felt any pain, as if her entire capacity for suffering had been absorbed in an instant by the death of the man she had loved. Gallani did not even grant her the dignity of fists. He continued slapping her across the face until she could no longer see his bloodstained hands. At last the pain came. She felt her body give way, and something hot and sticky covered her swollen eyes and coloured her tears. Arben Gallani gave a nod with his head. The man who had been holding her up let her slide to the ground, where he immediately pinned her down. Two other men came and lent a hand, squatting on either side of her to stop her moving her legs.
Arben took a switchblade from his pocket and snapped it open. The blade glinted for a moment in the light, like the diamond in his earring. He bent over her and started cutting her pants away from her body. Maureen heard the noise of the material tearing and felt the cold air on her skin as the blade stripped her. Through the veil of blood and pain that blurred her vision, she saw Gallani standing between her legs. Then she saw him loosen his belt and heard the noise of his zipper opening.
Arben then lay down on top of her. She felt the weight of his body, the roughness of his hands parting her legs, the pain as he thrust himself violently into her. Maureen took refuge in the memory of the beautiful things she had had and had now lost forever. The pain of that loss anaesthetized her temporarily against the physical pain she was feeling now. The man couldn’t take anything from her, because everything was already dead inside her. As the thrusts rocked her, the strange cross-shaped earring continued moving rhythmically a few inches from her face, glittering in the light of the headlamps, glittering, glittering . . .
Fate at last took pity on her, and she fainted. Before everything went dark, Maureen Martini found herself thinking how much it hurt to die.
CHAPTER 13
More darkness.
She was lying on sheets that felt slightly rough and, from the lingering smell of disinfectant in the air, she guessed that she was in a hospital. Her face felt strangely constricted. She tried to move her right arm, and heard the clinking sound of a drip knocking against the pole supporting it. With difficulty, she lifted her other hand to her eyes. She ran her fingers over what she realized was a bandage, held in place by a big Band-Aid. From somewhere in the distance, she heard voices whispering. That was immediately followed by footsteps, and then her father’s voice, full of an anxiety that not even affection could conceal.
‘Maureen, it’s me.’
‘Hi, Daddy.’
‘How are you feeling?’
How am I feeling? I’d like to disappear forever in the darkness.
‘I’m fine,’ she lied. ‘Where am I?’
‘In the Gemelli Hospital.’
‘How long have I been here?’
‘They brought you here in a terrible state, and kept you under sedation for two days.’
‘How did you know where to find me?’
‘When they abducted you, your lawyer, Franco, was at the window and saw everything. He immediately called the police. Unfortunately he couldn’t get the licence number, so all they could do was search for the model of car he described. Then the phone call came in . . .’
‘What phone call?’
‘A man with a foreign accent called your station and told them where they could find you.’
All at once, she remembered Arben Gallani’s voice whispering, ‘
Nasty, isn’t it?
’ after the noise of the gunshot. And that cross-shaped earring swaying and sparkling in front of her eyes as he . . .
She asked the question she had been dying to ask, stupidly hoping as she did so that none of it had been true. ‘What about Connor?’
‘I’m afraid Connor is dead. The US Embassy has taken care of all the formalities. His body will be transferred to the United States in a few days’ time. I don’t suppose this is any consolation to you, but . . .’
‘What?’
‘Connor has already become a legend. A
Arben took a switchblade from his pocket and snapped it open. The blade glinted for a moment in the light, like the diamond in his earring. He bent over her and started cutting her pants away from her body. Maureen heard the noise of the material tearing and felt the cold air on her skin as the blade stripped her. Through the veil of blood and pain that blurred her vision, she saw Gallani standing between her legs. Then she saw him loosen his belt and heard the noise of his zipper opening.
Arben then lay down on top of her. She felt the weight of his body, the roughness of his hands parting her legs, the pain as he thrust himself violently into her. Maureen took refuge in the memory of the beautiful things she had had and had now lost forever. The pain of that loss anaesthetized her temporarily against the physical pain she was feeling now. The man couldn’t take anything from her, because everything was already dead inside her. As the thrusts rocked her, the strange cross-shaped earring continued moving rhythmically a few inches from her face, glittering in the light of the headlamps, glittering, glittering . . .
Fate at last took pity on her, and she fainted. Before everything went dark, Maureen Martini found herself thinking how much it hurt to die.
CHAPTER 13
More darkness.
She was lying on sheets that felt slightly rough and, from the lingering smell of disinfectant in the air, she guessed that she was in a hospital. Her face felt strangely constricted. She tried to move her right arm, and heard the clinking sound of a drip knocking against the pole supporting it. With difficulty, she lifted her other hand to her eyes. She ran her fingers over what she realized was a bandage, held in place by a big Band-Aid. From somewhere in the distance, she heard voices whispering. That was immediately followed by footsteps, and then her father’s voice, full of an anxiety that not even affection could conceal.
‘Maureen, it’s me.’
‘Hi, Daddy.’
‘How are you feeling?’
How am I feeling? I’d like to disappear forever in the darkness.
‘I’m fine,’ she lied. ‘Where am I?’
‘In the Gemelli Hospital.’
‘How long have I been here?’
‘They brought you here in a terrible state, and kept you under sedation for two days.’
‘How did you know where to find me?’
‘When they abducted you, your lawyer, Franco, was at the window and saw everything. He immediately called the police. Unfortunately he couldn’t get the licence number, so all they could do was search for the model of car he described. Then the phone call came in . . .’
‘What phone call?’
‘A man with a foreign accent called your station and told them where they could find you.’
All at once, she remembered Arben Gallani’s voice whispering, ‘
Nasty, isn’t it?
’ after the noise of the gunshot. And that cross-shaped earring swaying and sparkling in front of her eyes as he . . .
She asked the question she had been dying to ask, stupidly hoping as she did so that none of it had been true. ‘What about Connor?’
‘I’m afraid Connor is dead. The US Embassy has taken care of all the formalities. His body will be transferred to the United States in a few days’ time. I don’t suppose this is any consolation to you, but . . .’
‘What?’
‘Connor has already become a legend. A
Similar Books
