Brimstone

The colo

D'Agosta stepped into a room wall-to-wall with filing cabinets and open shelves. Fascicles of documents sat on the shelves, tied up in twine. Some were so old and moldy they must have dated back centuries. An officer in a neat uniform of blue and white, with a smart red stripe down the outside of the slacks, stood and saluted crisply.

"Basta," said the colo

As they seated themselves, the colo

Pendergast took the first folder, opened it, slid out the case summary. "I regret that more than I can say."

"I regret it even more. Things were tranquil here until you arrived-and then .    " He opened his hands and smiled wanly.

"We are almost there, Colo

"Then let us pray you get there, wherever 'there' may be, as soon as possible."

Pendergast began reading through the case summaries, passing each to D'Agosta as he completed it. The only sound was the gentle whisper of forced air, carried into the basement by shiny aluminum ducts that snaked along the vaulted ceilings in a futile attempt to bring fresh air into these depths. D'Agosta looked at each case and its associated photograph, struggling to comprehend the Italian, able to get the gist but no more. Occasionally he jotted down a note-more to have something to report to Hayward on their next call than for his own recollection.

In less than an hour, they'd gone through them all.

Pendergast turned to D'Agosta. "Anything?"

"Nothing stood out."

"Let us take a second pass."

The colo

"There's no need for you to stay," said Pendergast.

Esposito waved his hand. "I am quite content to be buried down here, out of reach, my cell phone dead. It is not so pleasant upstairs, with the Procuratore della Repubblica calling every half hour-thanks again, I fear, to you " He looked around. "All that's lacking is an espresso machine." He turned to the officer.  "Caffè per tutti."

"Sissignore."

D'Agosta heaved a sigh and began leafing again through the barely comprehensible files. This time he paused at a black-and-white photo of a man lying in what looked like an abandoned building. The corpse lay curled in a cracked cement corner, very badly burned. It was a typical police photo, sordid, vile.

But there was something else. Something wrong.

Pendergast instantly detected his interest. "Yes?"

D'Agosta slid the photo over. Pendergast scrutinized it for a few seconds. Then his eyebrows shot up. "Yes, I do see."

"What is it?" asked the colo

"This man. You see the small pool of blood there, underneath him? He was burned and then shot."

"And so?"

"Usually victims are shot, then burned, to conceal evidence. Have you ever heard of burning a man first and then shooting him?"

"Frequently. To extract information."

"Not over half the body. Torture burning is localized."

Esposito peered at the photo. "That means nothing. A maniac, perhaps."

"May we see the complete file?"

The colo

Pendergast looked through the documents, pulled one out, began to summarize in English: "Carlo Va

A slow smile gathered on the colo

Pendergast flipped the page. "A single shot to the heart. And what's this? Some droplets of molten aluminum recovered by the medico legale , burned deep into the man's flesh."

He flipped another page.

"Now, this is even more intriguing. Several years before his murder, Va

The colo

"It would seem so."

A long silence.

"And yet," said Pendergast, almost to himself, "it's too perfect. If you wanted to kill someone, Colo

"That is too clever, Agent Pendergast. Never in my life have I dealt with a criminal who would be capable of such sophisticated pla

"We are not dealing with an ordinary criminal, and our killer had a very specific reason to kill." Pendergast laid the file down and gazed at D'Agosta. "Vincent?"

"Worth pursuing."

"May I have a copy of the report of the medico legale ?" Pendergast asked.

The colo

The colo

"I'm afraid we are."

Esposito sighed, smoke dribbling out of his nostrils. "Mio Dio.  This is all I need. You realize how long this will take? At least a year."

"Unacceptable."

The colo

"Of course what?"

"You could always go the unofficial route."

"You mean, grave robbing?"

"We prefer to call it il controllo preliminare . If you find something, then you do the paperwork."

Pendergast rose. "Thank you, Colo

"For what? I said nothing." And he made a mock bow. "Besides, the place is out of my jurisdiction. A satisfactory arrangement for all concerned-save perhaps Carlo Va

As they were leaving, the colo