My parents are divorced,” Karine explained. “I live with my mother. My father's got his own import-export company in Turkey and a small apartment here in Rome. He travels back and forth a lot, so I see him only when he's here.”

“I'm sorry,” Nancy said, not knowing what else to say.

Karine shrugged and changed the subject. “Did Bess find her necklace—the one Massimo gave her?”

“We haven't worked that out yet,” Nancy said vaguely, wondering why Karine was so interested.

“I'd love to see it when you do. Massimo's going
to give me a necklace, too,” Karine added smugly. “With green stones to match my eyes.”

Nancy tried not to laugh. “A necklace to match your eyes” seemed to be a standard pickup line for Massimo.

By now the group found itself on the corner of via Veneto. They stopped in front of a small stone church.

“Inside are the catacombs of the Capuchin monks,” Massimo said. “They are not Rome's most famous tourist attraction, but I think they are the most unusual.”

He led the group up a flight of stairs along the right of the church to the first landing above-ground. Two short monks dressed in brown and white robes were selling postcards in a small reception area.

A long hallway beyond the monks led to a bizarre burial ground. It was arranged in five small chapels, connected by a long passage. The walls were entirely covered with bones!

“Ugh!” Bess said. “This is really creepy.”

“This is a holy burial ground for four thousand monks,” Massimo explained.

To Nancy it was a grisly sight. Every wall was decorated with the bones of the monks. She gave a little shiver as she looked around. Leg bones were fastened in a pattern on the ceiling. Skulls alternated with arm bones down the walls. Even the lamp holders were made of bones. In the nearest chapel Nancy could see three full skeletons dressed in monks' robes, holding crosses.

“It was an honor to be buried here,” Massimo
said in a low voice. “The living monks decorated each chapel with the bones of their brothers. They think the custom was introduced by the Etruscans.”

Nancy looked sharply at Massimo. He was smiling at Bess, forgetting Nancy for the moment.

Despite the summer heat, the rooms were cool. Sandro wandered down the hall, examining each part of the wall in horrified fascination. Other members of the group drifted after him. They seemed to be the only visitors.

Nancy wandered into an empty chapel in the middle of the hall and stared. A monk's skeleton was propped up in the middle of a design made of human foot bones. Stepping closer, Nancy tried to glimpse the skull under the brown monk's hood.

There were quiet footsteps behind Nancy as someone entered the chapel. “Isn't it fascinating?” she asked, still gazing at the skeleton.

No one answered. Suddenly Nancy tensed. Before she could turn, she felt an arm cover her eyes and a hand cover her mouth.

Nancy struggled, trying to get free. In the next instant she felt herself being pulled off balance, then pushed with great force. As she fell forward she felt a tug where her bag hung from her shoulder.

She didn't have time to fight or even see who her attacker was, however. She was hurtling right into the wall of bones. In a split second she was going to crash into the skeleton of the monk!

N
ANCY PITCHED HEADLONG
into the skeleton, bringing it down around her as she fell. Brown bones scattered everywhere, producing a light cloud of dust.

In panic Nancy struggled to get away from the bones, yelling for help. She was dimly aware of the sound of a door slamming behind her.

Dizzy from her fall, Nancy scrambled toward the doorway, taking a mental inventory of her body as she went. She had smashed her elbow against the wall, but otherwise she felt all right. A heavy wooden door barred the exit from the chapel, though. The thief had slammed the door shut behind him, and now she found that it was stuck. She began shouting and pounding on the door.

“Nancy, are you in there?” Claudia shouted through the door a few minutes later.

“Yes, I'm here,” she called back.

She was relieved when the door opened a moment later and the group piled into the room. Claudia was holding a piece of splintered wood.

“This was jammed against the door,” she said, her horrified gaze sweeping the tumble of bones around her. “What happened?”

Nancy described the attack as best she could. Everyone exclaimed over her, but no one had seen anything. From what they told her, they had each been off looking at a different part of the catacombs. None of them had an alibi.

“I have never heard of a tourist being mugged in a church before,” Claudia said indignantly. “I am ashamed for our whole city.”

“I think it was a deliberate attempt to get the necklace,” Nancy said. “Unfortunately, it worked.”

Bess gasped. “Your shoulder bag is gone!” she exclaimed, but Nancy's eyes darted to the others, trying to gauge their reactions. Claudia, Massimo, and Sandro all looked horrified. Karine was the only one who didn't seem upset by the news.

“This is too dangerous,” Sandro said. “I know you're trying to help my mother, but she wouldn't want you to get hurt. I think you should leave this to the police.”

Nancy started toward the door. “I'll definitely report this attack,” she agreed. “But I'm not backing off the case.”

She went to the monks at the entrance, who conducted her to a back office to use the phone. Officer Franchi was out, so she told the officer on
duty what had happened and described her bag and its contents. Then she sat in the office collecting her thoughts.

Now that the thief had made such an obvious and dangerous move, Nancy felt as if she must be closing in. She was sure that the person who had just attacked her was a man, which meant that he was either Massimo or Sandro. And Massimo fit the description of the mysterious Francesco Ponti better than Sandro. The question now was, what would the thief do with her bag and the necklace?

When Nancy came out of the office, the others were searching for her shoulder bag. She eyed the various bags her friends were carrying. Should she search them?

She decided against it. Doing so would certainly offend them and might scare off the thief before the gala that evening. But she'd be on the lookout for a way to search them during the day.

“We didn't find your purse anywhere,” Claudia told Nancy apologetically as the group prepared to leave the catacombs.

Nancy let out a sigh. “I'm more upset about the necklace than about any of my stuff,” she said. “Still, it's not going to be fun getting a new passport and credit cards.”

Coming over to Nancy, Massimo put an arm around her shoulders. “Well, I know something that
would be
fun,” he told her. “I was thinking we could go to the soccer match between Rome and Turin.”

“Soccer!” Bess crowed. “I love soccer!”

Nancy shot Bess an amused look. The only
sports Bess had ever liked were shopping and dating. She obviously wanted to spend more time with Massimo, even if she wasn't interested in a romance.

“That's a great idea,” Nancy said quickly. “I can deal with replacing my cards tomorrow.” And, she added silently, now she could keep her eye on Massimo and the others to see if they made a move with the necklace.

“Soccer in Italy is a real event,” Claudia chimed in. “But what about lunch?”

The teens grabbed some
panini
and headed for the Foro Italico, where the soccer match was taking place. Flags and banners in bright colors waved everywhere. Turin's fans were decked out in black and white, while the Romans wore yellow and red.

As the group made its way to the seats the crowd surged with each kick and play. Chants of “Juve!” and “Roma!” were traded back and forth.

“What's
‘Juve' ”
Bess shouted above the din.

“It stands for Juventus,” Sandro explained. “That's the name of the Turin team. And Rom—”

“Is the Roman team,” Bess finished for him. “I get it. These people are serious sports fans.”

“Sometimes too serious,” Claudia said, nodding. She was sitting next to Sandro, holding his arm, Nancy noticed. She didn't seem angry with him anymore. “Terrible things can happen at soccer games when the fans get out of hand.”