‘Anything more?’
‘Yeah. At the time of the girl’s disappearance, she was returning from a visit with her uncle, a Bishop Antonio Peri. He lived close to the church grounds. Her parents sent her there in 1972 to spend time with him, mainly because she had aspirations of entering the religious life.’
‘A long time back, O’Connor.’
‘I know, but what’s significant about the case is, firstly, the girl’s age, which was similar to that of both our victims, and, secondly, a silver crucifix was buried with her body.’ He watched Kate for her reaction.
‘Like the one we found with Caroline?’
‘Close enough, although Silvia’s was the real thing, not some cheap copy. The crucifix was given to Silvia by her parents, both of whom had died before the remains were discovered, but it was one of the first clues to the girl’s identification. According to the statements taken from the parents after she went missing, it was supposed to keep her safe while travelling away from home.’
‘Any idea how she died?’
‘She had multiple fractures, consistent with falling from a height, but the fact that the girl was buried and an attempt was made to keep the body hidden meant someone knew what had happened to her and didn’t want anyone else finding out. The Italian police have treated the death as suspicious since the remains were discovered.’
‘Do they have any suspects?’
‘That’s where it gets complicated. The church grounds in Livorno are less than a mile from the uncle’s home. The authorities spoke to him. He had moved to Florence not long after the girl’s disappearance, but came back to Livorno about a year ago.’
‘And?’
‘He died a few months back. According to Gunning, and to quote his exact words, “he’s a dead-end”.’
‘Where are the images you mentioned?’
‘Here.’
O’Connor turned his computer screen in Kate’s direction. The images from the Tuscan burial site formed a boxed pattern across the monitor. Just like both Irish victims, the skeleton remains of Silvia Vaccaro had been photographed from numerous angles. Kate took in everything she saw while O’Connor continued.
‘As I said, according to police reports, the fractures were consistent with falling from a height and were the most likely cause of death. What’s interesting, though, isn’t just the connection you mentioned about the crucifix, but the grave itself.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘You tell me, Kate. Keep looking.’
She didn’t know what O’Connor meant, but Kate kept searching the images. Nothing obvious struck her. It simply looked like a hole with assorted bones in the ground. The remains may have revealed information to a forensic anthropologist, but to the naked eye not so much. It was then she remembered something from the photographs at the first mountain burial site, taken after the remains of Caroline had been removed. The more she studied the images from Tuscany, the more she saw how the stones near the bodies looked similar. At first she had thought they were not unusual, figuring them to be the way stones would naturally form underground, but the more she looked at the remains from Tuscany, the more her eyes were drawn to one particular element. Right at the top end, where the girl’s head would have laid, was a large, flat stone. In Caroline’s case, Kate had assumed it was too large for the killer to dig out, part of the natural formation, but at the Tuscan grave, a similar large stone was located in the same spot. Her eyes widened as she saw the connection.
‘So you see it?’ O’Connor asked.
‘The large flat stone? It’s like the one at Caroline’s burial.’
‘But this happened forty years ago, Kate. Can it be linked to our cases?’
‘If it’s connected, our killer must have been a child at the time of this girl’s death. If he witnessed it, and that’s a big ‘if’, maybe our victims are some form of copycat burial.’
‘Why copy it?’
‘I don’t know. The bishop, the one the girl went to visit, what do we know about him?’
‘There were rumours of him being indiscreet with women, young girls too, nothing concrete, just unsubstantiated accusations.’
‘Fits with what Jessica said about the protection from abuse. You said he died?’
‘A few months back. And guess what?’
‘I can’t wait.’
‘He fell from a height. It was considered an accident. He’d gone out walking near a dangerous spot. They reckon he slipped.’
‘But you don’t think so?’
‘I don’t like coincidences, Kate, never have.’
Kate’s mind was racing, trying to make the links that would make sense of all she was seeing and hearing. ‘Maybe that was the catalyst.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Something has brought our guy out of the woodwork; you said the death of the bishop was only a few months back?’
‘March this year.’
‘I’d hoped we’d find history, but I never thought it would be as old as this.’