Chapter 36
IN THE MORNING, Marco felt far from refreshed. He sat in the front of the Alfa, with Laura now taking a turn in driving. The motel had been too close to the autostrada for anything more than occasional snatches of sleep. Laura had requested separate rooms for the three of them. This was a surprise; Marco had assumed Laura would be sharing with Riccardo, but it seemed unlikely the two had stayed apart simply because he was with them. Maybe Laura wanted it that way because Riccardo was in such a foul mood. He could tell that Riccardo still resented his presence.
Laura pulled out to pass a large tanker that was rapidly losing speed on a long climb. "Mont Blanc Tunnel coming up. Get the credit card out of my purse for the toll, Marco."
Marco had been staring in fascination at the huge mountain covered in ice and cloud. He said he would pay, the Vatican would reimburse him, but Laura insisted it would come out of her writing expenses. With the tanker safely behind, she dropped a gear to get by a whole convoy of trucks, the engine buzzing sweetly at high revs.
"We'll stop for a coffee in about an hour," she said. "We'll be somewhere near Geneva by then."
"Good idea." Marco was only half listening. The credit card had a small photo of Laura on it. It was a pleasant picture, if on the small side. But below the card was another photo of Laura. He felt a chill run down his arms. He had found a security pass for TV Roma -- in Laura's name.
Riccardo might be a newspaper journalist, and Bruno had probably been one as well, but this was a pass issued by TV Roma for their permanent staff. It even had a payroll number on it. It meant that Laura worked full time for TV Roma. She had lied -- she was not a freelance journalist.
Slowly he zipped the purse shut and passed over the credit card, hoping his consternation was not apparent. Was it too much to think he could still trust Laura? Looking across at her now, he had an almost irresistible urge to move behind her and put his hands over her breasts, and kiss her on the neck -- never mind about Riccardo watching in the back.
But Riccardo seemed more interested in a black Opel keeping pace with them a few cars in front.