Chapter 50 Chapter 48: Paola Di Candi's Apartment

Paula's door was closed for a long time, and she was inside, exhausted.Mom is not at home, I went to a friend's house to play.It's just right for Paula, who can let off steam.Now she is at the lowest point of emotion, if her mother is here, it is impossible not to see it.If the mother finds out how her daughter is now and must try to make her happy, it will be even worse.Paula needed to be alone, to face her inner failure and helplessness.At this point she didn't want anyone to disturb her. She was lying on the bed, not bothering to take off her clothes.The rhythmic noise of street noise and April afternoon sunlight flooding into her house slowly eased the tension of the past few days and the fight with Troy just now.Finally, under the double exhaustion of spirit and body, she slowly fell asleep.After sleeping for about nine hours, a scent of fragrant coffee disturbed her dream, and she tried to open her eyes.

"Mom, you came back too early." "You're right. I came back a little too soon. But I'm not your mother." The voice was polite and steady, with a little hesitant Italian: it was Anthony's voice! Paula opened her eyes this time, without thinking, she hugged Anthony's neck all at once! "Be careful, be careful, you're going to spill the coffee." Paula let go of him reluctantly.Anthony sat on the edge of the bed, looking at Paula with a mischievous smile on his face.In one hand he held a mug he found in the kitchen. "How did you get in? How did you escape from the two policemen? They didn't put you on the plane to Washington..."

"Calm down, ask one question at a time." Anthony said with a smile, "how to get rid of two fat cops, their training is so bad, I ask you not to insult my IQ. As for how I get into your apartment, It's easy, use a lockpicker." "I see, CIA basic training, right?" "Yes and no, I'm sorry to enter rashly, but I knocked for a long time and no one responded. I thought you might be in danger, but when I saw you sleeping so peacefully, I decided to fulfill my promise: invite you to drink a cup of coffee." Paula stood up and took the glass from Anthony.The only light in the bedroom now is from street lamps, casting some shadows on the ceiling.Anthony looked at everything in the room with this light. On one wall were Paula's certificates, high school, college, FBI, swimming medals, and some oil paintings, which must have been painted 30 years ago. of.All of this reminds Anthony once again of how fragile this intelligent and energetic woman is, carrying the burden of her past into her future.She was a woman who had never been out of childhood, and Anthony looked at the wall next to the bed, imagining what a woman sleeping here would look like.Finally he found a photo of Paula with her father in the hospital next to her pillow, and Anthony knew that was the line between Paula and the past.

"The coffee is good, but my mother's coffee is terrible." "Coffee is made when the heat is right, Sergeant." "Then why did you come back?" "Many reasons. Because I don't want to leave you alone in this mess. To prevent things from going his way. And I suspect it's not as simple as we see it. I feel like we're being used, you and I , and others. Also, I think you have a personal drive to get this thing going." Paula frowned. "You are right, Pontillo is my friend and colleague. Now all I want to do is bring justice to the people who killed him. But I really don't know what else we can do now, I have no police badge Nothing else, we are nothing now, just two clouds, even a little wind can blow us away. Besides, they are probably looking for you now!"

"You're right, maybe. I showed two cops my ticket stub to Fiumicino airport. Troy probably wouldn't go so far as to order my arrest. The whole city is in such a mess right now, I It’s not going to do him any favors, and how does he define my behavior? So it’s likely he just let me do it.” "And what about your boss, Father?" "Officially I work in Langley, Washington, and privately they have no objection to my staying here for a while." "That's not bad news." "Now what we're going to do is sneak into the Vatican because Serin is watching everything."

"I don't see how we can protect the cardinals if they are inside and we are outside?" "I think we should start from scratch. Go back to the beginning of this mystery, because obviously we're missing something." "How do we get back to the beginning? I don't have those files. Kaloski's file is sitting at UACV headquarters." A mischievous smile formed on the corner of Anthony's mouth. "God grants us little miracles sometimes." He pointed to Paula's desk on the other side of the room, and Paula turned on the small lamp on the desk, and the light shone on the many yellow envelopes on the table, which were Kaloski's materials.

"I suggest that we set up a joint venture. You concentrate on what you do best: the killer's psychological file analyst. Use these factual materials we have to make a complete analysis and identification. And I will continue to provide Your refreshing coffee." Paula had already finished her first glass.She tried to get a better look at Anthony's face, but he stood outside the lamp ring.Suddenly a vague feeling hit her, which was her premonition that day in the corridor of the Santa Mar University dormitory. At that time, she ignored the feeling because she couldn't explain it clearly, thinking that she would say it more clearly later.Now, with so much going on after Cardoso's death, it's even more clear to her that her instincts were on target.Paula turned on the computer, took out an empty folder from the table, and began to collect clues in earnest according to Kaloski's information.

"Then make another pot of coffee, Father. I want to prove my theory."