“Like you wouldn’t believe.”
I rang Rile as soon as Deck ended our call. “I may need your assistance.”
“Yeah? What have you got?”
“Death of Italian royalty. An AISE investigation into ancient antiquities being sold on the black market. You in?”
“Damn straight.”
I almost laughed out loud at how much Rile sounded like Decker with that response.
“Decker hasn’t been able to find out what one has to do with the other, but he’s working on it.”
Rile offered to contact Z to see what MI6 knew, as well as “round up” some support on our end. I couldn’t help but take the piss out of him for how much he sounded like a cowboy.
“I need to stay the hell outta Texas,” he muttered before he rang off.
The next morning, I received a message from Decker, asking me to check in with him as soon as possible.
“Viticcio is person of interest numero uno in Deltetto’s murder, as well as a primary suspect in the black market antiquities ring. I haven’t figured out what Rossi’s role is. He may just be Viticcio’s lackey. Oh, and there’s a third, a woman, Donnatella Bianchi.”
“Any idea who they’re working for?”
“Not sure there is anyone else. While the value of what they’re selling is astronomical, there hasn’t been a whole hell of a lot of it. Quality over quantity, I guess. Oh, and from what I read, Viticcio has been sniffing around Valentini for years.”
“Sniffing around for what?”
“You aren’t going to believe this.”
“Go on.”
“The ancient consular route Via Cassia passed through Val d’Orcia—right past Antica Cascina dei Conti di Valentini, specifically.”
I didn’t want to take the wind from Deck’s sails, but this was hardly news. “Any tourist guide in Tuscany could tell you that.”
“I bet they couldn’t tell you who passed through on that route more than a thousand years later.”
“Who, Decker?”
“The Sovereign Order of Malta.”
“What is that?”
“Who.”
“Right. Who?”
“You’ve heard of the Knights Templar?”
“Of course.”
“The Malta Sovereigns are said to have buried ten times the treasures of the Templars.”
“Are you suggesting there’s a treasure buried somewhere on the Valentini estate?”
“It’s very likely. I was able to access an archive with some interesting information about Pia’s ancestors. Estancia Valentini, in particular. What I’ve read says she agreed to give the Italian government half of the value of the Valentini fortune in exchange for control of her own estate. I guess she had ’em over a barrel, since they altered the inheritance laws regarding her property—and hers alone.”
I could hear him typing on a keyboard in the background. “There’s more. This was a side note, but important enough that someone added it. Anyone who attempted to change or alter her wishes would be cursed for all eternity.”