On Dangerous Ground

‘The caretaker and his wife seemed to be behaving themselves. Very peaceful. You should do something with it.’

‘Grandfather was born there, Uncle; it’s a piece of the real Sicily. How could I change that?’

‘You’re a good boy, Carlo; you may be half American, but you have a Sicilian heart.’

As Alfredo opened the bottle, Morgan said, ‘So, to the Chungking Covenant. What do you think?’

‘We have billions invested in Hong Kong in hotels and casinos and our holdings will be severely damaged when the Communists take over in ninety-seven. Anything that could delay that would be marvellous.’

‘But would the discovery of such a document really have an effect?’ Asta asked.

He accepted one of the glasses of Zibibbo from Alfredo. ‘The Chinese have taken great care to handle the proposed changes in the status of Hong Kong through the United Nations. These days they want everything from international respectability to the Olympic Games. If the document surfaced with the holy name of Mao Tse-tung attached to it, who knows what the outcome would be.’

‘That’s true,’ Morgan agreed. ‘All right, they’d scream forgery.’

‘Yes,’ Asta put in, ‘but there is one important point. It isn’t a forgery, it’s the real thing; we know that and any experts brought in will have to agree.’

‘She’s smart, this girl.’ Luca patted her knee. ‘We’ve nothing to lose, Carlo. With that document on show we can at least hold the whole proceedings up if nothing else. Even if we still lose millions, I’d like to mess it up for the Chinese and particularly for the Brits. It’s their fault they didn’t sort the whole mess out years ago.’

‘Strange you should say that,’ Asta told him. ‘I’d have thought that was exactly what Mountbatten was trying to do back in forty-four.’

He roared with laughter and raised his glass. ‘More wine, Alfredo.’

‘What do you suggest?’ Morgan asked.

‘Find this silver Bible. When you have that you have the Covenant.’

‘And that must be somewhere at the castle at Loch Dhu, according to what Tanner said,’ Asta put in.

‘Exactly. There’s a problem. I had my London lawyer check on the situation at the castle the moment I received your fax. It’s rented out at the moment to a sheik from Trucial Oman, a prince of the Royal Family, so there’s nothing to be done there. He’s in residence and he won’t be leaving for another month. My lawyer has leased it in your name for three months from then.’

‘Fine,’ Morgan said. ‘That gives me plenty of time to clear the decks where business is concerned. That Bible must be there somewhere.’

‘I instructed my lawyer to get straight up there and see this Lady Katherine Rose, the sister, to do the lease personally. He raised the question of the Bible, told her he’d heard the legend of how all the lairds carried it into battle. When he phoned me he said she’s old and a bit confused and told him she hadn’t seen the thing in years.’

‘There is one thing,’ Asta said. ‘According to Tony Jackson, he said to Tanner, “So the Bible went back to Loch Dhu?”’

Morgan cut in, ‘And Tanner replied, “You could say that.”’

Asta nodded. ‘And then Tony said he started to laugh. I’d say that’s rather strange.’

‘Strange or not, that Bible must be there somewhere,’ Luca said. ‘You’ll find it, Carlo.’ He stood up. ‘Now we eat.’

Marco Russo was standing by the door in the hall and, as they passed him, Luca said, ‘You can take Marco with you in case you need a little muscle.’ He patted Marco’s face. ‘The Highlands of Scotland, Marco, you’ll have to wrap up.’

‘Whatever you say, Capo.’

Marco opened the dining-room door where two waiters were in attendance. Back in the reception room Alfredo cleared the wine bottle and glasses and took them into the kitchen, putting them beside the sink for the maid to wash later. He said to the cook, ‘I’m going now,’ went out, lit a cigarette and walked down through the gardens to the staff quarters.

Alfredo Ponti was an excellent waiter, but an even better policeman, one of the new dedicated breed imported from mainland Italy. He’d managed to obtain the job with Luca three months previously.

Usually he phoned from outside when he wanted to contact his superiors but the other two houseboys, the cook and the maid were working, so for the moment he was alone. In any case, what he had overheard seemed important so he decided to take a chance, lifted the receiver on the wall phone at the end of the corridor and dialled a number in Palermo. It was answered at once.

‘Gagini, it’s me, Ponti. I’ve got something. Carl Morgan appeared tonight with his stepdaughter. I overheard them tell a most curious story to Luca. Have you ever heard of the Chungking Covenant?’

Paolo Gagini, who was a major in the Italian Secret Intelligence Service based in Rome posing as a businessman in Palermo, said, ‘That’s a new one. Let me put the tape recorder on. Thank God for that photographic memory of yours. Right, start talking. Tell me everything.’

Which Alfredo did in some detail. When he had finished, Gagini said, ‘Good work, though I can’t see it helping us much. I’ll be in touch. Take care.’

Alfredo replaced the receiver and went to bed.