His Ring on Her Finger, My Name on the Door novel · Chapter 13 of 32

Chapter 13: Headlights

Francesca threw her arm up against the light.

Behind it, Ottavio's shoes crunched on the gravel.

The flashlight dropped to her chest.

Claudia stood in the crypt gate behind him, her coat pulled tight, her mouth open.

"How long has she been there?" Claudia said.

"Long enough." Ottavio didn't look back at her. "Go and sit in the car."

"I'm not leaving her here with..."

"Go and sit in the car, Claudia."

Claudia didn't move.

Down the hill, two car doors opened and shut.

Two men came up between the stones without a light.

One was Ottavio's driver, heavy, in a dark windbreaker.

The other had a shaved head that shone wet under the moon.

They stopped one row below her, a yard from the angel where Nino was hiding.

Ottavio held out his hand, palm up. "Your father's key. Give it to me, and my driver will take you to your hotel."

The driver looked at the ground.

Ottavio kept his hand out. "Francesca."

The man with the shaved head took one step up the slope.

Francesca closed her fingers around the key in her pocket until the teeth bit into her palm.

Then light came over the top of the hill.

Two white headlights, high and wide, swinging off the service road and onto the grass.

The car didn't slow down.

It came straight up between the rows and stopped ten feet from the crypt, engine running.

The driver's door opened.

Michael got out.

He left the headlights on, and they lit all of them at once.

"Francesca," Michael said. "Get in the car."

"She broke into her father's tomb," Ottavio said mildly.

"So did you." Michael didn't look at him. "So did my wife."

Claudia flinched at the word.

"Go home, Claudia."

"Michael..."

"The night man is about ten minutes behind me. He'll want to know why the chain's off." Michael finally turned his head toward Ottavio. "So will the captains."

Ottavio smiled.

He lowered his hand and slid it back into his coat pocket.

"Tomorrow the masons take that plaque down in front of everyone," he said. "Whatever's behind it belongs to the table."

"It belongs to whoever has the key," Francesca said.

Ottavio looked at her for a long time.

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