Read Online The Malaspiga Exit by Evelyn Anthony - Free Book Online Page B

‘If anyone is watching us they’ve got to think we’ve come here to enjoy ourselves. Relax, Cousin Rose; smile at me. I’ll hear your report in good time.’
    â€˜I’m sorry,’ Katharine said. ‘You’re quite right. I’ll have a coffee— capuccino , please.’
    â€˜I’ve been a policeman for twenty-two years,’ he said. He had two front teeth with gold base caps and they glittered when he smiled. ‘I’ve learned to take my time. It isn’t easy.’
    She tried to smile, to relax as he intended, but his presence across the table had added a frightening dimension to her situation. The worst part of her mission had proved to be the easiest. Meeting her relations, getting on friendly terms with Malaspiga, all had been accomplished without difficulty. None of the complications which she had imagined before going to the villa had impeded her progress. They had been friendly, hospitable, and the Duke had been warm and charming to his new cousin. Perhaps a little too warm …
    The coffee came and she sipped it; the tiny cups of Espresso were too strong. To her surprise, she found that drinking even such a small quantity made her nervous.
    â€˜You’re worried, aren’t you?’ Raphael said quietly. When she shook her head he smiled. ‘There’s no need to be ashamed,’ he said. ‘This is a very nasty business. Any intelligent person would be afraid. Tell me about it.’
    â€˜I’ve been here ten days,’ she said. ‘Maybe I’ve lost touch with reality. I don’t know how much you’ve been told about me, but I’m just an ordinary person who has been picked out to do this, given some quick basic training and sent out. I felt confident when I agreed to do it. I had a special motive.’
    â€˜Yes,’ Raphael said. ‘Your brother.’
    â€˜He was an addict, he died. I saw him go through hell and there wasn’t anything I could do to save him. They picked me up right after his funeral and put this proposition to me. I said yes.’ She lit a cigarette. ‘Nobody forced me, in fact my instructor spent most of his time trying to scare me off. But I was determined to stop these people. I wanted to hit back.’
    â€˜And now you’re not sure?’
    â€˜I’m not sure I can do it,’ she said slowly. ‘I’ve met the Malaspiga family. They’re not at all what I expected.’
    â€˜Nicer?’ he prompted. She hesitated. The word was ill-chosen, it didn’t apply to the old Duchess, still less to her cousin the Duke. It was too small a word for people fashioned on such a grand scale.
    â€˜Different,’ she said. ‘I can’t explain it. It seems impossible they could be mixed up in this.’ She gave a shrug, exasperated at herself. ‘Maybe I just don’t like spying; I went through his desk today,’ she said. ‘I feel unclean. I wish there was another way. I don’t feel I’ve got the nerve or the experience to carry something like this through to the end. I suppose the trouble is, three weeks’ instruction wasn’t enough.’
    â€˜It was very little, for this type of work,’ he said. He didn’t seem disturbed or critical. His eyes were calm and they expressed understanding.
    â€˜You’re a nice girl, from a nice background. You were brought up not to look in other people’s drawers or read their letters. Obviously, you are honest, because of the way you’ve talked about yourself. I understand all this. You’re the sort of woman who would never search her husband’s pockets when he was asleep.’ His gold teeth flashed in a smile. ‘You expected these Malaspigas to be monsters, Mafia villains, easily identifiable, didn’t you? Instead, you meet a cultured, charming family of Italian aristocrats, and, believe me, charm is the passport issued to that class at birth. You feel