Seeking Crystal (26 page)

The girls were looking at me with quizzical expressions.

‘Have you always been like this?’ Diamond asked.

‘Like what?’

‘Does my sister sass movie stars and order them about?’

I had been doing that, hadn’t I? ‘Not until today.’

I showed the three of them where they could sleep but I doubt if any of us got much rest that night. I could hear sobs from Sky’s room and Phoenix’s voice murmuring comfort. Diamond was trying to be strong for us all but I could feel she was suffering in the bed next to mine.

‘I’ll sort this out, Di. I promise,’ I whispered.

‘Crystal, I may not remember yet, but I want you to know that you are the best sister anyone could have. Thank you for coming to rescue me.’

I hugged the compliment close. ‘Anytime you need me, I’ll be there.’

The next morning, Steve and I accompanied Diamond, Sky, and Phoenix to the police station so we could make our statements together. None of them had wanted to keep on the old lady clothes the contessa had given them. Wearing jeans, jumpers and T-shirts borrowed from Lily, the girls seemed subdued, still piecing together what they could from their memories.

‘It’s like trying to make a whole cloth from cobwebs,’ confided Diamond as we followed the others along the sunny pavement edging the lakeside. A chill wind ruffled the grey-blue water; pastel-painted villas made a cheerful frill to those cold depths. ‘Threads kept pulling away leaving great holes where there should be, I don’t know,’ she sighed, ‘just much more stuff.’

‘Trace sends his love.’ Xav and I had had a long talk that morning. His brothers were keen to use me as their intermediary but he was being strict with them not to weigh me down with too many messages. Their priority was to get bail so they could see if something could be salvaged face-to-face now the girls understood who they were to them.

‘That’s sweet of him. But what if I never remember him?’

‘Then you’ll have to start again, like Saul told Karla.’ One of us had to resist the sheer panic that threatened at that prospect.

‘Yet how can I live with him if the soulfinder bond is only one way? It’s like I’ve lost a limb and keep trying to walk on it.’

‘People survive extraordinary things, Di. You’ll get through this.’

The police station was in a bright yellow building that looked more like a primary school than the local centre of law and order. Only the discreet sign ‘Carabinieri’ on the black gate attested to its more serious function. Having a movie star with us certainly helped get us seen: no waiting around in reception; we were ushered straight into the interview room. Overnight, Trace’s and Victor’s contacts had been working behind the scenes and the report of missing persons in Venice tied together with the rescue. It certainly helped our case having Diamond giving a clear account of how her hen night had turned ugly, mainly gleaned from what I had told her as her own recollection was missing. She could give no information as to who had carried out the kidnapping, other than asserting that the contessa had been present in Venice and at the castle and that Diamond had had no desire to go there, having planned to spend all her time preparing for her wedding at home.

‘You were held against your will?’ asked the officer. It was the same man as the one who had arrested the brothers the night before: Inspector Carminati, according to the label on his door.

Diamond frowned. ‘It is hard to say exactly what happened. I believe something was given to us to make us cooperate.’

‘A drug?’

‘Perhaps.’ This was the closest she could get to explaining why she and the others had appeared before many witnesses to be contented guests of the old lady.

‘We should arrange a blood test then.’ The officer made a note. ‘That’s if there are any traces left in your system. Mr Hughes, what is your part in this?’

I translated the question for Steve.

‘I was just helping my friends here rescue the ladies from the castle.’ Steve folded his arms, betraying not a hint of regret for his part in the adventure.

‘Why did you not stop to ask us to intervene?’

That was the million dollar question, wasn’t it? So much of this didn’t make sense unless we exposed the Savant dimension, which we were reluctant to do to any but the senior officers in international law enforcement who were already aware of our existence on a strictly confidential basis. Unfortunately, most of those were in Rome and had very little influence here in the north.

Steve shrugged. ‘It was the fastest way to resolve the situation.’

‘The contessa has not complained that you trespassed in your helicopter so I am not going to press any charges but, let me tell you, Mr Hughes: in Italy, we do not like vigilantes who take the law into their own hands. This is not one of your movies.’

Steve looked supremely unimpressed. ‘No, what this is, is much weirder. You need to lock that old woman up—she’s totally out of control.’

I chose not to translate that particular comment. ‘He says thanks and that he understands.’

The officer had more English than he let on for he sniffed scornfully at my very free interpretation of Steve’s words. ‘If the local mayor wasn’t so impressed by having a film made in his area, I would not hesitate to send your friend packing, celebrity or no celebrity.’

I gave him a helpless smile as if to say, what could I, a mere girl, do to rein in an A-lister?

‘There is clearly more to this situation than I understand.’ The officer tapped his papers straight. ‘I can’t, however, do anything further for you as your associates are already on the way to Verona where they are going to be interviewed and where they can apply for bail. If this is granted, they may be out by this evening.’

‘What about Will Benedict?’

‘The one in hospital?’

I nodded.

‘He is also considered under arrest but matters are complicated by the excessive force used against him. We’re looking into that. I suggest his name be included in the bail application.’

‘What about the allegation of kidnap?’

‘One step at a time, signorina. We need evidence to support that. So far we only have witnesses to testify that your sister and her friends were willing guests and appeared to arrive under their own volition. It was the forceful departure carried over the shoulders of their family members that was suspect.’

