Read Online The Devil Will Come by Glenn Cooper - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Glenn Cooper
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began to invade her thoughts like unwelcome visitors. Pictures of partially mummified bodies with bony tails wafted through her mind.
Then she was seized by a flash, a painful memory she’d all but blocked from consciousness: the half-naked backside of the man who’d stabbed her, that thing protruding from his spine, ringed by small black tattoos looking for all the world like a swarm of angry insects.
That thing. It was a tail, wasn’t it?
Suddenly woozy, she exhaled, unaware that she’d been holding her breath.
It was as if she’d always known.
Elisabetta felt small and vulnerable, a sparrow in a hurricane. God was inside her; He was all around her. But for the first time in a very long while she craved the warm sanctuary of a physical embrace.
‘Are you coming?’
Elisabetta heard Marco’s impatient baritone through the bathroom door. ‘Yes!’ she shouted back.
‘You said “yes” ten minutes ago. We’re going to be late.’
‘This time I mean it.’
She put the finishing touches on her eye make-up and stood as far back as she could in an attempt to turn her reflection in the mirror over the sink into something more full-length. She liked her new dress. It was red and summery and it made her look especially shapely . She only needed to pick out a necklace, something nice and long, to show off her cleavage.
She opened the door and watched the impatience melt from Marco’s face. ‘That was worth waiting for,’ he said. ‘Look at you!’
She asked if he liked the dress and he responded by running his big hands over the silky fabric and up her stockings.
Elisabetta laughed and pulled away. ‘I thought you said we were going to be late.’
‘It’s only my cousin’s wedding. I don’t even like him.’
‘Well, I’m not going to let you mess up my dress and make-up. Not to mention your new suit – which looks really good, by the way.’
Marco checked himself out in the hallway mirror. ‘You think so?’
‘Yes, I think so. You’re going to make the girls go crazy.’
‘They can’t have me,’ he said, lightly. ‘I’m spoken for.’
‘For that, I’ll kiss you, but later. I’ll be right back. I need to get a necklace.’
At that moment he stopped looking like a hulking man and took on the demeanor of a small, excited boy. He reached into his inside jacket pocket and removed a slim velvet box. ‘Maybe this will work.’
‘Marco, what have you done?’
She opened it and loved it immediately. It was a heart-shaped pendant on a gold chain, half the design done in pavé diamonds, half in rubies.
‘You like it?’
‘Oh my God! I love it!’
She ran back into the bathroom to put it on and came out glowing.
‘It looks beautiful,’ he said. ‘Like you.’
‘Half is me, half is you,’ Elisabetta said. ‘Which am I, the diamonds or the rubies?’
‘Whichever you like.’
She took a couple of steps forward and turned her face upwards to his. He encircled her in his strong arms and tenderly squeezed her ribs. She closed her eyes, put her arms around his waist, and her ear against his heart, feeling as happy and secure as she’d ever been.
‘Am I disturbing you?’
Startled, Elisabetta opened her eyes. Professor De Stefano was at her door. ‘No, please come in.’
The old man looked apologetic. ‘I just wanted to make sure you had everything you needed.’
‘Yes, it’s all here,’ she said, composing herself. ‘My box of papers arrived this morning from my father’s flat. The computer seems to work.’
‘Do you need someone to help you with it?’
‘We have computers at the school, Professor. I’m quite proficient.’
‘Good, good. I’ll have my secretary give you access to my files of photographs from the site.’
‘That would be useful,’ Elisabetta said.
De Stefano lingered. ‘Do you have a plan?’ he asked abruptly . ‘I know it’s only your first full day and I wouldn’t press you, but I’ve already had calls this morning from the Vatican.
Then she was seized by a flash, a painful memory she’d all but blocked from consciousness: the half-naked backside of the man who’d stabbed her, that thing protruding from his spine, ringed by small black tattoos looking for all the world like a swarm of angry insects.
That thing. It was a tail, wasn’t it?
Suddenly woozy, she exhaled, unaware that she’d been holding her breath.
It was as if she’d always known.
Elisabetta felt small and vulnerable, a sparrow in a hurricane. God was inside her; He was all around her. But for the first time in a very long while she craved the warm sanctuary of a physical embrace.
‘Are you coming?’
Elisabetta heard Marco’s impatient baritone through the bathroom door. ‘Yes!’ she shouted back.
‘You said “yes” ten minutes ago. We’re going to be late.’
‘This time I mean it.’
She put the finishing touches on her eye make-up and stood as far back as she could in an attempt to turn her reflection in the mirror over the sink into something more full-length. She liked her new dress. It was red and summery and it made her look especially shapely . She only needed to pick out a necklace, something nice and long, to show off her cleavage.
She opened the door and watched the impatience melt from Marco’s face. ‘That was worth waiting for,’ he said. ‘Look at you!’
She asked if he liked the dress and he responded by running his big hands over the silky fabric and up her stockings.
Elisabetta laughed and pulled away. ‘I thought you said we were going to be late.’
‘It’s only my cousin’s wedding. I don’t even like him.’
‘Well, I’m not going to let you mess up my dress and make-up. Not to mention your new suit – which looks really good, by the way.’
Marco checked himself out in the hallway mirror. ‘You think so?’
‘Yes, I think so. You’re going to make the girls go crazy.’
‘They can’t have me,’ he said, lightly. ‘I’m spoken for.’
‘For that, I’ll kiss you, but later. I’ll be right back. I need to get a necklace.’
At that moment he stopped looking like a hulking man and took on the demeanor of a small, excited boy. He reached into his inside jacket pocket and removed a slim velvet box. ‘Maybe this will work.’
‘Marco, what have you done?’
She opened it and loved it immediately. It was a heart-shaped pendant on a gold chain, half the design done in pavé diamonds, half in rubies.
‘You like it?’
‘Oh my God! I love it!’
She ran back into the bathroom to put it on and came out glowing.
‘It looks beautiful,’ he said. ‘Like you.’
‘Half is me, half is you,’ Elisabetta said. ‘Which am I, the diamonds or the rubies?’
‘Whichever you like.’
She took a couple of steps forward and turned her face upwards to his. He encircled her in his strong arms and tenderly squeezed her ribs. She closed her eyes, put her arms around his waist, and her ear against his heart, feeling as happy and secure as she’d ever been.
‘Am I disturbing you?’
Startled, Elisabetta opened her eyes. Professor De Stefano was at her door. ‘No, please come in.’
The old man looked apologetic. ‘I just wanted to make sure you had everything you needed.’
‘Yes, it’s all here,’ she said, composing herself. ‘My box of papers arrived this morning from my father’s flat. The computer seems to work.’
‘Do you need someone to help you with it?’
‘We have computers at the school, Professor. I’m quite proficient.’
‘Good, good. I’ll have my secretary give you access to my files of photographs from the site.’
‘That would be useful,’ Elisabetta said.
De Stefano lingered. ‘Do you have a plan?’ he asked abruptly . ‘I know it’s only your first full day and I wouldn’t press you, but I’ve already had calls this morning from the Vatican.
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