The Ancient Curse Read Online Free PDF Page A

turn. I could ask another one of the regional directors to send someone in, but I’d rather not do that, because they’d certainly expect a favour in return. And, to be truthful, I can’t say that my colleagues . . . Well, enough said.’
    ‘No, really,’ insisted Fabrizio. ‘I’d be happy to work on this project. How soon would you like me to start?’
    ‘Right away, Castellani. You can see for yourself that it’s an emergency. Talk with Dr Dionisi and have her give you the men you need.’
    Fabrizio finished his coffee and took his leave.
    Francesca Dionisi was waiting for him in the hall, as if she had guessed the reason for his meeting with the director.
    ‘Well?’ she asked. ‘What did the boss want? If I’m not being indiscreet . . .’
    ‘Nothing less than for me to excavate the tomb that was broken into last night.’
    ‘Ah. The Rovaio tomb.’
    ‘That’s the one. Listen, I hope I’m not stepping on anyone’s toes here. I came to Volterra for something completely different.’
    ‘I know. You’re here for the boy in room twenty.’
    Fabrizio suddenly thought of the woman’s voice he’d heard the night before on the telephone: could it have been Francesca? But as much as he racked his brain, he could not connect the timbre of that voice with Francesca’s natural lilt.
    ‘Cat got your tongue?’ she asked.
    ‘No, it’s nothing. I’m sorry.’
    ‘Well, then, no, you’re not stepping on my toes in the least. Actually, you’re doing me a favour, and I know the director will be grateful for your assistance as well. He’s a man who doesn’t forget people who’ve helped him and I know he will appreciate your willingness to give us a hand.’
    Francesca invited him into her office, where a green apple was sitting on a plate on her desk. A snack maybe, or even her lunch.
    ‘Listen, if I can I’ll come by the Rovaio site to see what’s coming out,’ she went on, ‘but don’t count on it, because I’ve got my hands full as it is. Ill sign the work order for the labourers. How many? One, two, three?’
    ‘Two will be enough.’
    ‘All right. Two.’
    ‘Francesca?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘There’s something I don’t understand. The director leaves headquarters in Florence for weeks to come and bury himself in this provincial office. What may be an intact tomb comes to light, probably a major discovery, and he doesn’t even take a look at it. He signs over the dig to someone who doesn’t even work for him, an academic to boot . . . This whole thing just doesn’t make sense and I was asking myself whether you . . .’
    ‘Whether I know something? Yes, I do, but make believe you don’t know that. It’s something big, much bigger than anything you can imagine.’
    Fabrizio thought that if she’d wanted to silence his curiosity she would have simply answered that she knew nothing about it, so he continued to push his point. ‘Bigger than an intact tomb from, let’s say, the fifth or fourth century BC ?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Good grief.’
    ‘Good grief is right. Now, go ahead, collect your workers and excavate that tomb at Rovaio. Then tell me what you’ve found.’
    ‘How about tonight, over pizza?’
    Francesca gave a half-smile. ‘Sounds like you’re asking me out.’
    ‘Well, you know, I’m new here. And I hate eating alone.’
    ‘I’ll think about it. In the meantime, be sure you do a good job. Balestra’s as fussy as they come.’
    ‘So I’ve heard.’
    F ABRIZIO went out to the street and waited for the workers to pull the truck round to the front, then he got in next to the driver. They were at the dig in less than half an hour and the cop on duty was more than happy to go back to headquarters to write up his report.
    Fabrizio decided on a frontal excavation: that is, from the tomb’s main entrance. As soon as he had established the position of the facade, he began removing the earth that had accumulated over centuries as the hill behind the tomb eroded. He suspected that