The Deliverance of Evil Read Online Free PDF Page A

one of the Church’s many embarrassments. And really it was earthly justice.”
    Cardinal Alessandrini had very clear ideas and was willing to promote them even if they went against Vatican dogma.
    I would have preferred to wait in Angelo’s office for Elisa to come back, but I realized after opening my big mouth about easy lays and sluts it was better to allow things to settle. And so I let myself be persuaded to accompany Angelo to the church of San Valente to help Father Paul.
    While we were walking back over the grounds toward the exit, I glanced up at the third-floor windows. Elisa’s office window was the only one wide open. I lit a cigarette and again saw the sun’s reflection from Building A’s penthouse balcony.
    “There’s someone up there who likes playing around with binoculars.”
    Angelo nodded. “Manfredi, Count Tommaso’s son. He’s a bit strange, but if I were him I’d have problems too.”
    It seemed impossible to have problems in this branch of paradise. But I’d learned that family wealth doesn’t immunize people against the world, especially when they’re young.
    “What kind of problems does he have, apart from a problem with spying on passersby?”
    “Manfredi’s problem is his father. The count’s a very powerful politician, the leader of a party that wants to bring the monarchy back to Italy. He’s got vast economic resources, thanks to his family’s investments in Africa. Timber, minerals, livestock.”
    I’d also had an important man for a father. I could guess what Manfredi’s problems might be. But there was far worse, as I soon learned from Angelo.
    “The count married a very young woman named Ulla from an aristocratic family in the north of Europe. She was only seventeen at the time. She got pregnant right away. She continued to go riding and the fetus suffered. Manfredi was born with a severe birthmark and a harelip—you can barely look at him. Apart from that he’s a healthy kid and highly intelligent, but a difficult character. I feel really sorry for him; I don’t know what I’d do in his place.”
    The little freak with the binoculars got no sympathy from me.
    “There are worse things in life, Angelo. There are people who live quietly with much worse disabilities. Anyway, why don’t they operate on him?”
    “They’ve consulted plastic surgeons all over the world. The birthmark is too big to be removed—the technology just isn’t there yet. Maybe someday.”
    A blue car entered the grounds and parked next to the Aston Martin. A member of the entourage got out and quickly opened the rear door. The man who emerged immediately commanded respect. He was about forty-five, dressed in an impeccable blue pinstripe suit despite the heat. Tall and ramrod straight, he wore his black hair combed back from his wide forehead. He had a long aquiline nose, a thin mustache and a well-trimmed goatee. He didn’t so much as glance at us. He whispered in his bodyguard’s ear, then slipped through the front door of Building A.
    “Real friendly,” I observed.
    Angelo smiled. “The Count doesn’t much like human contact, especially with those who are not his peers.”
    The bodyguard came up and, pointing to me, addressed Angelo. “Is the gentleman with you?”
    “Yes, he is,” Angelo replied, cowed.
    “Then please inform your guest that these grounds are private property and smoking is strictly forbidden,” he said sharply. He turned and walked away.
    I’d never heard of a residential complex that banned not only parking, but smoking, too. A place where they spied on you from the balcony and knew all your details. I could see why young Manfredi’s life might have been difficult. I was careful not to stub out my cigarette on the ground for fear I’d be set upon by a pack of Dobermans or transferred to some forgotten police station up on a mountaintop.
    Angelo explained that the count occupied all of Building A and owned the entire residential complex. The Vatican only