Page 57 of The Unraveling of Julia

“No one informed you?”

“No.”

“You started digging in the proper spot, merely by chance?”

Um.Julia swallowed hard. “When I saw the crack, yes.”

Marshal Torti mulled it over. “Yesterday in my office, you suggested you would be leaving Tuscany and going back to America.”

“No, you suggested I do that, but I don’t want to. I’m trying to research the history of my family, and this is the best place to do it.” Julia didn’t think it was his business anyway. “Finding this tunnel proves my point. So no, I’m not leaving.”

“One would think that this discovery would support a decision to leave, rather than to stay.”

“Why?”

“You said yesterday that you were concerned about a kidnapping plot. Now you suggest that Signora Rossi may have herself been involved in kidnapping children.”

“I’m staying.”

“Fine.” Marshal Torti pursed his lips. “We will contact the prosecutor, and he will handle the matter legally. To state the obvious, Signora Rossi is now beyond the reach of the law. Her judgment comes from God.”

“But what about the child who was put down there? She could be among the missing children. It would be from decades ago. Maybe you can find her. I’d like to find her, too. I’m wondering if she’s my birth mother.”

“Ms. Pritzker, we will conduct our investigation as per procedure. We will search the databases for missing children in order to determine which, if any, are still missing. It will take time, considering we do not know when the child was imprisoned. You tell me Signora Rossi lived here for fifty years, so it could have been anytime during that time span.”

“Okay, well, thank you.” Julia felt satisfied, for now. “If you discover any names of children from the area who are still missing, may I have them?”

“No, as with yesterday, that is confidential information. If you wish to obtain such information, you would need to seek legal representation and bring the matter to court.”

Julia decided to change tacks. “Were you able to get fingerprints from the cell?”

“No, due to the mold.”

“What about the bed or the desk?” Julia glanced at the crime techs, who pointedly averted their eyes.

“Nothing.”

“What about hair and fibers, like DNA?”

“None except for the comb that you brought out.” Marshal Torti spoke to a crime tech in Italian, and the tech crossed to the table, set down her metal case, and extracted two brown bags with yellow labels that readPROVA. She started to take the watercolor self-portrait, but Julia hurried over.

“Wait. Can’t you leave that? Maybe make a copy?”

Marshal Torti interjected, “No, the original is evidence.”

“Did you take the other watercolors from the cell?”

“Yes. We must confiscate the comb, too.”

“Hold on, please.” Julia slid her phone from her back pocket and took photos of the self-portrait. “I’d like to take photos of the other watercolors, too.”

“For what reason?”

“They belong to me.” Julia realized they were in a power struggle and he wouldn’t lose face in front of his staff. “Marshal Torti, I would really appreciate it if you would allow me to take the photos, as a personal matter. If the girl really is my biological mother, they’re the only mementos I have of her.”

Marshal Torti nodded to the crime tech. “Fine.”

“Thank you.” Julia took photos of the watercolors, then spotted some hair in the comb’s teeth and quickly slid it off. She experienced the static tingling again, but she masked her reaction.

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