Chapter 30

O nce they were seated in the gondola, Giovanni, who had also changed into dark clothes, explained the plan. He would take the gondola as far as possible, dock and then they would proceed on foot. They would make their way to the garden's Southern Gate that led onto Riva dei Sette Martiri. Giovanni assured them that it was a more isolated entrance and the surrounding area was less monitored. Again, Rat worried about whether, even if this had all been true when Giovanni was a child, it was still the case.

Finally, Giovanni told them that if they were caught by a guard while attempting entry, they should leave the talking up to him, and he would say they were late-night workers at one of the pavilions. It wasn't clear why one of those workers would be a rather well-dressed woman, but Melody and Rat just hoped they wouldn't have to put this part of the plan to the test.

Rat and Melody didn't say much during the gondola ride; both were far too preoccupied with worry to make small talk. Anyway, given the limited version of the truth that Rat had told Giovanni, there was not much they could discuss about their plan.

Eventually, Giovanni docked the gondola not far from where they had disembarked for Herr Peetz's hotel. They were near the Piazza San Marco, and, at that time of the evening, people were everywhere. Luckily, the streets were so busy that the three sombrely dressed people didn't attract much attention; there was just too much else going on. As they moved away from the piazza, the crowds began to thin, and Giovanni seemed to be trying to keep to narrow dark calles where possible.

Even though there were fewer people around, there was a constant background noise of conversations coming from terraces, music coming from restaurants, and the occasional dog barking. Rat hoped that this low-level noise would continue as they approached the garden and provide some cover for their break-in.

Melody and Rat had taken a chance that Giovanni knew the streets of Venice as well as he knew its canals. This hope was born out as the gondolier nimbly navigated the maze of streets, never pausing for a moment to wonder which way to go. He moved with such certainty and speed that Melody and Rat had to hurry to keep up with him. The last thing either one wanted was to fall behind and risk getting lost in the labyrinth of calles, canals and bridges.

As they passed under a lamp hanging next to a doorway, Rat glanced at his watch. They had been walking for at least fifteen minutes. It was at least another five, if not ten, minutes before they walked down a street with a high, red-bricked wall on one side. Giovanni beckoned for them to follow him as he walked along the wall finally arriving at a narrow doorway in the wall with a wrought-iron gate barring their way in.

Checking to ensure no one was about, Giovanni reached into his pocket, pulled out something, and went up to the gate. Seconds later, it was open. It seemed that the gondolier had lock-picking skills of his own. He indicated that if they went through the doorway, they would quickly come upon the Belgian Pavilion.

"The guards, they come round on the hour. But they are lazy, sì? They will make a quick look and then go back to their guardroom and their grappa. Keep close to the walls and the shadows of the trees. The building you are looking for is just past the first one. It is very grand, and has, how you say? I do not know the word, una bandiera." With that, he made a flapping movement with one of his hands.

"A flag?" Melody guessed. "It has an Austrian flag outside? "

"Sì. This. The flag."

They had told Giovanni that they didn't want him to accompany them, and the gondolier hadn't questioned their wishes. He told them he would wait by the gate to guide them back to the gondola. Both Melody and Rat were relieved; they couldn't imagine finding their way back the way they'd come alone. Thanking Giovanni for his help, they slipped through the doorway and into the Giardini Della Biennale.

The moon was bright that evening, which helped Melody and Rat see where they were going. However, it also increased the risk that they would be seen. Taking Giovanni's advice, they kept close to the wall. With the moonlight and the illumination from the occasional streetlamp, Melody could see how beautiful the gardens must be. Despite its charm, so much of Venice was narrow, cramped and usually quite lacking in greenery. However, the landscaped gardens were full of manicured lawns and beautifully cultivated flowerbeds. The pathways were wide and tree-lined.

Melody and Rat quickly came upon a pavilion, which, given the flag flying out in front, they assumed was the Belgian one. No sooner had they passed it than they heard voices behind them. Rat quickly scanned the area around their location; they were too exposed where they were standing, but if they moved quickly, there were some deep shadows ahead. Indicating that Melody should follow his lead and keep close to the wall and away from the glow cast by the streetlights, he moved quickly but quietly.

As Melody and Rat tried to press themselves as much as possible into the dark safety of the refuge Rat had found, the voices got louder as the security guards closed in. From what Melody could understand, one of the guards was complaining about the meal his wife had packed for him that evening, and the other was commiserating. The men were too involved with their marital complaining to notice the interlopers hiding in the shadow of the Belgian Pavilion. Soon enough, the guards had passed and, from what Rat could see, were not headed in the direction of the Austrian Pavilion, at least in what he hoped was its direction.

