The Italian Affair (10 page)

Rick flashed her an odd look. ‘At least you’re honest about it.’

‘Why shouldn’t I be? I’ve got nothing to hide.’

He caught on quickly. ‘Meaning Anthony has?’

A disapproving note crept into her voice and she felt she ought to give him some justification for her reasoning. ‘Anthony is known for his philandering ways and I can’t see him changing because he’s married. Maria deserves someone who won’t hurt her.’ She shrugged. ‘I guess I can foresee problems when the novelty of marriage wears off for him.’

‘Perhaps, Maria knows already. Have you considered that?’

‘What? No way. If she did, she would have told me.’

‘Are you sure? Maybe she just accepts him for what he is. Some women do, especially if they’re in love.’

Gina looked at him in disbelief. ‘You don’t understand. Maria has these visions of sweet love … living happily ever after. But life’s not like that. I’ve tried to warn her….’ She shook her head in frustration.

‘Don’t you think that what happened to you is maybe prejudicing
your feelings a little? She has every right to her dreams, Gina.’

That gave her a jolt. Maybe he was right, she considered suddenly. All the same her voice became defensive again. ‘I just want her to have the happiness I didn’t have when I got married.’

‘I know,’ he offered gently. ‘But what about you? Where are your dreams now?’

Her shoulders stiffened. If only he would stop prying. She kept her voice steady, though inwardly she felt herself tremble again.

‘What do you mean?’ she said, playing for time.

‘Would you fall in love again?’

His blue eyes were so piercing, Gina felt they were stripping her of her senses, one by one. She tried to dismiss it all lightly with a shrug of her shoulders, but somehow couldn’t prevent the bitter note creeping into her voice. ‘I once believed in love but look where that got me.’ She held his gaze. ‘You ask a lot of questions.’

His mouth twisted. ‘Put it down to the job I do.’

She took a deep breath. ‘You would have heard a lot of gossip about Jason and me.’

He pursed his mouth. ‘Some. But I never took any notice. Small towns are like that.’

‘Do you want to know what really happened to me?’

Rick nodded.

‘OK.’ She took another deep breath to steady herself. ‘My husband came home in a rage one night. He had lost a heap of money at the gaming tables. And he was drunk. I challenged him about it and told him that unless he quit drinking, I was leaving.’ She paused slightly. ‘He lost his temper and hit me. The next day I lost the child I was carrying.’

Rick’s jaw dropped.

It explained a lot of things about her, thought Rick afterwards, and the things he’d heard about her too. Her relationship with a man like that would have left its mark in more ways than he could ever imagine. She’d told him her grandfather had cut her off financially
once he’d learned she’d married without telling him, especially to a man her grandparents disapproved of. Gina knew that a condition of her inheritance was that her family had to approve of the marriage, but she hadn’t told Jason that. When he found out, he was furious. That’s when things started to slide downhill. Pride had made her hold out in the marriage for as long as she could.

Her grandmother, knowing she was in dire straits, had secretly arranged some money to be deposited in her bank account on a regular basis to help Gina when she was in need. It wasn’t enough; Gina’s husband had spent it on high living.

Rick didn’t know that Gina had lost her child though. That came as a surprise. But he suspected the Rosselinis were pleased she divorced Jason to avoid any long-term scandal. It was obvious Gina didn’t like Anthony being in charge of her financial affairs, but Rick knew her grandfather, Luigi, had a shrewd business mind and he’d made these legal arrangements to protect her from any other men who were after Gina’s money. Anthony was trustworthy where her finances was concerned, even Rick knew that, no matter what other weaknesses Anthony had in his personal life. Rick suspected there was a clash of personalities between Anthony and Gina due to a number of reasons and that was going to make it difficult for her unless she could come to an understanding with him. He only hoped time would ease her hurts.

Rick sat at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee and mulling over the facts. Brougham had rung him earlier to say that he’d gone through the case notes. Maria had been the whistle blower in the quota fraud case. She’d turned Russo in to the police. Her evidence in court stated that Rosselini Fisheries never knew what was going on; Dani had acted on his own. The court case had caused a huge rift between the employees at Rosselini Fisheries, depending on whose side they took in the affair. Dani Russo was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and Rosselini Fishing Industries were eventually cleared of any wrongdoing.

