“Do you know, I never realised. Is that why you don’t play tennis?”
“Yes, now you know. It’s not just my natural laziness. I can't raise the racket and hit the ball with it.”
“Well, my arm is going to be one hundred percent as good as new. It broke, but didn’t move at all, so it’s really simple. I'll be able to ride as well as ever.”
Emily said, “I’m sure you should be in bed, Chiara. Of course it’s going to mean a lot of running up and down stairs, but then you never think of things like that when you go riding and cause all this inconvenience to other people. You’re so thoughtless.”
There was a horrified silence and Emily burst into tears and ran out of the room.
“Oh dear. I’m afraid she’s not herself. I’ll just go and see…” said Arturo and he followed her.
“It’s been pretty bloody. She’s not right, and she won’t take the tranquillisers the doctor left.” said Ambra. “Arturo’s bloody hopeless. You’d think he’d insist a bit more. He should make her take them. She’s upsetting everyone. God knows, it’s hard enough as it is.”
“Where’s Francesca?”
“She’s down in the flat. She won’t come and eat with us, and she spends hours looking round that house she’s going to buy.”
“What house?”
“Oh, of course you don’t know. Well, on the afternoon… I mean on Saturday, she was there all afternoon, she’d been to see it, with Zoë, the day before, and decided to buy it. You know Madre was kicking her out?”
“Really! It will be good for Zoë to be away from here.”
“That’s what she says too. And I think it’s true.”
“And Cosimo?”
“He’ll be in later. He’s taken over the school, and I’m giving a hand as well.”
“So Madre got her own way about that, after all.”
“Well, it was either that, or let Giorgio step into the breach with a fanfare of trumpets, and full journalistic coverage. No doubt very good for his career. Anyway, no one wanted that, and Miriam and Mario came and begged Cosimo to take over, so he did.”
“I wonder what we’ll all do, now that we’re alone. I wonder what it will be like for us, in a year's time. Where will we all be?” she sounded so forlorn that Orlando answered her.
“Oh, Emily will be in residence with her charming husband, and the little princesses, and we’ll all be scattered to the four corners of the earth, while she has the Bishop to tea, and runs the Catholic Women’s Sewing Circle.”
“Don’t! Does such a thing exist?”
“If it doesn’t, she’ll institute one. Also, considering her musical background, she’ll start up a choir, and have rehearsals in the barn.”
“How dreadful. What about us, really? What will we do?”
“God knows, Chiara, and I don’t think there’s much point in guessing. Things will happen; changes will come about slowly, as they feel right. We can’t say more than that,” said Ambra.
“I wanted a bit more time before leaving here, but I’ll have to learn to be self-sufficient I suppose, and grow up in a hurry. I find that frightening,” said Chiara.
“Yes, it is. I’ll have to grow up in a hurry too, and I’ll have to do it faster than you.”
Chiara looked at her twin, and said, “You’re expecting a baby! Of course, I’d forgotten.”
“Clever girl. Your memory is alright then.”
“Well, I think so. There are one or two things I can’t remember, but only to do with the fall, I don’t remember falling, but I do remember the dog barking. I don’t know what happened afterwards really, until I was in hospital, and then I sort of came to. It’s really weird. I can remember quite distinctly, not knowing where I was, or where I was going, and being terrified. How is that possible? I mean, how can I remember, not being able to remember where I was going?”
“I don’t know, sounds like a short circuit,” replied Orlando.
“Perhaps that’s what it is, when you hit your head, I mean.”
“Chiara, you aren’t the only one to have concussion, Angelo did as well.”
“Angelo! Is he alright? Where is he?”
“He’s in hospital, but he's going to be alright. They said he's in a light coma, which means he’s asleep, but can be roused, and he doesn’t know who he is, or something. At first, he had to be tied down, as he had some kind of convulsions. But he’s O.K now. They say he’ll be fine. He’s fractured his skull, but that will mend. The haemorrhage has stopped, and the blood is being reabsorbed. As soon as this is over, someone is to go and stay with him; apparently he needs stimulation, to wake up properly.”
