Deadly Crescendo [antikvár]

ONETHE ROOM, although large and high-ceilinged, was gloomy and claustrophobic. It contained too much heavy furniture: a huge desk and behind it an oversized chair, a candlelit table laid for supper, an ornate couch upholstered with silk, a massive stone fireplace running half the length of one wall, and a dusty bookcase covering another. The thick curtains had been drawn for the night, damping all exterior sounds. The candlelight gave a soft glow, but the uncertain tremor of the flames threw grotesque shadows, and the light from the embers in the fireplace was almost blood red.The woman stood, immobile, looking down at the man she had stabbed. He was already dead, and without taking her eyes off the body, she backed away towards the supper table. There was blood on her hands, and she took a napkin and dipped it in the water jug, then carefully wiped her fingers clean. She paused for a moment in front of an ornate gilded mirror on the wall, peering at her reflection in the dim light to tidy her hair. Then she moved quickly to the desk and began ruffling through its papers, searching for the document she needed. It was not there.She remembered where it must be and, kneeling by the body, she unclenched the fingers of the man's right hand and extracted a small sheet of paper, which she folded and hid in her dress. She stood slowly, looking down at the corpse."And all Rome trembled before him." Her voice seemed to express wonder at the thought.The woman turned to leave the room, but a moment of remorse made her hesitate. Taking two candles from the table, she placed one on either side of the dead man. There was a smafl wooden crucifix on the desk, and she placed it on the man's chest. She stared at the arrangement, and crossed herself, as though seeking absolution. After a moment, she turned and walked swiftly from the room, closing the door quietly.