The Death Relic

46

The Italian Consulate was less than five miles from the Fiesta Americana hotel. Payne, who had driven the lead vehicle on their journey back to Cancún, circled the block twice before giving Jones permission to pull down the street behind him. Unlike the Italian Embassy in Mexico City, which was housed in a stone building that resembled a fortress, the local consulate was contained in a small suite that looked like a condo.

No sentries. Or guard dogs. Or snipers on the roof.

Just a plaque by the door and a flag inside.

In a past life, it could have been a dentist’s office.

A small man, wearing a sports coat and dress pants, sat on the front stoop. His hair was grey and his smile was wide. Designer sunglasses covered his eyes. He had been on his way to a cocktail party at a local hotel when he had received an urgent call from his boss. An Italian VIP had lost her passport and needed a replacement. He was ordered to report to the consulate at once. Normally, he would have argued with his boss. He would have said that he was too busy and had other plans. But all of that changed when the boss mentioned the VIP’s name.

It was Maria Pelati.

Daughter of Benito Pelati.

Suddenly, he was more than happy to help.

Giuseppe leapt to his feet when the two vehicles stopped in front of the consulate. He spotted Maria in the passenger seat of the SUV and rushed to open her door. But Payne was a little too fast. He hustled from the H2 and intercepted Giuseppe before he reached the sidewalk.

Payne ordered him to stop. ‘Whoa! Slow down! What’s the hurry?’

Giuseppe took off his sunglasses and stared at the mountain of a man. ‘I am sorry. My name is Giuseppe Amato. I am here to assist Miss Pelati.’

Payne corrected him. ‘Actually, I’m here to assist her.’

‘Yes, of course. My apologies.’

Payne tried not to smile. He could tell the guy wasn’t a threat. He simply wanted to make a point. ‘Let me see your identification.’

Giuseppe slowly reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his ID. It identified him as an employee of the consulate. ‘I was phoned by my boss, who was phoned by his boss, who was phoned by Petr Ulster. I am to help her with her passport.’

Payne stared at him. ‘I think you’re missing one or two bosses in there.’

Giuseppe shrugged. ‘That is entirely possible.’

‘And why were you waiting outside?’

‘I am anxious to meet Miss Pelati. There is so much I would like to ask her.’

‘Really? About what?’

‘Her father!’ Giuseppe exclaimed. ‘Where I come from, Benito Pelati is considered a hero. He did so much to preserve the history of my homeland, so much to preserve our culture. I remember hearing him speak at a function in Venice. He had such passion, such fire. It was like watching an emperor at the Colosseum. We gave him a standing ovation!’

Payne was quite familiar with Benito Pelati and his stellar reputation. As Italy’s Minister of Antiquities, Benito had accomplished many wonderful feats during his decades of service. He had spent years preaching to the masses about the importance of history, fighting to protect the treasures of Ancient Rome. After a while, his name became synonymous with the effort, and was known by young and old alike. To many, he was viewed as a saviour. But like many politicians, the private man was quite different to his public persona. Having dealt with him first hand, Payne knew Benito to be a cruel, power-hungry bastard. Nearly everything he had done had been for his own personal gain rather than for the welfare of his Church or country.

Naturally, none of this came out at the time of his death. The Vatican — familiar with the effects of a scandal — felt some things were best kept secret. The Parliament quickly agreed and sealed his records. It made for an interesting dichotomy. While the media praised Benito’s achievements, cardinals and senators secretly celebrated his demise. Millions held vigils and wept in the streets while his peers rejoiced in private. Meanwhile, Maria had done everything she could to avoid the spotlight. Her surviving brother, Dante, had handled the press while she slipped out of the country unnoticed. She spent the days following Benito’s death in seclusion at the Ulster Archives before heading back to England to finish her education.

In many ways, she had been running ever since.

‘Listen,’ Payne said to Giuseppe in a decisive tone, ‘I can understand your curiosity. I really can. I know how much Benito meant to Italy, and I can tell that you’re genuinely excited to talk about his exploits. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to insist that you don’t mention his name. The topic is far too painful for her to discuss.’

Giuseppe lowered his head in shame. ‘Yes, of course, how selfish of me. I mourned the loss of a patriot. She mourned the loss of her father. Her grief must be unbearable.’

Payne nodded but said nothing.

‘Tell me,’ Giuseppe whispered, ‘what can I talk about?’

Payne wanted to say, it beats the hell out of me, but he caught himself before it slipped out. Instead, he decided to focus on something positive. Something that might help them in the long run. ‘How long have you lived here?’

‘Almost four years.’

‘And you’re a fan of history?’

‘Yes, very much so. Benito taught—’ He quickly covered his mouth, as if he had just cursed in front of a nun. ‘I mean, I learned to appreciate history back in Italy. I have been to all of the local sites and museums.’

‘Then talk about that. She loves local history.’

Giuseppe nodded. ‘Then that’s what I will do. Thank you very much.’

By this time, Jones was standing next to Maria’s door, waiting for the all-clear signal. He sensed that Giuseppe posed no threat but he wanted to put him through his paces for Maria’s benefit. Not to impress her, but to ensure she felt threatened. Sometimes fear was necessary to gain control. The sooner she started to view herself as a potential target, the sooner she would start following orders. At least that was the goal. In the long run, her compliance would benefit everyone.

Payne signalled to Jones, who helped her out of the SUV. After a brief introduction, the four of them headed inside the consulate, where Maria and Giuseppe started her paperwork. Meanwhile, Payne asked if he could use the fax machine to send the Mercado document to Petr Ulster, who wanted to read it on his flight to Mexico. Giuseppe showed him where it was and how to use it — the buttons were labelled in Italian — then returned to Maria.

Jones watched with amusement. ‘I’ve never seen you do this before. Normally you make your secretary do everything.’

Payne scoffed at the notion. ‘My secretary doesn’t do office work, and you know it. I hired her for her tits.’

Most people would have viewed his comment as sexist, but Jones knew the truth about his secretary. She was an eighty-two-year-old firecracker, who’d started working for Payne Industries long before Payne was even born. That included thirty years as his grandfather’s secretary. Not as his assistant, but as his secretary. Even though she knew more about the company than Payne, she still insisted on being called a secretary, because that was her job title when she was originally hired and she didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. Known for her foul mouth and quick wit, she had a saltier sense of humour than most comedians.

Jones laughed loudly. ‘I’m going to tell her you said that.’

Payne smiled. ‘I hope you do. I like to keep her sharp.’

Jones watched intently as Payne fed the document through the machine. Several seconds passed before a confirmation notice appeared on the screen. As soon as it did, Payne deleted the document from the system’s memory and erased the number he had sent it to. No sense in taking any chances.

‘So,’ Payne said, ‘did you need something? You’re kind of creeping me out.’

‘Actually, I wanted to thank you.’

‘For what?’

‘For what you said to Giuseppe. I had a long talk with Maria about her issues on the way here. The last thing she needed was to answer a bunch of questions about Benito.’

‘I didn’t do it for her. I did it for me. I’m sick of her yapping.’

He shook his head. ‘No, you didn’t. You did it for her. And I appreciate it.’

Payne stared at him. ‘You’ve been thanking me a lot on this trip. I didn’t think we did that. You know, the whole “thank you” thing. Are you dying or something?’

‘Nope, not dying. Just trying to keep the peace.’

‘No, you’re trying to get a piece. Big difference.’

Jones laughed. ‘Either way, I appreciate it.’

Payne smiled and pointed at Jones’s crotch. ‘You’re welcome.’