Quickly, instinctively, Maria lay down on her stomach, stretching out her hand. ‘Here, take it!’ she implored.
Lorenzo made a small movement, but his face was filled with terror. ‘I can’t let go,’ he gasped. ‘I’ll drop.’
Maria inched closer on her belly, reaching out for him. Her hand grasped his wrist. ‘I’ve got you,’ she cried triumphantly.
‘Pull me up!’
Maria tried, her muscles straining, the ache in her arms unbearable. ‘You need to help me,’ she told him. She realized she was crying, tears of exasperation and fear rolling down her cheeks. ‘I’m not strong enough. Try and pull yourself up.’
Lorenzo’s body gave a jolt and he almost slipped. Maria screamed as she was dragged forwards, Lorenzo almost pulling her over the ledge with him. Now she was terrified that he was going to pull her down too. Her hands were sweating, her grip loosening, his hand sliding through hers.
‘Maria!’ he screamed. ‘Don’t let go! I can’t—’
And then suddenly the excruciating weight pulling on her arm was gone, her shoulder muscles no longer screaming in protest. Her hand was simply dangling in mid-air over the ledge, holding onto nothing. There was a cry, and a sickening crack.
Maria opened her mouth to scream as Lorenzo fell, but no sound came out. It was as though she was too shocked. Her body reacted instinctively, scrambling back from the edge, unable to stand up but wanting to get as far away as possible.
She was panting from the exertion, sweat trickling down her back. Her stomach twisted, and for a moment she thought she might vomit. She clambered unsteadily to her feet, her legs shaking, and whirled round in terror, ready to run. But something stopped her. A sudden sense that, once again, she wasn’t alone. Through her daze, Maria heard a noise behind her.
She spun round, terror written across her face, and locked eyes with Lucia Santi.
Gina had begun to cry as she recounted what had happened. Marco put his arm around her, and Gina leaned into him, drawing comfort from his strong, solid frame.
‘It’s true,’ Lucia spoke up.
Everyone looked across at her, and she stared at Detective Gallo defiantly, a trace of her old spirit coming back. ‘Maria – Gina – didn’t kill Lorenzo. She tried to save him. I was there. I saw it all.’
Gina exhaled shakily. She’d lived for so long with the knowledge of what had happened, knowing that she’d been seen by Lucia, questioning whether there was anything she could have done differently to change the terrible outcome. Gina had tortured herself with the notion that her memories might be tricking her, that perhaps she had in some way been responsible for Lorenzo’s death. Guilt and fear and uncertainty had been her constant companions this past decade. Only her work had brought solace, and a respite from the dark thoughts running through her mind.
It was impossible to describe the relief that came from telling the truth and having her story confirmed by Lucia, daring to dream that her nightmare might be over, and she could finally move forwards. But Detective Gallo wasn’t finished with her yet.
‘Why didn’t you ever tell anyone?’ he questioned, looking at her intently with his sharp eyes that missed nothing. ‘You knew that everyone was looking for Lorenzo, wondering what had happened. A mother was pining for her son. Why didn’t you ever come clean?’
‘She was fifteen,’ Lucia burst out. ‘She was terrified. And that bastard had tried to rape her. She didn’t owe him a goddamn thing.’
Gina bowed her head. ‘No Lucia, we both know that not telling anyone was my fault.’
She turned to the inspector. ‘I told Lucia that we would both be in trouble if she told anyone, I made her believe that she would be implicated.’ Then she turned to Lucia. ‘I am so sorry. I would never have done that in reality, but I was terrified and not thinking straight. What if I hadn’t been believed? I would have brought shame on my family and it would have killed my father.’ Her eyes filled with tears. ‘The sad thing is that I think my mother was right, the secret destroyed him anyway.’
‘So, you brought Lucia into the lie,’ Gallo said, his face inscrutable.
‘No!’ Lucia interrupted. ‘Maria was traumatized. It is only now, looking back, and understanding what trauma and abuse can do to a person that I understand.’ A dark look passed across her face. ‘I have known this pain too, but that is my secret. Until recently I hated Maria, but she was not the guilty party, and there is no shame, or blame on her for what happened.’
‘Only my father knew the truth, though my mother suspected,’ Gina continued. ‘When Papà died, she blamed me. I had to get away, to reinvent myself as Gina, I even changed the colour of my hair and gave myself a new name. I just wanted to leave the past behind. Venice gave me the opportunity to do that. This city made everything possible.’
Detective Gallo sat forwards and said nothing for a few moments, then he turned off the Dictaphone and rested his face on his hands.
‘How did you know Gina was Maria?’ he asked Lucia.
‘Gina is very pretty and so was Maria, which I would have remembered. She is graceful too, and has a way of holding herself, something that Maria had too. I wasn’t sure, but when Massimo told me Gina was from the mountains, I took a chance. Her reaction when I confronted her confirmed it.’ Lucia smiled. ‘Gina doesn’t like lying and it shows.’
‘Lucia is one of the most famous voices in the world,’ Gina admitted, ‘she had the voice of an angel when we were children. I hoped she would have forgotten me, but I could never have forgotten her.’
The detective let out a deep sigh. ‘I need to write up my report and think it over. I won’t be making any arrests today, but the situation may change.’
‘I understand, Detective,’ Gina said.
‘Thank you for your time, all of you. I may still have more questions – please make yourselves available if I do.’ Detective Gallo then left the room. Instinctively, Gina stood up, stepping away from Marco and moving over to Lucia. The two women embraced.
‘Thank you,’ whispered Gina.
‘For what?’
‘Telling the truth. Whatever happens next, we know we were completely honest about everything.’
Lucia pulled back and looked at Gina. Gina took in every contour of her face, usually hidden beneath a mask of make-up, noticing how youthful and pretty she looked. Almost the same teenage girl she’d known back in Cannegia ten years ago. Then Lucia’s gaze dropped to the floor, shame crossing her face.
‘I’m sorry,’ she murmured. As Gina frowned in confusion, Lucia continued, ‘For the way I behaved. Holding Lorenzo’s death over you, using it as a threat … It was unforgivable. But the accident changed everything. I’ve had a lot of time to think – too much time, in fact, alone with my thoughts. I was a horrible person, so wrapped up by behaving in the way I thought was expected of me, with no consideration of how it might affect anyone else. But now La Leonessa is gone. Lucia Santi is back,’ she declared boldly.
Gina knew that Lucia had changed her surname, from the rather plain Santi to the far more glamorous de Santis, but she thought the latter suited Lucia much better. ‘Don’t be too hard on yourself,’ Gina smiled. ‘La Leonessa could be a lot of fun too.’
‘Well, perhaps she’s not buried completely,’ Lucia conceded, her lips curling upwards wickedly. ‘But Gina, you gave me the biggest gift anyone could. You saved my life, and I can’t thank you enough. I can never repay you, but if there’s anything you need, just let me know. I wish the two of you all the happiness in the world.’
The two women hugged for a final time, and there was real affection in their embrace. Gina knew that her nightmare wasn’t over yet, but Lucia was looking to the future, and Gina hoped she would soon get that chance too.
Chapter 39
Palm Springs, April 1995
