Free Goddess of Death by Roy Lewis Page B

everything. And timing is all. Prison allows one to think, to plan, to reach decisions … Perhaps I should explain to you, Mr Landon. Miss Cacciatore, she has been too involved to remain other than prejudiced against me. But I agree with her, it was my decision and I admit there was much that did not come out at the trial. There were reasons for my silence. But now it is time to say what I have to say.’
    ‘To what purpose?’ Carmela snapped.
    ‘To right wrongs,’ Steiner replied almost amicably, then his tone hardened. Once more, he addressed himself to Arnold. ‘The fact is, Mr Landon, the arrest, the trial, the imprisonment, none of this need ever have happened. But although I was given promises, I was betrayed. There were arrangements made in high places, decisions taken behind closed doors, identities protected and … large sums of money paid. In those circumstances, I realized that it was pointless my insisting on being heard: my position would only have worsened. So I accepted my fate, did not dispute the charges against me. I served time for my … so-called crimes.’
    ‘You stole artefacts from the museum,’ Carmela said harshly. ‘And you covered your tracks with false accounting. You damaged efforts on our part, hid systems we could have exposed. You set back our investigations, twisted our—’
    ‘One moment.’ Steiner held up a lean, narrow-wristed hand. His smile was hard-edged. ‘Did you come here to continue the tirade you made against me in court years ago? Or did you come to hear what I have to say? The past is the past, Signorina Cacciatore. I am concerned with the future.’
    ‘The future?’ Carmela’s tone was scornful. She glanced about her, then gestured to the view outside the window. ‘Your future seems comfortable. You seem to have set yourself up well enough here. All this, I’ve no doubt, will have been paid for by your depredations at the museum, sales of artefacts that you covered by setting up two bank accounts under fictitious names. You regularly paid yourself relatively small sums that no one noticed for a while, but which in the end amounted to considerable sums of money. That’s how you’ve been able to establish yourself here, set yourself up in comfort—’ 
    ‘You are mistaken,’ he interrupted her harshly. ‘The accounts you mention … I admit to setting them up, but they were identified and impounded. I was left penniless, believe me, and asfor this villa, this lifestyle … the house is rented, I have no income to speak of and little to fall back on.’
    ‘And you expect sympathy from me?’ Carmela demanded scornfully.
    There was a short silence. The man’s eyes were hooded. He shook his head slowly. ‘Your feelings are irrelevant. What I seek is … revenge.’
    Carmela glanced at Arnold. He moved slightly to stand beside her. The two of them stared at the man seated in front of them.
    ‘You see, the trial should never have been held. You see me as a dishonest and unethical man. But I was not alone, you must understand. There were others, who were stealing on a much greater scale than my puny efforts. I was simply following a trend that had been long established in the world in which we all moved: you, me, Mr Landon here. You must know that many of the charges that could have been brought against me were never exposed. Never investigated at the trial. You were not surprised by that?’
    ‘I put it down to illegal influence,’ Carmela said bitterly.
    ‘Oh, that, and more. Not least that to bring all the charges would have brought out into the open evidence that would have proved damaging to many other people. Not bringing the charges, that was part of a deal I struck. Or thought I had struck with the authorities. But I was conned, trapped, betrayed … and now I want revenge.’
    ‘Just what exactly are you trying to say?’ Carmela asked, the bitterness fading, a true curiosity emerging in her voice.
    Peter Steiner glanced at Arnold, and smiled.