Inspector Lynley 18 - Just One Evil Act

La capisco.
” He did wish that he spoke her language better—at least enough to tell her not to worry—but when he said, “
Non si deve preoccupare
,” he could tell she didn’t understand. They were like two inhabitants of Babel.
    He started the car and they were on their way back to the
questura
when her mobile rang. When she said into it, “Inspector? Thank God,” he reckoned it was Lynley ringing her. From her earlier call to the London detective, he knew she’d asked him about the Upmans. He hoped for her sake that Thomas Lynley had discovered something that would relieve her anxiety.
    That was not the case. She cried out like a wounded animal, saying, “Bloody hell, no!
Florence?
That’s not far from here, is it? Let me send her to you. Please, sir. I’m begging. They’ll find her. I know it. Mura will tell them I took her and they’ll look for me and how the hell hard will it be for them to find me, eh? They’ll take her away and I won’t be able to stop them and it’ll destroy Azhar. It’ll kill him, Inspector, and he’s been through enough and you know it, you
know
it.”
    Salvatore glanced at her. It was odd, he thought, her passion for this case. He’d never encountered a fellow cop with such a fierce determination to prove anything.
    She was saying, “Salvatore took us to DARBA Italia like I said. But all he did was get us in to see the managing director and that was it. He picked up a bloody list of employees but he didn’t ask a single question about
E. coli
and there’s no time to go at things this way. Everything hangs in the balance. You know this, sir. Hadiyyah, Azhar, everyone’s at risk here.”
    She listened to something Lynley was saying. Salvatore glanced at her. He saw tears sparkling on the tips of her eyelashes. Her fist pounded lightly on her knee.
    She handed him the mobile phone, finally, saying unnecessarily, “It’s Inspector Lynley.”
    Lynley’s first words were said on a sigh. “
Ciao, Salvatore. Che cosa succede?
”
    But instead of telling the London man about their visit to DARBA Italia, Salvatore sought some clarification. He said, “Something tells me, my friend, that you have not been completely honest with me about this woman Barbara and her relationship to the professor and his daughter. Why is this, Tommaso?”
    Lynley said nothing for a moment. Salvatore wondered where he was: at work, at home, out questioning someone? The London man finally said, “
Mi dispiace, Salvatore
.” He went on to explain that Taymullah Azhar and his daughter Hadiyyah were neighbours of Barbara Havers, in London. He said that she was quite fond of them both.
    Salvatore narrowed his eyes. “What means this
fond
?”
    “She’s close to them.”
    “Are they lovers, Barbara and the professor?”
    “Good God, no. It isn’t that. She’s jumped off into some deep water, Salvatore, and I should have told you when she showed up over there, when you first rang me about her.”
    “What has she done? To be in this deep water, I mean.”
    “What hasn’t she done?” Lynley said. “Just now she’s gone to Italy without leave from the Met to do so. She’s determined to save Azhar in order to save Hadiyyah. That’s it in a nutshell.”
    Salvatore glanced at Barbara Havers. She was watching him, a fist pressed to her mouth, her eyes—such a nice blue they were—fixed on him like a frightened animal. He said to Lynley, “Her greater interest is the child, you are saying?”
    “Yes and no,” Lynley told him.
    “Meaning what, Tommaso?”
    “Meaning that she’s telling herself her greater interest is the child. As to the reality? That I don’t know. To be honest, my fear is that she’s blinded herself.”
    “Ah. Mine is that she sees things too clearly.”
    “Meaning?”
    “She may have proved me as lacking as Piero Fanucci when it comes to seeing the truth, my friend. I have spoken to the managing director of DARBA Italia. He is called Antonio Bruno.”
    “Good God. Is he indeed?”
    “He is indeed. I’m on my way to discuss this with Ottavia Schwartz. If I hand this phone back to Barbara Havers, will you tell her please that things are well in hand?”
    “I will do. But, Salvatore, Hadiyyah’s grandparents have landed in Florence. They’ll be on their way to Lucca to fetch her. The child doesn’t know them. But she does know Barbara.”
    “Ah,” Salvatore said. “I see.”
    LUCCA
    TUSCANY
    All he said to her was “Barbara, you can trust