“Where is he? Why didn’t they find him sooner?”
“Well he’s in Venice. He went up there alone, probably for that big rock concert, because there is no other reason for him being there. That’s what we think anyway, though he didn’t tell anyone he was going. Then after the concert, he wandered around Venice, and saw a child fall into a canal, so he jumped in and saved it. He got out of the water, and fainted, hitting his head on a bollard.”
“Didn’t he have any documents?”
“Yes, but they were in his trousers and he lost them in the water.”
“Poor baby, He’ll have a shock when he finds out about Madre. He adored her,” said Chiara sadly.
“Do you think so, that he adored her?” asked Ambra doubtfully.
“Yes, that’s why he was so naughty, and looked so terrible. It was the only way to get her attention. Hadn’t you realised?”
“No,”
“Girls,” cried Aunt Beatrice, who had been listening intently to every word, “Should I go? I could go now.” She looked at them, her blue eyes, their colour dimmed, were watery, and reminded Chiara of an old dog she had once had, still willing to get up and go, but easily tired and unable to see the ball she threw him.
“No, Aunt. It would be too much for you. You’ve only just arrived, and besides, we need you here.”
“Thank you, my dear, for saying that. I just want to be of help.”
“You are. We need an adult around. I’m sure you’ll give us good advice; whether we follow it or not, is another question!” said Olly laughing.
“Really Olly, be quiet,” said Ambra. “How you can joke all the time, I will never understand.”
Chiara looked at him seriously and he lowered his gaze, not willing to meet hers. She said, “You should make an effort to understand, Ambra. Everyone has their own way of dealing with things. We're all just trying to cope.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Chiara asked, “Do the police have any idea who did it?”
“Oh yes, “replied Olly, “They think it’s one of us.”
“What! I don’t believe it. One of us! As if we would, any of us, I mean. We’ve all had our disagreements with Madre, but never to that extent. We’re not murderers! Surely it couldn’t have been one of the family?” She looked to them for reassurance.
“Well, as they don’t have news of any strangers in the vicinity, we are the most likely suspects. They’ve been here grilling us all. By the way how’s your alibi?”
“My alibi!”
“Yes, you need to have one. You wait and see, I bet they’ll be up here to have a go at you next.”
“Surely not,” said her aunt, “she’s not well.”
“She’s well enough to answer their questions. They couldn’t get at her at the hospital, but here, well…” The phone rang interrupting his sentence, “Pronto, yes, I see. Of course. Yes, I’ll tell her. Goodbye.” He looked at Chiara, “Talk of the devil, “They’re coming up in about an hour's time, and want you to be available.”
“Oh, well. It’s better to get it over and done with, I suppose. Of course they have to eliminate us, don’t they, before they look elsewhere.”
“I hope they are looking elsewhere,” said Ambra.
“Well they wouldn’t tell us, anyway,” commented Olly
“No, I suppose not. Oh Ambra. I
can’t believe all this has happened. It’s like a bad dream,” Chiara sighed sadly.
Arturo came back into the room.
“Chiara, Emily wants to apologise, her nerves are shot to pieces, and I’ve finally persuaded her to take a tranquilliser. She’s not herself at all. She’s been trying to keep things going, and it’s all too much for her. She doesn’t get a lot of help,” he glared at Olly and Ambra. Olly looked him straight in the eyes and said, “Look, Arturo, if Emily wants to take it on herself to be lady of the manor, that’s her business. We all have our own problems, and we are all dealing with our mother’s death, as best we can. It isn’t easy for anyone. Diana wasn’t just Emily’s mother.”
“Oh really? Well, while she was alive, Emily was the only one who cared about her. I think you’re all glad she’s dead. One of you probably did kill her, or maybe it was that drunk of a sister of yours downstairs.” He looked unpleasantly at them.
