“Fine. Let me unpack and I’ll head there right away.”
“This time, keep your phone handy.”
“I promise.” Aida sighed.
Aida had barely started her walk toward Galleria Spada when Pippa called her name. “I’m off to Campo de’ Fiori for artichokes. Can I tag along with ya?” she asked.
“I’d be delighted!” While Aida already adored Pippa, she was extra pleased to be able to walk with her that morning and pick her brain about MODA. Despite her promise to Trista, she slipped her hand into her pocket and turned her phone off, reasoning that her aide likely wouldn’t need to reach her in the ten minutes it would take to walk to Campo de’ Fiori, a stone’s throw from the museum. “I have a question for you.” Aida held up her phone and indicated it was off, and Pippa did the same.
“Sure.”
“If you had to guess, how doyouthink Johannes died?”
Pippa gave a low chuckle. “Oi, ya feelin’ a bit nervous?”
“Should I be?”
“Well, I don’t exactly ’ave the answer to that, but I’ve saidbefore, I don’t think Johannes’s death was as simple as what the coroner said. That bloke was a proper picture of ’ealth. He was a veggie, never touched a cig or even a spliff, and went joggin’ by the Tevere every mornin’.”
“But sometimes healthy people have genetic issues that no one knows about until it happens,” Aida reasoned.
Pippa shrugged. “Could be, could be. But in the weeks before ’e died, I ’eard ’im and Trista fightin’ more. And as a peace offerin’, or at least that’s what she said when she came to pick up the tray, she started bringin’ ’im ’is afternoon tea.”
Aida stopped in her tracks. “Wait, what are you suggesting?”
Pippa put a hand on Aida’s shoulder. “I’m tellin’ ya if Trista starts offerin’ to make ya tea every day, ya might want to steer clear of ’er kindness.”
Aida took a deep breath to stop the panic that threatened to overtake her. “What were they fighting about?”
“I don’t remember much, ’cept that Johannes didn’t like the way MODA was doin’ things, and Trista was gettin’ fed up with ’im questionin’ ’er. One day ’e told me ’e was thinkin’ of quittin’, but we didn’t finish the chat ’cause Dante arrived and needed my ’elp with somethin’. I didn’t see Johannes for a few days, and then we got the news ’e died of a ’eart attack. We got a few weeks off, came back a couple days before you arrived. It was all very sad and strange. I liked the bloke.”
“Was there any police investigation?”
Pippa threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, dear girl, do ya really think that MODA, with all that cash they’ve got, would ever get investigated? ’Specially ’ere in Italia, where it’s easy to grease a palm?”
Aida knew she was right. Italy had long been listed as one of the most corrupt countries in Europe. While she had personally only met upstanding people, she knew the country’s bureaucracy and authorities were rife with corruption. MODA often paid for access to the sites she cataloged, but this was a deeper aspect to the story.
Pippa’s tone shifted, filled with concern. “So, what’s goin’ on? Why are ya worried?”
Aida hesitated, not sure if she should put Pippa in danger. She opened her mouth to speak and shut it again.
“Aida, you can trust me and Ilario. I don’t think there’s another soul in that ’ouse I’d say the same about, but we don’t ’ave any great loyalty to MODA beyond our fat bank accounts.”
Aida caved. She liked the idea of having an ally in the palazzo. “I have some worries about MODA that I can’t explain just yet, but I want to find out if they are true.”
“Come on, let’s keep walkin’. Can’t ’ave ya bein’ late.” Pippa started back down the street and Aida fell into step. “Tell me, ’ow ya gonna find out?”
“I want to search Trista’s office, but I’m unsure how to get near it. She’s always there, or she’s with me.” Aida was about to say she had sometimes heard people talking with Trista in her office late at night—it had happened several times during Aida’s middle-of-the-night palazzo strolls when she couldn’t sleep. She had always wondered who was with her and had come to assume these chats were video calls Trista was having with another part of the world. But if MODA were comprised of ancient gods, they must be able to show up at will whenever they wanted. The idea of snooping through Trista’s office suddenly seemed even less intriguing, if that were possible.
“Ah, well, I can ’elp ya with that. Make it easy for ya to get in there.”
“How can you do that?”
“She usually ’as a spot of decaf tea at night before she kips. I can make sure she’ll really sleep.”
Aida didn’t want to know any more details.
Jumping out of the way of a passing Vespa, Pippa continued, “When do ya want to do it?”