Rick told Gina about Brougham’s phone call. ‘Did Maria talk much about the court case?’

‘Often,’ she admitted. ‘She felt pretty bad about it. She hadn’t wanted to give evidence at first, but once things were set in motion, she couldn’t back down. It was a pretty tough time for Maria, but I admired her for seeing it through.’

‘What about the crew on the boat? They must have known what Russo was up to.’

Gina shrugged. ‘I guess some of them must have. Everyone was interviewed by the police. I know some of the staff in the factory resented Maria. She had new ideas. I guess they’d been working there for years and didn’t like her coming in to tell them what to do.’

‘Tell me about Maria.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘What is she like?’

Gina gave a sigh. How could she describe her sister? ‘Maria is thoughtful and kind. She’s passionate about what she believes in. When she left school, she went to university to study marine biology. She’s also a great believer in protecting our environment and our fisheries. At university, she organized a demonstration against Japanese whaling. She was unpopular for a while in the factory because of her beliefs. But it sounded like she won most of them over with her arguments.’ Gina hesitated. ‘She loved working at Rosselini Fisheries, but Anthony wanted her to give up the job when she got married and start a family straight away. I think it was the only thing she held out on because she loved her job.’

A thoughtful look crossed Rick’s face. ‘Do you share the same interests?’

‘No, our interests are very different. I studied drama and theatre at university.’

‘That explains a lot.’

‘What do you mean?’ she asked, interested.

His mouth twitched. ‘Your temperament.’

She smiled ruefully. ‘It has its downside.’

‘Yeah, I’ve noticed.’

‘I’ve been trying hard to curb my temper.’

‘Yeah, I’ve noticed that too.’

‘How do you do it?’ she asked.

‘Do what?’

‘Keep so calm.’

He shrugged. ‘Years of being a cop, I guess. During an emergency it comes in handy. The last thing people in trouble want is someone who can’t control a situation.’

‘You’re lucky.’

‘Luck’s got nothing do to with it: it takes practice.’

‘Maria is always telling me to calm down. To think before I act.’

‘Does it work?’

She laughed. ‘No, I still get into trouble. I am always the impulsive one.’

Detective Brougham had been pressurizing Gina to speak with Maria all day.

‘How is she?’ he asked.

‘Getting better, but it’s going to take time.’

‘Can she talk?’

‘A little, but she’s not that coherent.’ Her sister’s words were slurred due to the drugs. Gina could see it was an effort for her to talk.

‘Can we ask her some questions? It could help with the investigation.’

‘She’s not well enough.’

Brougham exhaled impatiently. ‘Any idea when?’

‘I’m not a doctor, Detective Brougham. She needs a few more days.’

He nodded. ‘Call me.’

Gina nodded, feeling irritated. Couldn’t he see how ill her sister was?

Gina was standing beside her sister’s bedside when Maria’s eyes fluttered open as if she sensed her presence. Her lips moved slightly. Gina leaned closer. ‘What is it?’

‘He … he … might try again,’ murmured Maria.

Gina didn’t tell her sister the same thought had occurred to her. ‘You’re safe. The police are outside your room twenty-four hours a day.’ Gina told her briefly about Rick but she had no idea if Maria heard her. ‘I’ll go along with it for now, but I don’t like it.’

A flicker of a smile.

Gina’s heart rose. At least, it was a start.

‘Maria, do you know who shot you?’ The words slipped out before she could stop them.

No answer. A few seconds passed. Maria’s lips moved slightly. Gina couldn’t make out what she was trying to say. A solitary tear ran down her sister’s cheek. It was obvious she was becoming distressed.

‘It’s OK,’ soothed Gina. ‘Don’t try to talk if it’s too much.’

After Gina left, Maria’s eyes fluttered. She could see images. Many faces of those she used to work with at Rosselini Fisheries, all swirling around her. Dani Russo’s furious face emerged from the shadows, more prominent than the rest. Fear struck her. She could remember every little detail of that day. The day she’d told him what she’d done.

