Page 41 of Change of Heart
‘Last night was amazing.’ She twisted round and kissed him back while doing her best to dissuade the Labrador from climbing up to join them on the bed. Finally, as she felt heavy paws land on the bed, she gave in to the inevitable and pulled back from Luca and adopted a stern tone. ‘Frank, get off! And, Luca, why don’t you go and take your dog for a walk before he climbs in here with us? While you do that, I’ll sort out some breakfast.’
By the time Luca came back she had prepared fresh coffee, toast and, unsure what he liked for breakfast, she had made a ham omelette as well, calculating that if he didn’t eat it she could have it cold for lunch. As it turned out he ate everything.
At half past eight she left him and his dog and went up to the castle where she met Simonetta who was looking concerned.
‘Ciao, Alice, did Luca get back safely?’ Something on Alice’s face must have given her away and Simonetta gave her a grin. ‘Of course he did. Did he tell you why he had to go off and why Tommi’s gone down south now? Tommi revealed the big mystery to me before he left. So much for you fearing Luca had another woman down there.’
Alice nodded. ‘I shouldn’t have doubted him. And as for their mother, how can a man behave so terribly towards his wife and his children? Little wonder she ran off and never wants to see him again.’
‘Absolutely. Is Luca coming here to the castle today? There’s a letter and a long questionnaire from theBelle Artithat needs to be completed.’
‘I’m not sure.’ Alice went on to tell her where Luca was spending the morning and Simonetta shook her head uncertainly.
‘I hope he’s all right. Tommi said his father’s totally lost it. He was shouting and screaming and hurling threats at everybody from our family to Tommi and Luca, and even at the population of Varaldo for “betraying” him.’ She lowered her voice apprehensively. ‘Tommi even took the shotgun and hid it, just in case.’
Alice was horrified. ‘Thank God for that. The thought of what a bitter, unstable man could do with a shotgun in a townful of people doesn’t bear thinking about.’ She pulled out her phone. ‘I’d better call Luca and warn him his father’s flipped.’ She tried three times but each time she just got theUnable to Connectmessage. Simonetta wasn’t surprised.
‘The signal’s terrible on the other side of the valley. I often can’t get through to Tommi unless he’s up on top of one of the hills.’ She looked at her watch. ‘I know, let’s go over and look for him. I’ll give Emilia a call and see if we can take the horses out. It would be good to get some fresh air.’
Half an hour later they were on horseback. Simonetta led the way up the track so they could circle Montorso land. That way they could look down onto the farm without trespassing and risk increasing the fury of the deranged mayor. As the horses picked their way up the hillside, Alice gave Simonetta an edited version of the previous evening and night and received a beaming smile in response.
‘You see, I told you that you were worrying about nothing. I’m so happy for you, for you both. Tommi’s been worried about Luca for ages. He’s always working – or visiting their mother. Hopefully with your influence he’ll be able to relax and lead a more normal life.’
‘I suppose that’ll partly depend on what happens to his father. He can’t go on like this.’ As she spoke, Alice began to hear the sound of a powerful diesel engine in the distance and as they rounded a curve in the track she spotted a red flash through the trees. A few yards further on this was revealed as a tractor and it was clear that it was ploughing one of the steeper fields above the farm. Alice had done her fair share of tractor driving and ploughing in her younger days and she knew how important it was to keep straight lines and avoid missing patches of ground. To her expert eye, it was clear that this particular tractor driver was either inexperienced, drunk or there was something seriously wrong with his concentration. She exchanged glances with Simonetta.
‘If that’s Luca up there, he’s badly out of practice. If it’s his father, I have a feeling his mind’s not on the job. Talk about erratic…’
Simonetta stood up in the stirrups and peered across the hillside that sloped gently at first and then dropped away sharply. ‘Let’s go over and take a closer look. At least if it is the mayor and he starts getting abusive, our horses can easily outrun a tractor on this kind of terrain.’
Pressing the horses into a trot, they made their way up the path until they reached the edge of the field where they could clearly see the tractor ploughing its way up the frighteningly steep part of the slope less than a hundred yards away on the far side. The earth was still damp from the weekend’s rain and the rich brown of the furrows stood out against the green of the unturned ground. It was immediately clear that it wasn’t Luca at the wheel. Even from this distance they could make out the unmistakable red-faced figure of Cesare Montorso. They reined in while they decided on their next move and Alice studied the ploughed field critically.
