Shout in the Dark by Christopher Wright Page A

knife wound to the stomach. The knife missed
his heart. He's still on life-support, but we hear he's going to
pull through."
    " I've been praying for him." Marco looked around. "Well,
the GIS certainly
wrecked this place for you last night."
    Natalia laughed. "Most of the glass got
broken, otherwise it's not too bad. We're using a temporary
reception area outside the staff canteen."
    There seemed to be no resentment that he
had once walked out on her. "We're still friends, right?" he
asked.
    Natalia smiled warmly. "That's fine by me,
Marco. Sorry about the chairs; they've come from the staff break
room."
    This area certainly wasn't of the standard
set by the once-luxurious foyer. The shapeless plywood seats had
probably been designed for maximum discomfort, so staff would not
want to sit on them for longer than the statutory coffee break. It
must have been some break room!
    " I want to apologize properly -- about our past." He was
still wearing his black suit and clerical collar from his meeting
with the Cardinal and his panel, and sweat was starting to run down
his face. He wiped it away.
    " I hope you're not still worrying about it, Marco. I'm sure
Isabella was the right person for you. At the time." And Natalia
laughed again, a pleasant laugh devoid of censure. "Not that I can
imagine you with her now. Not at all the right image for a new
priest. I was heartbroken once." She smiled. "You've changed. We
both have. When we split up you'd just started selling old cars. I
heard about Anna. I'm sorry."
    " Anna died six years ago. And thanks, I think perhaps I'm
over the worst of it now."
    " It must have been difficult," said Natalia.
    " It was hard when the carabinieri accused me of making up the story about the
attack."
    " Why would they do that?"
    Marco shrugged. "They thought I was
covering up a foolish accident ... or worse. Those men didn't only
kill Anna. I lost a son. Anna was four months pregnant. The carabinieri suggested I didn't want the
baby, and pushed her because I wanted her to miscarry."
    Natalia put her hand to her mouth. "That's
tough. I'm amazed you went into the Church."
    Marco smiled freely again.
"Meaning?"
    " We knew each other well. I can't say the Church was exactly
a priority in your life. Was it because of Anna's
accident?"
    " Did I find God through grief? Is that what you
think?"
    He noticed that Natalia's nose turned up
as she talked, and good memories came back. She began to blush. "I
don't mean to pry. I just didn't..." She shrugged, and as her slim
shoulders moved up they tightened the white blouse around her small
breasts. "Anyway, you'll make a good priest. You'll probably be
even better than you were at selling cars. You'll be selling God to
the people now -- Father! "
    " Thanks. To tell you the truth, I'm in a bit of a mess." He
didn't wish to blame Natalia, but TV Roma had rerun his interview
at breakfast time, and they were likely to do it again at midday.
He wanted to get Amendola off his back by being taken out of the
public eye. Natalia could help -- if only she would listen. He
turned away to avoid eye contact. "Can you tell your News Room to
stop showing my face on the screen?"
    Natalia shook her head firmly. "No way,
Marco. I fixed this up to teach you a lesson: don't take women for
granted!" She pointed at him and laughed. "After today we're quits.
Let me get you a coffee." She walked towards the machine on the
foyer. "It's not too bad, if you go for the espresso."
     
    Marco 's apartment
    THAT NIGHT yet another excerpt from his interview was shown
in the TV Roma news on the raid. Marco realized that Natalia had
fixed things for him all right, but surely not to teach him a
lesson. That had just been a joke. Natalia had never been
vindictive. His door bell rang as he was looking through a book on
the history of art.
    A woman of about his age stood at the
door. "Are you Marco
Sartini?"
    " Yes." He deliberately let a note of caution show in his
voice.
    The woman laughed confidently. "You