The Lion of Justice Read Online Free PDF

numbers had been calling.
    I bowed at the corpse apologetically, then grabbed a bright-yellow tulip from a vase and placed it on the body, near the head. I had no idea whether the body had been occupied by a friend or foe. I zipped my luggage and carried it outside.
    The apartment keys would connect me to this Montemassi apartment and the dead body, so once outside, I locked the door, slid the keys into an envelope, and dropped it through the mail slot. I walked to my Punto and started the engine, then headed straight out of the village.
    I drove to Roccastrada, then headed east, looking for the highway leading to Siena and Florence. I remembered David telling me about a restaurant in Civitella Marittima that was inside a bed-and-breakfast. Hopefully, someone was still awake there, but if it came to it, I could always sleep inside the car.
    The valley smelled of thyme, and although the stars were aligned just as they were in Finland, the world felt askew. I tried not to think about the dead man. It wasn’t the first time I had had to shut out unpleasant thoughts. It was a skill I had to master.
    The streets of Civitella Marittima were steep and winding. I had no idea what the bed-and-breakfast was called, and I didn’t spot any signs for it. I went to the gas station below the village, but it was closed. I parked my car on the hillside and walked until I found a brightly lit bar that was alive and noisy. There were about ten Middle Eastern men inside, hunched over their coffee, and I could feel them all staring. I asked the bartender if he spoke any English.
    “Just a little,” he said, looking awkward.
    “Bed-and-breakfast?” I pressed my hands together and placed them against my cheek, then cocked my head. The man got it before I had to add a fake snore.
    “ Dormire ! Alessandro, Locanda nel Cassero.” He grabbed me by the arm and walked me out of the café, gesturing uphill. I had to walk straight and then right. I decided to scout the place and ensure they had a room and a parking spot for the car. I found a building that looked like a restaurant, but the door was locked. The sign indicated that the kitchen closed over an hour earlier.
    I knew that restaurant staff didn’t just take off after closing. I knocked on the window nearest the door. No reply. I knocked on the next window. Again, nothing. Houses nearby were connected with each other, so if I wanted to get to the other side of the building, I’d have to walk all the way around the block. The sign on the door listed some phone numbers for people looking for a room after hours, so I grabbed my cell phone.
    Then the restaurant door opened, and a fluffy black cat sneaked out. I rushed to the door and shoved my foot between the door and the frame. The young lady who’d let the cat out was startled. I asked her in English whether they had any vacancies, and I was in luck. She lifted up two fingers with a nod. I didn’t ask what the price was and said I’d take one. A staircase lined with wrought iron handrails took me to the door along the outer wall.
    When I managed to drag my luggage to the room, I fell on the twin bed from sheer exhaustion and lay there motionless until I fell asleep. I woke up with a start when the church bells rang at two in the morning. My clothes felt stuffy, and the flavor of truffles in my mouth was too pungent. I opened my luggage to find my toothbrush, and the kaleidoscope fell onto the floor. I raised it to my eye and looked through it. It was just a regular kaleidoscope, which meant that I had to take it apart before I’d cross any borders; I didn’t want to attract drug-sniffing dogs or customs officials.
    As soon as I had brushed my teeth and washed my face, I was wide awake. I looked out the window to see the same fluffy cat; he was lying in the plaza in front of the restaurant, as if he owned the entire village. There was nobody else around. The other window opened to the valley and the mountains, and I could see little