He had been in the factory office, talking to some of his crew. He’d been in good spirits, having just returned the day before from being at sea for four weeks. Things had gone well. Their catch had been the best for months. She had called him over to the side, so the other staff couldn’t hear. ‘Got a minute, Dani? It’s urgent.’

‘In here.’ He beckoned her into a small side room. ‘What is it?’

She sat down, her heart beating out of control. ‘A Ministry of Fisheries officer came to see me. He said there had been a lot of dead fish found floating around your trawl area. He accused us of dumping fish of poor quality and size, and catching more to make
up for it. I had to tell him the truth – that you’d falsified the quotas from the last catch. If I hadn’t, he was going to lay charges.’

Russo gasped. ‘You what? Are you crazy?’

‘I warned you the over-fishing had to stop. If everyone fished like you do, ignoring the quotas, only taking the best, we’d have no fish left in the sea.’ She took a deep breath to steady her nerves. ‘The officer said if we came clean, he’d see what he could do. Perhaps we’d get a fine. It would be heavy, but it would mean we could start again. Keep to the quotas. Keep everything legal.’

‘You idiot. You think you can trust
them
? He only said that to scare you. He had no proof, only suspicion. You fell into a trap.’

‘He had proof,’ she emphasized. ‘He said one of your crewmen would give evidence. He had a camera and he’d taken photos.’

Dani scowled. ‘Did he say who?’

‘No, but—’

Dani cut her off, his mouth tight with anger. ‘He was lying, putting the pressure on. Not one of my crew would have betrayed me. You might have a fancy diploma from university, but you’ve not had the experience I’ve had. Sometimes we have to take more fish than we’re allowed to cover the lean times. It’s a very competitive industry and we have a reputation of selling high quality fish. How the hell do you think we stay in business?’

But the truth was, in her naïvety, she had no idea. All she had been trying to do was keep to her ideals. She wanted to do her best for the company and to protect the environment at the same time. Someone had to make a stand. Why not her? So she’d braved the fall-out. After all, she was a major shareholder in the company. And her grandfather had put her in charge of the quota department after she qualified from university. She hadn’t told Gina how much she had suffered at the hands of the other staff after the investigations had started. And especially when the police were called in to lay charges. The Ministry of Fisheries officer told her that if she gave evidence against Russo, they wouldn’t touch the company.

Sometimes she’d even felt her grandfather had disapproved of her
actions, though he’d never actually come out and said so. He’d stuck by her. But it had been at the expense of losing Russo, one of their most experienced skippers. Afterwards she wondered if her grandfather had actually been innocent of it all. Things had got nasty in court and Russo accused her grandfather of being an accomplice. Of course, her grandfather had denied it.

She’d never forget the day Dani was sentenced to eighteen months in prison. It had shocked her. After the trial, Dani’s wife had accosted her as she was leaving the courthouse. ‘Was it worth it?’ she’d said, sobbing. Then, clutching her two children by the hands, she was ushered into a waiting car.

Maria jolted. Something pricked her arm. A nurse whispered in a hushed voice, ‘Rest now….’ The warmth of morphine hit her veins. Dani Russo’s image receded, stepping back into shadow. She could no longer hear him shouting obscenities at her. She floated.

The last thing she heard was Gina’s voice in the background, her soothing tones reassuring her. She should have told her sister earlier on how worried she’d been about Dani Russo. It had to be him: he’d come back for revenge.

Gina wasn’t sure what to think when she walked out of intensive care. Her senses told her Maria was trying to tell her something important.

‘Is everything OK?’ asked Rick.

Gina told him what had happened.

‘You think Maria knows who’s responsible?’

‘I don’t know. She was upset. She was trying to tell me something. Perhaps tomorrow, when she wakes, we’ll know more.’

At her apartment, Gina picked up her mail which her grandfather had left on a shelf outside her front door. The first letter was in a bright gold envelope: an invitation to a cocktail party in two weeks’ time to celebrate a friend’s engagement. The second one shocked her.

‘What’s the matter?’ Rick asked.

Gina couldn’t tell him. The words froze in her throat. Rick snatched the letter and read the contents.

‘
It’s your turn next
.’ No signature. At the bottom of the letter, a small red rose had been stapled.