CHAPTER 65
— JEREMY NILES'S NAME, is it there?
A sense of triumph swept through Victoria's soul.
— Yes, it's here — repeated Antoine, handing Victoria the sheet he was reading — see for yourself.
Roman Green and Nicole stood behind the woman, reading together. When quickly scrolling through the headline written just below the image of a coffin disembarking in the port of London, a luminous glint appeared in the trio's eyes:
THE BODY OF YOUNG JEREMY NILES ARRIVED IN LONDON TODAY.
The third son of a wealthy industrialist, Niles was killed in Egypt when he was mistaken by local police for a grave robber.
Further down, in small print, the story continued:
As the trip took three weeks, the body of Richard Hulmann's assistant arrived in a sealed lead coffin. Burial will take place tomorrow at London Cemetery.
Nicole turned her eyes to the pair beside her.
— Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Victoria's face showed an emotion that was long forgotten.
— My God! — Said the woman, radiant — it can't be! — putting both hands to the head. — This is just fantastic!
— What?
Gregory had the feeling he was missing something.
— Great! exclaimed Roman Green...
— Hulmann really was brilliant — Nicole confessed — having given custody of the Golden Book to whoever most wanted to get hold of it!
— I keep imagining Jeremy Niles's funeral… The Brotherhood of the Serpent must have been there in droves, frustrated that they hadn't gotten the Golden Book — Nicole said.
— Book that, by Richard Hulmann's irony, was so close, within reach of your hands — concluded the young woman.
— And now, what are we going to do? — Antoin asked.
— Now I think it's time for Gregory to return to London; I don't need to tell you what you have to do! — Said the woman winking at the detective.
— WHAT DID YOU FIND OUT, Greg? — Green asked.
— Nothing so fabulously interesting for the case, the Saldini's are a traditional Florentine family. Its members have always maintained an irreproachable conduct, no slips. There are not even fines for traffic violations. Interpol found absolutely nothing that would make you suspicious.
— Too perfect a family, isn't it?
— And put perfection into it! United, well-connected and very rich... His fortune is close to seventeen billion dollars. They have an empire that extends to the shareholding of companies in the field of satellite telecommunications, cable television, cell phones, in addition to exploring diamonds in South Africa and the pharmaceutical sector in Germany.
Greg raised his eyebrows.
— Did you say, well-connected?
— Yes, but to tell you the truth, well-connected doesn't seem like the right term...
— As well?
— The impression I get is that the Saldini form part of a gigantic and very powerful family with branches all over the world. You see: the Count's sister is married to the biggest banker in Holland. This, in turn, is the second cousin of the steel tycoon in England. And it doesn't stop there. Intrigued by this, I discovered that this network of relationships spans all continents. They range from newspaper owners in Australia to bankers in New York. If their businesses weren't absolutely within the law as I could prove it myself, we could even say that they form a great International mafia, with enough financial power to dominate the world!
A mafia with enough financial power to rule the world!
Victoria raised her eyebrows.
— Tell me, Greg, what if they all belonged to the Serpent Brotherhood?
— Well, for now, we can't prove anything, we just have to go to London and turn over a coffin.