The White Knight by Scott Mariani

Author:Scott Mariani [Mariani, Scott]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers
Published: 2023-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 29

‘Excellent,’ Scarpa said, glowing with satisfaction and suddenly looking about ten years younger.

‘So where do we do this?’ Ben asked, looking around him for any sign of a chessboard in the small, simple living room.

‘You’ll see,’ Scarpa replied enigmatically. ‘This way.’ He beckoned for Ben to follow.

He led Ben back along the passage towards the kitchen, then turned through a doorway and up a flight of creaky stairs to the first floor. Another bare passage, with a bedroom to one side, ended in a blank wall covered by a tall built-in bookcase. Scarpa stopped there.

‘You want to show me your book collection?’ Ben said.

Scarpa didn’t reply. With a mysterious little smile he ran his finger along the rows of book spines, then reached for one of them, an old antiquities auction catalogue from 1979. Instead of pulling the book out he pushed it in, and to Ben’s surprise the click of an opening latch sounded from somewhere behind the rows of volumes. Next thing, the entire bookcase swung out like a door, revealing a whole other room behind it.

More than just one room, Ben realised as Scarpa led him through the concealed doorway. There was a whole suite of them back here, like another apartment in its own right. Not only that, but this secret domain was far more opulent and richly decorated than the humble living quarters downstairs.

Silvano Scarpa was a man with a lot of secrets, all right. Anyone who thought Auguste Kaprisky was a little bit of an odd fish hadn’t met this guy. A very peculiar gentleman, indeed.

Ben followed him through a luxurious lounge full of beautiful antiques, into a smaller side room. What he saw there made him blink. The room was completely devoted to the game of chess. Dozens of sets were arranged on tables all around the walls, each table with a chair either side ready for the players to get straight down to business.

To Ben’s fairly dispassionate eye, one chess set had always seemed pretty much like another. Now he could see that was anything but the case. Some were large and decorative and colourful, others smaller and plainer. But all old, and clearly valuable exhibits in Scarpa’s personal chess museum. He wondered how many people the Italian ever trusted enough to invite into his secret domain to challenge to a match. Or did he just play himself all the time? No wonder he was crazy.

‘Choose your weapon,’ Scarpa said, grandly waving his arm around him.

Ben walked over to the nearest table and looked at the set laid out on it. The small, hunched-looking pieces appeared carved out of stone and had few features to tell them apart, making it hard to distinguish a king from a queen or even a rook.

‘An ancient Islamic set,’ Scarpa said, gazing at it like a beloved pet. ‘Magnificent, though perhaps not a good choice for a beginner.’

Ben picked up on the mind game the old man was playing, trying to psych him out before the real contest had even begun.

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