Keeping God's Secret by Andrew Man

Author:Andrew Man [Andrew Man]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781910782743
Publisher: Clink Street Publishing
Published: 2015-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 14

After he left the restaurant at the Trevi Fountain, James thought he would explore some more of Rome. His lawyer had told him to stay in the capital for another day in case they could get a meeting with the Governor, at the Bank of Italy. He had never had this sort of freedom before, always rushing to a meeting or the next flight home. James walked slowly in a southerly direction looking in shop windows and then turned north to retrace his footsteps. He had a map of Rome in his bag, but wanted to see where he ended up. To his surprise, he was standing outside an impressive villa, with the familiar Swiss national emblem above the gateway. At first he hesitated, but then something told him to go in and ask for a meeting. The inside of the house was as attractive as the outside, with polished wood and engravings of the Swiss mountains on the walls. It was not until he had been shown to a waiting room that he realised he hadn’t a clue about what he was going to say.

He was met by the Consul, a Swiss Italian by his height, who was delighted that he had dropped by for a chat. He was offered a cold Swiss mineral water, but no tea. James offered his visiting card and explained that his bank in Geneva was exposed to an international syndicated credit which was in dispute with the Italian Government. He gave few details, but the Consul appeared to be well briefed on the problem. To his amazement he revealed that a senior official had recently opened a Swiss bank account in Chiasso, close to the Italian border, which was now under surveillance. When James explained that his bank had started a legal action that morning, the diplomat looked more concerned. James asked if he should return by plane or train to Switzerland and the Consul suggested that it might be best if he left Rome and ‘disappeared’ for a few days, and stay at a resort on the coast.

After James left the meeting, he took a taxi straight back to the Trevi fountain to decide what to do? It was now past four in the afternoon and there were few options open to him tonight. He decided to book into one of the hotels above the Trevi Fountain, as he still had Alexei’s card with an offer of assistance, if needed. He quickly left the taxi and walked up the street to the hotels above the fountain. He lingered to take off his jacket and tie, stuffed it in his bag and put on a coloured sweat shirt instead. He now looked more like a tourist. He chose the first hotel on the corner, the Hotel Delle Nazioni, and walked inside to see if there was a room available for the night. At first the concierge offered him a room on the 8th floor, but James wanted a view onto the fountain below and accepted a room on the 3rd floor with the view.

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