Goddess of Death by Roy Lewis Read Free Book Online Page A

‘Yes, there is to be a meeting, which I would like you to attend for reasons which will become apparent.’
    ‘And it needed some sort of clearance from the
Guardia di
Finanza
?’ Arnold asked, in a lowered tone, gesturing discreetly towards Colonel Messi.
    ‘Not at all,’ Carmela replied, with a sideways glance at her cousin. She frowned slightly. ‘But when the colonel asked permission to sit in on the meeting, I thought it best to explain to him who you were.’
    ‘So he could check up on me?’
    ‘Colonel Messi checks up on many things, Arnold.’
    There was little time for further conversation as the door behind them opened and two men and a woman entered. Carmela left Arnold to greet them and then waved each individual towards the long oak table in the centre of the room.
    The group was quickly seated around the table, with the exception of the colonel from the
Guardia di Finanza
. Carmela settled herself, smiled broadly around at the small group and began by introducing Colonel Messi, describing him as an observer. He rose and bowed, but said nothing. She then introduced Arnold. She made no attempt to explain who he was so Arnold guessed she had already briefed the group about his presence and background. Even though she had given him no clues yet as to why he was here.
    Carmela then identified the other woman for Arnold’s benefit. She was French, dark-haired, dark-eyed, middle-aged: Alienor Donati. Beside her was a broad-shouldered, beetle-browed American, introduced as Michael McMurtaghy. The German beside him, Joachim Schmidt, a lean, silver-haired individual, kept his head down, poring over some papers in front of him. He barely acknowledged Arnold’s presence.
    Arnold sat quietly, and listened as Carmela spoke to each of the group in turn. It was by nature of an updating process for a committee which had clearly met on several occasions before.
    As she spoke, Arnold’s mind drifted back to his previous experiences with Carmela, when they had hunted down the
calyx krater
, and had exposed the activities of the
cordata
, the rope-like, world-wide link that brought together dealers and middlemen, archaeologists and museum curators, wealthybusinessmen and the
tombaroli
who dug in the earth for the treasures of Etruscan tombs. It was clear, as he listened to the conversation around the table, that the work was continuing, that the
cordata
, the secret structure that bound the corrupt world of illicit dealing in ancient artefacts, was far from finished, that large amounts of money were still changing hands in the dark underworld of artefact looting, in Turkey, Nigeria, south east Asia, Syria and throughout Europe.
    Each member of the group made a contribution to the discussion. It seemed that Alienor Donati had been concentrating on information gathered earlier during the investigation in which Arnold himself had participated. ‘The analysis of the telephone records in
Casa di Principe
demonstrates that there are five men in particular who have made a lot of international calls. An attempt was made to hide these calls by using a series of disposable mobile phones. However, we are now able to identify the central centre for these calls, the receptor one might say, and during a raid at a house in Vienna we were able to discover, in a floor set under the mansard roof, shelving on which were hidden frescoes, jewellery, silver artefacts, including Bulgarian and Greek items which are clearly the result of looted material being passed around the
cordata
personnel, for eventual sale to various museums who might be prepared to make a purchase in spite of doubtful provenance….’
    Arnold listened with interest. It was clear that the work he and Carmela had undertaken was ongoing; he was slightly puzzled nevertheless that Alienor Donati seemed to have taken the work from Carmela herself. He was unclear as to the Frenchwoman’s background, and why she was now reporting to Carmela.
    Michael McMurtaghy followed