‘He came with us on the way into town, but then he went off on his own.’
‘Did he tell you where he was going, what he was going to do?’
‘He didn’t say, and I didn’t ask.’ The unhelpful note was back in her voice.
‘Where did you go, and who with?’
‘I went for a walk by myself. I did some shopping and visited a few of the main sights.’
‘Which main sights?’
‘The centre of town, the Ponte Vecchio and the cathedral.’
Virgilio kept his voice studiously neutral. ‘You visited the duomo at what time?’
She didn’t need to stop and think. ‘About a quarter to eleven. I was only in there for a short while. There were so many people around. I didn’t want to climb to the top of the dome and I would have had to pre-book that anyway, so I just took a quick look around and then left.’
So she had been there between Angel’s arrival and the discovery of his body. Just like Hicks, this gave her the opportunity to have been our killer, too.
Our next interviewee was Emilia Cortez Garcia, who told us she was thirty-six, originally from a Spanish town called Melilla, and that at nine this morning, she had travelled into thecentro storicowith the others and had spent her time wandering about, seeing the sights. I studied her carefully as she answered Virgilio’s questions. She was unquestionably another beautiful woman, although there was a hardness to her expression that detracted from her appeal. Her eyes were clear, and I could see no traces of grief, so she evidently hadn’t been too badly hit by Tristan Angel’s death either. Her story of only having met him a handful of times purely for business appeared to be the truth.
Virgilio carried on with his questions. ‘Which of Florence’s sights did you visit this morning?’
‘I’ve never been to Florence before, so I started with the main sights – the Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti, the duomo and the baptistery.’
Virgilio and I exchanged glances as he picked up on her words. ‘Can you remember what time it was when you visited the duomo?’
She looked mildly surprised, but she paused for thought. ‘About ten-fifteen or ten-thirty, I think, maybe ten minutes before or after.’
Virgilio carried on. ‘While you were there, did you see any of the other people from the villa?’
‘You mean inside the duomo?’ She looked puzzled, but she answered anyway. ‘None of them.’ She glanced across at Virgilio. ‘To be honest, I hardly know them, but I don’t get the impression that any of them are likely to be interested in religious monuments, do you?’ There was barely concealed scorn in her tone.
Virgilio didn’t answer and carried on with his questions. ‘I gather you didn’t travel over with the rest of the group. Why was that?’
‘Because I’m not part of the company. I’m a lawyer, as I told you, and I live and work in Paris. I flew in yesterday, arriving here at the villa at just before one.’
‘So, yours was a business relationship with the victim?’
‘Yes.’
‘Were you his personal lawyer? I believe Mr Angel got divorced some years ago. Did you act for him in that matter?’
She shook her head. ‘No, I came here only to advise him on matters relating to his business. I believe his personal lawyers are in London, but I don’t know their name.’
‘Can I ask why he needed a lawyer to come all the way from Paris to see him?’
‘He had a number of specific queries, and he told me it would be easiest for us to meet face to face. He didn’t have time to come to Paris, so I had to come to him. As you must already know, he was a very wealthy man, and if that’s what the client wants, that’s what he gets. Besides, as I told you, I’d never been to Florence before and I jumped at the opportunity to come and see the sights. I flew in yesterday and I intend to fly back tomorrow. Ispecialise in international taxation, and Mr Angel and I spent most of yesterday afternoon going through a number of financial matters. We were planning to continue today, but of course that’s all changed now.’
Virgilio nodded a couple of times. ‘Can you tell me the sort of thing you discussed?’
I saw her look up and catch his eye. ‘You will understand that the details of what we discussed are protected by lawyer-client confidentiality, but I imagine you’re aware of the nature of Tristan Angel’s business and can draw your own conclusions. I was helping him with everything from export and import licences for different countries to tax-efficient ways of making and receiving payment.’
‘Can you give me an idea of the nature of the goods he was exporting and where to?’
She produced an ironic smile. ‘I’m afraid that’s out of the question – and out of your jurisdiction. You can take it up with my employers, if you like, but I fear you’ll find yourself up against a brick wall. We take confidentiality very seriously.’ She produced a visiting card from her bag and handed it across to him.
‘You weren’t bothered at the thought of working for an arms dealer with blood on his hands?’ This was an aggressive question from Virgilio, but I felt sure he was trying to assess her response. I also studied her face as she replied and I picked up a sudden tightening of the lips, but her voice was level when she replied.
