his words sank in, Isabella blanched visibly. However much she hated Koch, the thought of having his blood on her hands was unbearable. She stood up and began to pace the sitting room nervously. ‘I couldn’t do that,’ she said.
‘You could,’ Salvato urged. ‘It would be easy enough. Suggest a meeting place, and we’ll be waiting for him.’
‘You have no idea how hard it would be,’ she protested. ‘Sometimes, he does come here alone, I admit, but I couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t be guarded.’
‘But you have met him alone in restaurants before. Luciana told me. Please, Isabella.’
‘I’ve only ever met him once before in a restaurant. Since that time, he just seems to want to drive around talking to me. It’s very complicated, Salvato. I’m already taking so many risks. Besides, to murder him in cold blood like that – it would be wrong.’
‘And how many people has he murdered, Isabella?’ he asked aggressively.
‘I know, but it still can’t be right to kill someone, it can’t be.’
Salvato stood up angrily. ‘You’re obviously not on our side.’
‘That’s not fair,’ she protested. ‘All along, my only aim has been to get Vicenzo out of prison, that’s why I’m doing this, and Koch is my only hope of succeeding. If he dies, Vicenzo’s chance might die with him.’
‘If Koch dies, so does a branch of the Fascist police in Rome. It would set them back for weeks, months maybe,’ Salvato replied.
‘I’m sorry,’ said Isabella, walking towards the door. ‘I can see how it would help you, but the answer has to be no.’
Thirty-Four
Milan
June 1944
Livia and Valentina, armed with their new identities as Laura and Paola, stayed with Dario in his apartment in Milan for a few days. He gave them some money to buy a change of clothes and a few basic supplies. In the evenings, they crowded round his old radio and listened to Radio Londra, desperate for news. In the first days of June, it came thick and fast – firstly with the liberation of Rome. They were guided through it all in the calm tones of Colonel Stephens.
The Allies are poised to enter Rome. General Maitland Wilson, Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean, said he is determined that Rome’s cultural significance should be protected. “It is the Allies’ intention,” he said, “to ensure that the military take all measures to protect the people of Rome, alongside their historical and religious monuments in the city”.
‘It sounds like the Germans are being squeezed between the Allied forces in the north and south,’ said Livia. ‘My fear is that Florence will be caught in the middle. It will become the Germans’ most important defensive position. The Resistance will need all the fighters they can get. I think I should go back.’
‘You’d be mad to do that,’ said Dario. ‘People are fleeing Florence and coming north.’
‘I know,’ she replied, ‘but everything I love is there. I have to go back.’
That evening, Livia rang her parents at the villa. It had been weeks since she had spoken to her father and she was desperate to hear his voice. Part of her dreaded the call. To discover he was dead, or that her mother had not survived, was almost more than she could bear. So, with a trembling hand, she dialled their number. The phone rang for a long time and she was about to give up, when it was answered by a faint voice at the other end.
‘Hello?’ In spite of the crackling phone line, she recognised her father’s voice immediately.
‘Papa! It’s me, Livia.’
‘Livia, is that really you, darling?’
‘Yes, Papa, it’s really me.’
‘Where are you?’ he asked desperately.
‘Somewhere in the north – but I’m safe.’
‘In the north – what are you doing there?’
‘It’s a very long story. Tell me, how are all of you?’
There was a moment’s silence on the other end.
‘Papa, what’s happened?’
‘Mamma and I are both fine, but I’m sorry to tell you that Nonno died a couple of weeks ago.’
‘Oh no,’ said Livia tearfully.
‘I’m so sorry,’ her father said, ‘but he was a very old man and in poor health. It was a blessing really, he’d been bedridden for months, and his end was peaceful – Mamma and I were both here holding his hand.’
Livia composed herself. ‘And how is Angela?’ she asked. ‘She must be so upset about Gino.’
‘Well, it was very hard for her at the beginning. But we keep her busy and that helps. The house is now a refuge for women and children displaced by the war. Your