Just to be sure, they gave the guards a bit more time to move further away. Finally, when they could no longer hear the voices, Rat and Melody slipped out of their hiding spot. Still keeping as much to the shadows as possible, they silently began moving towards the Austrian Pavilion. It had taken them about forty minutes to get from the palazzo to the Giardini Della Biennale. They had been inside the gardens for perhaps another five minutes. By Rat's calculations, that gave them fifteen minutes to get to the Austrian Pavilion, break into it, and then find a spot to hide before nine o'clock. Of course, this was a self-imposed deadline; they had no idea when Mr X might be turning up. Nevertheless, Rat wanted to get in place as soon as possible and whispered to Melody that they should move more quickly.

From her place in the darkness, Melody looked at the beautifully landscaped grounds with their wide paths, symmetrical flower beds, and perfectly even lines of ornamental trees. Well-placed statues and water features were interspersed amongst the greenery and flowers. What a lovely place this must be to wander during the day. She should bring Mary back here one afternoon, for the grounds, if not the art.

Up ahead was a particularly grand, almost palatial building. Its neoclassical form, complete with a portico of columns holding up a very ornate pediment. From what Melody could see, the centrepiece of the decorations was a coat of arms. She didn't know enough about such things to have a clue whether it was the Austrian crest.

Rat pointed to a flagpole in front of the pavilion, but they were too far away to see the flag clearly. Moving closer while attempting to stay out of the light, Melody peered up at it.

"It is the Austrian flag, I am sure of it," she decided.

The pavilion had a pair of huge, heavy-looking, highly polished wooden doors. Rat decided to stick with the original plan and to go around the building to see if there was another door whose lock he might pick. A couple of minutes later, they had walked halfway around the pavilion and came across a narrow, unassuming-looking door. Rat took out his picks and made quick work of the lock.

"You really will have to teach me how to do that," Melody whispered.

It was neither the time nor the place for such a discussion, and Rat gave her a look that, luckily, it was too dark for Melody to see properly. Rat took his revolver out of his waistband, put his hand on the door handle and said, "Let me go in first."

Melody took her gun out of her pocket and indicated her assent. As bold as she was, even reckless on occasion, she had to acknowledge that her brother had received training in how to handle such situations, and she had not. At least, she hoped that his training had included dealing with such scenarios.

Rat slipped into the building and found himself in a dark, narrow hallway. The other item he had put in his pocket before he left the palazzo was a small, nickel-plated electric torch. This had been a gift from Lord Langley when he left London. He had not had cause to use it prior to that evening. Now, he weighed the pros and cons of turning it on. If Mr X, or indeed anyone else, was already in the pavilion, he ran the risk that the light would attract their attention. On the other hand, the hallway was pitch black, and he had no idea where he was going. Finally, he decided that the benefits of being able to see ahead outweighed any risks.

The small torch had the nifty feature of an adjustable aperture so that Rat could make the beam of light more or less widely dispersed. For the time being, he decided to make it as narrow as possible and trained the much-appreciated light down towards the floor. Looking up and down the hallway, he saw that small rooms, or perhaps large storage spaces, were off to each side. Peering in one, Rat saw what he assumed were paintings wrapped up and leaning against the walls. Up ahead, there was a staircase that he hoped led up to the main part of the pavilion.

Rat had no idea how the building was laid out. In hindsight, he wished there had been time for them to have visited during daylight hours to get the lay of the land. Still, there was no point in dwelling on what might have been. If Rat had learned anything from his years studying under Lord Langley, it was that one made the best of the information available, however limited. There was little about intelligence work that presented a complete information set. The science, or perhaps the art, underpinning the work was to piece together a jigsaw puzzle, while recognising that key pieces were probably missing.

"Is the coast clear?" Melody whispered too loudly from behind him. Rat realised that, while his first impulse was to attempt to determine with certainty that it was safe to let Melody follow him, this was a futile goal; he had no idea what lay ahead or might happen over the next hour or so. Trying to guarantee his sister's safety was going to harm their mission. Instead, he whispered back that she should follow him and keep her voice down.

The hallway wasn't long, and as they climbed the rather narrow, steep steps, Rat was even more appreciative of his torch. At the top of the staircase was a door that, while opening easily, had hinges that needed oiling and creaked loudly enough to undermine their attempts at stealth. Melody, who was bringing up the rear, decided to save themselves from the risk of further creaking by not closing the door behind her.

The door opened into a medium-sized exhibition room. The room didn't have any windows, but there was a large arch at the end that led into another room that seemed to. From that room, there was enough natural light that it was possible to see something of the paintings on the walls. Despite years of being taken to exhibits by Bear, Melody didn't know much about art. However, she had a sense of what she liked. Glancing around the room at what seemed to be a lot of landscape paintings, Melody quickly decided there was nothing in that room worth coming back to see in daylight.