Page 52 of An Inside Job

They raced along the Tiber for a time, then wound their way through the northern districts of Rome to the Autostrada. Soon they were blazing along at nearly twice the posted speed limit.

“Did you have thetrippalast evening?”

“I passed.”

“What was the occasion?”

“A problem regarding security at the Vatican.”

“Father Spada, you mean?” She took her eyes from the road long enough to give him a knowing sidelong look. “Father Keegan told me all about your rather embarrassing discovery.”

“What other details of my investigation did he divulge?”

“That the inside connection was a security guard named Ottavio Pozzi.”

“There had to be another.”

“Someone who knew about the portrait?”

“Exactly.”

“Who do you suppose she was?” asked Veronica.

“The woman you just ran over with your motorcar? I believe it was Myrtle Wilson.”

“The girl in the Leonardo.”

“We haven’t a clue.”

“Perhaps Giorgio will be able to shed some light on the matter.”

“I believe his Leonardo monograph is silent on that issue.”

“It is,” said Veronica. “I reread his notes on theVirgin of the Rockslast night.”

“I did some reading as well,” said Gabriel.

“Anything interesting?”

“Montefiore’s memoirs. He wrote at length about the one disappointment of his otherwise glittering career.”

“And what was that?”

“His failure to find a lost Leonardo.” Gabriel pointed out a speed limit sign. “Don’t you think you should slow down a bit, Signora Buchanan?”

Veronica smiled and put her foot to the floor.

***

Ordinarily it was a drive of three hours from Rome to Florence, but Veronica managed to cover the distance in just under two and a half. She deposited her car in a garage outside thezona a traffico limitato, and they walked along the Arno to the Uffizi. Montefiore had promised to meet Veronica at Door 3, the museum’s main visitor entrance, at eleven o’clock. But at eleven fifteen there was still no sign of him.

“Perhaps you should call him,” said Gabriel.

Veronica sent a text message instead. There was no response.

“He must be in a meeting,” she said.

“Why didn’t he tell you that he was running late?”