‘But can’t you see that it doesn’t add up? They don’t know the contessa—why would they want to stay with her and ignore their own family? She abandoned me on an island in the lagoon, for heaven’s sake! I was lucky not to get hypothermia.’

His hard face softened for a moment. ‘You have a witness to that?’

I remembered the banker from Milan. ‘Yes! I’ve left his business card back in Venice. A very respectable witness. He said we were to contact him if we needed his statement.’

‘Then I suggest you do that. But in Venice. The contessa has already returned to her home there as her castle is damaged by fire. If a crime was committed against you, it appears that was where it took place. There is little point pursuing it with me.’

I hadn’t been expecting that suggestion, or his tone. ‘So you believe me? I thought you’d side with her.’

Inspector Carminati stood up, signalling the end of the interview. ‘I may be only a policeman in an obscure corner of this country, but I am not an idiot, Signorina Brook. I too read the papers. If these men were part of the operation that brought about the arrest of the Count of Monte Baldo as you claim, then I can imagine that his mother might be out for revenge. We all know the count around here—he has always been bad news. I’m not surprised justice finally caught up with him.’

‘So you’ll … ’

He held up his hand, interrupting me. ‘Whatever my personal thoughts may be on the subject, we must obey the law. So far the only offences that have been substantiated with anything approaching evidence are those committed by the Benedicts. I suggest you hurry up and prove that they had a sound reason for their actions.’

We left the office to find Lily and James Murphy waiting for us in reception.

‘Lord Almighty, Steve, what have you got yourself mixed up in?’ the director fumed. ‘We have the press camped out there. One whiff of Steve Hughes visiting a police station and they’re arriving in their droves. Not to mention what you’ve done to my shooting schedule.’

‘Calm down, James,’ said Lily, patting the Irishman on the chest to remind him to get a hold of himself before he had a coronary. ‘Everything all right, Steve?’

The actor held out his arms. ‘I need a hug.’

Blushing slightly, Lily obliged. At least something had been settled last night then.

‘W … what?’ James shook his head as the two exchanged a kiss. ‘I won’t ask.’

‘Crystal and her family need to get back to Venice.’ Steve dug out his sunglasses, preparing to avoid the cameras. ‘Can we provide a driver?’

‘Yes. But you are staying here, aren’t you?’ asked James suspiciously.

‘For the moment. I don’t think I can do anything but attract unwelcome publicity to them. Is that OK, Crystal?’

‘More than OK. You’ve been amazing. A real hero.’

Steve gave a self-mocking grin. ‘Nice to know I do have it in me.’

Lily squeezed his waist. ‘I’m proud of you.’

‘We’ll go out the back way.’ James made some rapid arrangements on his phone. ‘I’ll get my driver to help take Crystal and her friends home.’ Poor James was hurrying to get me out of Steve’s orbit as I was so clearly a disruptive element. ‘You, my dear movie star, have got to get your butt up the mountain and do the stunt before the weather changes.’

Steve slipped his hand into Lily’s back pocket; she put hers in his. ‘Thanks, James. And sorry about this. Lily and I will explain on the way up—but I warn you, you aren’t going to believe a word.’

The director groaned. ‘Just tell me I’m not facing an expensive law suit.’

‘I hope not.’

‘Is there someone I can shoot for this?’

‘That’s already been done—and it’s not a joking matter.’

James wagged his finger at me. ‘Crystal, remind me why I ever let you near my film?’ He wasn’t really upset with me, just exasperated by the situation into which I had dragged him.

‘Because I was tall, Mr Murphy.’

‘From now on, Murphy,’ he muttered, ushering us out of the rear door, ‘do not work with children, animals, or tall girls.’

Rio d’Incurabili, Dorsoduro, Venice

The wedding dress had been delivered while we were away. Signora Carriera had taken it from the messenger for Diamond and hung it up in her room so that it was the first thing my sister saw when she got home.

‘Oh my God.’ She sat on the bed, staring at it. ‘I can’t wear that.’

‘It’s beautiful, Di. Give yourself a few days. The wedding isn’t until Saturday and we might have sorted you out by then.’ I brushed the lace overskirt reverently: it was fabulous. I wanted her to feel wonderful wearing it, not this desperate, empty person who couldn’t recall any of the most important people in her life.

‘Will you phone Mama and the others for me? I wouldn’t know what to say.’ She cleared her throat. ‘I mean, I don’t even know what they are really like, do I?’

‘Yes, I’ll do that.’ I took the phone out to the garden to make the call. Telling Mama that her golden girl had lost so many memories was one of the most difficult conversations I’d ever had. Our mother leapt to the conclusion that it had to be my fault because I had organized the hen party. I don’t think she really grasped the seriousness of what had happened to her daughter and was seeing it as an extension of the embarrassment I had caused ending up in the papers with Steve. I was so used to being the family screw-up that it took me a moment to remember that I was blameless for once.

‘Hang on a minute, Mama, you can’t say that.’ I cut her off mid lecture about my part in spoiling my sister’s life. ‘Diamond doesn’t blame me and I know I am not responsible for the choices made by the contessa.’

‘But what about the wedding!’

My mother’s mind could be amazingly narrow-focused; that was probably why she had never asked herself what the wider implications of my gift might be. ‘The wedding isn’t the important thing here. Diamond and the others are.’