Yes, it’s true’
Would you be willing to show me a few?’
I’m very particular, you know, about my possessions. But we could make an arrangement,’
‘That’s what I was hoping you’d say.’
They said goodbye as if they were the greatest of friends. It was clear what had taken place.
Guttadauro’s friends — there had to be more than one — happen to witness the killing of Maurizio. When they see a policeman racing away in a squad car, they realize Panzacchi has hatched a plan for saving his face and career. One of the friends then runs and equips himself with a video camera. And he returns in time to tape the scene of the policemen pressing the dead man’s fingerprints onto the hand grenade. Guttadauro’s friends now have a grenade of their own, though different in nature, and they have sent the lawyer into the field A nasty, dangerous situation, which Montalbano absolutely had to find a way out of.
‘Mr Di Blasi? Inspector Montalbano here. I need to speak to you immediately.’ ‘Why?’
‘Because I have serious doubts about your son’s guilt.’
‘He’s already gone.’
‘Yes, of course, sir. But his memory.’
‘Do what you want.’
Utter resignation. A breathing, talking corpse. ‘I’ll be at your place in half an hour at the latest.’
He was astonished to see Anna open the door for him. ‘Talk in a low voice. The signora is finally resting.’ ‘What are you doing here?’
It was you who got me involved. I haven’t had the heart to leave her alone since.’
‘What do you mean, alone?
Hasn’t anyone called for a nurse?’
‘Of course. But she wants me. Now come inside.’
The living room was even darker than the time the inspector was shown in by Mrs Di Blasi. He felt his heart sink when he saw Aurelio Di Blasi lying crosswise on the armchair. The man’s eyes were closed, but he’d sensed the inspector’s presence, and he spoke out.
‘What do you want?’ he asked with that terrible’ dead voice.
Montalbano explained what he wanted. He spoke for half an hour straight and little by little saw the engineer sit up, prick up his ears, look at him and listen with interest. He realized he was winning him over.
‘Does the Flying Squad have the keys to your villa?’
‘Yes,’ Mr Di Blasi said in a different, stronger voice. ‘But I had a third pair made some time ago.
Maurizio kept them in his bedside table. I’ll go and fetch them.’
He was unable to get up from the armchair. Montalbano had to help him.
He blew into headquarters like a gunshot.
‘Fazio, Gallo and Giallombardo, come with me.’
‘Are we taking the squad car?’
‘No, we’ll go in mine. Is Mimi back?’
He wasn’t back. They left in a hurry. Fazio had never seen him drive so fast. He got worried, not having a lot of faith in Montalbano’s driving abilities.
‘Want me to drive?’ asked Gallo, who was apparently harbouring the same concerns as Fazio.
‘Don’t bust my balls. We have very little time.’
It took him about twenty minutes to drive from Vigata to Raffadali. Once outside the town, he turned onto a country road. Mr Di Blasi had carefully explained to him how to get to the house. They all recognized it easily, having seen it repeatedly on television.
“Now, I’ve got the keys’ said Montalbano. “We’re going to go inside and do a thorough search. We’ve still got a few hours of daylight left, and we must take advantage of it. We have to find what we’re looking for before it gets dark, because we can’t turn on any lights. We don’t want anyone seeing the lights on from outside. Is that clear?’
‘Perfectly dear’ said Fazio. ‘But what are we looking for?’
The inspector told them, then added, ‘I hope I’m wrong, I really do’
“But we’ll leave fingerprints’ said Giallombardo, worried. “We didn’t bring gloves’
‘We don’t give a fuck.’
Unfortunately, the inspector hadn’t been wrong. After they’d been searching for an hour, he heard Gallo call him triumphantly from the kitchen. They all came running. Gallo was stepping down from a chair, a leather ammunition box in his hand.
It was on top of this cupboard.’
The inspector opened it: inside was a hand grenade exactly like the one he’d seen in the crime lab, and a pistol that looked like the kind once issued to German officers.
‘Where were you guys?
What’s in that case?’ asked Mimi, curious as a cat
‘And what have you got to tell me?’
‘Lofaro’s on sick leave for a month. He was replaced fifteen days ago by somebody named Culicchia.’
‘I know him well,’ said Giallombardo.
‘What’s he like?’
‘He’s not the type who likes to sit behind a desk keeping records. He’d sell his soul to go back in the field. He wants to make a career of it’
‘He’s already sold his soul,’ said Montalbano.
‘So, what’s in there?’ Mimi asked, increasingly curious.
‘Chocolate, Mimi. Now listen, all of you. When does Culicchia go off duty? Eight o’clock, right?’
‘That’s right’ Fazio confirmed.
‘When Culicchia leaves Montelusa Central, I want you, Fazio, and you, Giallombardo, to persuade him to get into my car. Don’t explain anything to him. Keep him guessing. As soon as he’s sitting down between you two, show him the ammunition box. Of course, he’s never seen it before, so he’s going to ask you what this whole charade is about’
‘Come on, can’t somebody tell me what’s in there?’ Mimi asked again, but nobody answered.
‘How come he won’t recognize it?’
The question came from Gallo. The inspector gave him a dirty look.
Haven’t you guys got any brains in your head? Maurizio Di Blasi was retarded, but he was a decent person, and he certainly didn’t have any friends who could provide him with weapons at the drop of a hat. The only place he could have found the grenade was at his country house. But they need proof that he took it from there. So Panzacchi, who’s a slyboots, orders one of his men to go to Montelusa to get two grenades and one wartime pistol. One of these he’ll claim Was in Maurizio’s hand, the other he hangs on to, together with the pistol, until he can come up with an ammo box. Then he sneaks back into the Raffadali house and hides the whole kit and caboodle in the first place where somebody would look for it.’
‘So that’s what’s in the box!’ exclaimed Mimi, slapping his forehead.
‘In short, that motherfucking Panzacchi has created a perfectly plausible scenario. And if someone should ask him why the other weapons weren’t found during the first search, he can claim they were interrupted when they spotted Maurizio going into the cave.’
‘What a son of a bitch!’
said Fazio indignantly. ‘First he kills an innocent kid — because as captain he’s responsible even though he didn’t fire the shots himself — and now he wants to screw a poor old man just to save his own skin!’
‘Let’s get back to what you have to do. Let this
Culicchia simmer a little.
Tell him the ammo box was found at the house in Raffadali. Then show him the grenade and the gun. Then ask him — as if out of curiosity — if all seized weapons are registered. And, finally, make him get out of the car together with you, carrying the weapons and ammo box.’ Is that everything?’