“He was trying to do the right thing by his friend. It might have been misguided, but his heart was in the right place.”
I nodded. Truth and justice were my guides, and sometimes I struggled to understand how other people prioritized different values.
“Do you think Brambilla took his own life?” she asked.
“He was agitated,” I replied. “He badly wanted to share a secret. I don’t believe he would have killed himself before doing so.”
“Which leaves Matteo or someone else,” Justine suggested. “And if it was someone else, it was someone at the party.”
I nodded again. “Someone who got in and out of the room without being seen and was able to overpower Matteo and silence Brambilla. Sounds like a ghost, doesn’t it?”
Justine frowned. “No, someone far more dangerous. You said you saw Luna Colombo that night, running away from the scene.”
She let the suggestion hang. We both looked at the driver, who was nodding along to low music coming from the radio.
“No,” I said, my brow furrowing. “I mean, I did, but she… she couldn’t.”
But I knew she could, and as the one person with connections to all the key players, she had to be considered a suspect.
The cabdriver dropped us off near the warehouse and left with his double fare plus a generous tip. Justine and I held hands as we walked down the empty lane. When we reached our destination, she pulled me close and kissed me. I held her in my arms, squeezing her, eyeing her longingly.
“I’ve missed you,” I said.
“Me too,” she replied, before kissing me again.
The roll shutter rose suddenly, startling us both. We stepped back from each other. I turned to see Mo-bot in the doorway.
“If you kids are going to leave for a secret assignation, you need to let a grown-up know,” she said. “I’ve been worried about you.”
“We went to see Matteo,” I revealed. “He says he was knocked unconscious before the shooting.”
Mo-bot looked surprised.
“He didn’t say anything because he was worried Brambilla might have taken his own life, which would deny him a Catholic burial and a proper place in the hereafter,” Justine said.
“That puts everyone at the party firmly in the frame,” said Mo-bot. “I mean, we’d been working on that assumption, but he just confirmed it either had to be Brambilla or one of the other guests.”
I nodded. “Justine suggested Luna Colombo.”
Mo-bot shrugged. “I can see why.”
“We need to take another look at things,” I said. “Figure out a plan of action. We’ll regroup in the morning.” I moved to pass her. “Right now, I’m beat.”
She stood aside. Weary from the day’s events, I made my way through the warehouse and up to the apartment with Justine and Mo-bot following.
I longed to be alone with Justine, but the stolen moments we’d just shared were as good as it was going to get for now.
I leaned close and kissed her.
“Night,” I said, and she replied in kind. Feeling professionally and personally frustrated, I retreated to the bedroom I shared with Sci. I didn’t manage to fall asleep until the first fingers of dawn reached into the room.
CHAPTER90
MY UNEASY DREAMS were a kaleidoscope of images of the dead: the priests, Lombardi, Altmer, Fathers Brambilla and Diaz careening through my mind, making me feel as though I was spinning out of control, way, way out of my depth.
I woke with a start and saw sunshine edging the drapes, and sat up to find Sci’s bed was empty. I could hear low voices coming from beyond the door and the rhythmic clatter of cutlery and plates.
I pulled on a sky-blue shirt and navy trousers and went out in search of the others.