‘He’s only done about a quarter of the field. I would think it’s going to take him at least a couple of hours to do the whole thing, so we’ve probably got time to turn round and go back down to the farmhouse to find Luca.’
Simonetta nodded in agreement. ‘I imagine Luca’s worked out for himself by now that his father’s out on the tractor so I expect he’s down there looking after the livestock. Come on, let’s go.’
No sooner had she spoken however, than they heard a shout. The mayor had seen them and he was waving his arms at them, no doubt telling them to get off his land even though technically they were on the track rather than his field.
‘Let’s get out of here.’ As Simonetta pulled on the reins and turned her horse back downhill, Alice saw the mayor spin the wheel and turn the tractor towards them, still gesticulating wildly. She stared in disbelief. It was a suicidal manoeuvre on a slope like this, but the man clearly wasn’t thinking straight. She looked on in horror as the tractor turned side on to the slope and as it did so, even all the tractor’s weight was unable to cope with the gradient, and the whole thing slowly started to slide sideways on the damp ground until it gradually began to topple inexorably over onto its side. By this time the mayor must have realised his mistake and Alice saw him desperately fighting to turn back up the slope but the damage had been done. The massive machine tipped over, the engine racing as the huge wheels lost all grip on the ground, and Alice lost sight of the driver. The weight of the tractor caused it to slide on its side for several more yards before it came to rest, precariously poised at the top of the steepest part of the hillside, apparently only held in place by a thread.
‘Jesus!’ Alice turned towards Simonetta who was already trotting down the track, oblivious to what had just happened. ‘Simonetta! Come back!’
Alice waited to see her friend acknowledge her cry and then spurred Horace across the field towards the tractor. Leaping off him onto the soft ground she immediately found herself sprawled on her face as her bad leg dug in and she lost her footing. Fortunately she was still holding the reins and she was able to use them to help pull herself to her feet as Horace stood there placidly and helped himself to mouthfuls of grass. Abandoning the reins, she straightened up, did her best to wipe the worst of the mud and earth from her hands and face, and made her way cautiously over to the tractor.
Seen close up it was in an even more precarious position than had first appeared. The whole of the engine, driver’s seat and steering wheel were hanging in mid-air over a slope that was brutally steep, while the engine revved out of control and the wheels continued to spin vainly, making the ground around it tremble. Gingerly she made her way around until she could reach up to switch off the engine, acutely conscious as she did so that six or seven tons of metal were poised precariously above her. In the sudden silence she stepped back and looked around, searching for any sign of the mayor. At first she saw nothing, but then a faint movement not far from her feet caught her eye and she realised she had found him.
It was clear that he had been pushed down the hill by the weight of the sliding tractor and he was coated from head to foot in thick, viscous mud that had virtually concealed him from her at first glance. He was lying directly beneath the main body of the tractor and only his upper body, head and shoulders were visible. His legs were completely hidden beneath one of the huge wheels. As she looked down at him his eyes opened and he reached up towards her, struggling to articulate.
‘I can’t feel my legs.’ He gave no sign of recognition and in spite of everything she felt a sudden wave of sympathy for him. She knew only too well what it felt like to be in this position. She sat down awkwardly beside him – kneeling was something she found almost impossible since the accident – and looked at him, doing her best not to let her mind dwell on the very real risk of the whole thing tipping over on top of both of them. Cesare Montorso was now looking a far cry from the irascible despot she had seen on stage at the town hall. She reached across and gently wiped the mud from his face.
‘Try not to worry. We’ll get you out of it.’
His eyes didn’t reopen but there was the faintest movement of his face muscles that indicated he had heard. She sat there for a minute or two before slowly and carefully sliding backwards, away from the tractor. With difficulty she scrambled awkwardly to her feet, now plastered with almost as much mud as the mayor. She was just emerging around the front of the tractor when Simonetta appeared, holding both horses by the reins.
‘How is he?’
‘It’s not good.’ Alice outlined the situation to her. ‘He’s trapped under the weight of the tractor and I’ve no idea how bad his injuries are but my main fear is that the whole thing might roll over on top of him at any moment. If it does, it’ll crush him and then slide over the edge and drag him down the hill.’ She didn’t need to spell out what the result would be if that happened.
Simonetta had her phone in her hand but she was snorting in frustration. ‘It’s no good. There’s no signal. They must have a landline in the farmhouse. One of us had better get down there to call the emergency services.’
