Page 53 of The Medici Return

“It is okay,” Ascolani said.

So he stepped close.

“Have you ever seen the Palio?”

He shook his head.

“It is a grand spectacle. A demonstration of liberty and self-expression. The track down there is itself a metaphor, a boundless loop around which people press and horses run. The sacred and the profane both dwell in the Palio. As does danger. Jockeys and horses have died. Tomorrow all that open space will be filled with people. I want you here. Ready. At the very least you will have an excellent vantage point from which to watch the race. Are you a practicing Catholic?”

“My faith is strong.”

“Do you take confession?”

“I do. With some qualifications.”

“I thought that might be the case. It is hard to be entirely honest with a stranger, regardless of priest confidentiality. And I appreciate your discretion. I truly do. Would you like me to hear yourfullconfession? There would be no reason to be hesitant with me.”

No, there would not. “I would like that.”

“Then kneel, and I will absolve you of all sin.”

CHAPTER 36

COTTON WAS WONDERING JUST WHAT EXACTLY HE’D MANAGED TOdrop himself into. Nothing good, for sure. Here he was in the middle of Tuscany, on a horse farm, with a cardinal cast in the shadow of corruption and a woman, noted as an “opportunist,” who definitely seemed a few steps ahead of them. That last part was the most troublesome, since Camilla Baines knew exactly what she wanted.

They’d retreated to the stable, a rambling building of olden stone that housed a number of animals, the air filled with the scents of sweat, oil, and hay. Camilla spoke with the jockey for a few moments outside before returning inside and motioning that they should walk to the far end.

“Signore Malone, you asked what I want. I have a problem.”

Finally, she was getting to the point.

“We Golden Oakers have a long history. We were part of the original decree, from 1730, that established the eighteen wards of Siena. We have claimed the Palio forty-three times, which is nearly a record. Among the othercontradaswe have both allies and enemies.”

“Who are your enemies?” Richter asked.

“We have two. The Dragons and the Porcupines, though the latter is because of our ally, the She-Wolf, who hate the Porcupines.”

“Sounds like a complicated situation,” Richter noted.

Camilla grinned. “Similar to having four hundred thousand euros hidden in your diocese residence? That seems worse than complicated.”

“I see Chas briefed you,” Richter said.

“He explained your situation. He also thought you were being framed.”

“What do you think?” Cotton asked.

She shrugged. “Cardinal Stamm has great instincts. So I trust his judgment. If I did not, we would not be talking to each other. With regard to you, Signore Malone, the cardinal thinks you are a most competent individual. He says you were most helpful to him a while back with a serious problem.”

Yes, he had been.

Which was now paying dividends.

Camilla Baines reminded him of his mother. Both were eminently practical women, good listeners, careful planners, and focused on what they wanted. For his mother that had meant raising her son, alone, after his father died when he was ten. Killed when his navy submarine was lost at sea. She’d stepped right in and filled the void as best she could. She still lived on her family’s onion farm in central Georgia, running it as her father, his beloved grandfather, had done before her. He’d learned many valuable lessons from his mother, but one seemed apt here.Keep your mouth shut and your ears open and you’ll learn a lot.His mother had also had a low bullshit tolerance level. Same as, he believed, Camilla Baines.

“The jockey we contracted with,” she said, “is not working out. We hire them, then watch them day and night. They are not allowed to speak to anyone or use the phone. We isolate them to keep any double-dealing to a minimum. This one, though, has proven especially resourceful and self-serving.”

“Isn’t that just part of the Palio?” Cotton asked.

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