“You little shit,” hissed Olly. “How dare you! While our mother was alive, Emily spent all her time licking her shoes, and you, you worthless nobody, found it very comfortable living here, with all your bills paid, but Madre was on to you. You had an argument with her, too. I wonder what that was about. Are you going to tell us? I doubt it, but it must have been pretty serious for you to stay away from the barbeque. Did you kill her? I’m sure you are greedy enough to want as much money as you can get your hands on. I bet you’re tired of pretending to work for a living. Did you imagine you and Emily queening it here, after she’d gone? You make me sick.”
“Look who’s talking. The ‘Big Spender’. You throw money away, and it’s not even your money. There’ll be less for everyone because you’ve wasted so much. You’ve been systematically robbing us all, for years.”
“That must have really upset you Arturo, watching me do it, and wondering how much you would inherit. Well Mr. Accountant, listen to me. I have lost a lot of money, and won a lot too, but I don’t think I’ve spent more than you and Emily, over the last ten years. Add up how much it costs to keep the four of you in luxury, and pay for all those private lessons for your children, the car, and all the rest of it. You money grub. I bet you spend long winter’s evenings doing your sums.”
“Olly, Arturo, Stop it! This is awful. I can’t bear it.” Ambra looked near to tears, and Orlando moved to put an arm round her shoulders.
“Come on, it’s all over. He’s said his bit. You have finished haven’t you Arturo? Why don’t you leave us then? I shouldn’t think you’d want to take your tea with people like us.”
“I’ll go when I please, Orlando, not when you tell me to. I have as much right to be here as you.” He moved to the tea tray, ostentatiously poured himself a cup of tea, sugared it and stirred it vigorously. He stared pugnaciously at them and then sneered, “Quite a family aren’t you. Who do you all think you are? How dare you look down on me! Look at you! Orlando, up to his neck in debt and always having to grovel for money; Chiara, who’s only happy when she’s wallowing in horse shit; Cosimo, the little pansy, so talented, so spoilt. Mummy's boy. Nothing too good for him. All bow down to the maestro. The little brat!” He spoke in short staccato phrases. “And look at Ambra, demeaning herself, letting the gardener get her pregnant, and Francesca the lush, and that worthless little delinquent, drug addict, Angelo. None of you cared a hoot about Diana, and you’re all glad she’s dead, glad to get your hands on her money, so don’t go accusing me of being a money grub. None of you are any better.” He drank his tea, in short fast sips, standing his ground.
Beatrice stood up shakily. “ You unpleasant little upstart. How can you talk like this? You are worthless! Diana knew what you were, she saw right through you. It’s a question of breeding. Don’t you dare to judge others, because by your own yardstick, you fall well short.” She turned to her niece. “Ambra my dear, would you accompany me to my room, I need to rest.”
The two women slowly left the room.
“What about you Chiara, ready to go up now? I’ll help you and bring you down again when the police arrive.”
“Thanks Olly,” They too left the room, leaving Arturo alone.
He was uncertain whether this was a victory, or a defeat.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Chiara, the horsy one, as the Maresciallo called her, came in slowly, cradling her plastered arm with her other hand. She walked carefully across the room and sat down in front of him.
“Do you feel up to this?” asked di Girolamo.
“Yes. Let’s get it over with, please.”
“There are a few things I would like to ask you. First, what were your movements on the afternoon in question? Take your time and reply truthfully please. I have an aversion to liars.” He looked at her sternly.
“So do I! I can’t ever be bothered to lie, because if you do, you have to remember the lies you told, and to whom, and it gets complicated. I don’t know how other people manage to do it.” She gave him a candid stare. “Sorry. Anyway, I expect Riccardo has already told you that we helped the smithy shoe Emperor that was till about just before three I suppose. I’m not very good on times. After that, Riccardo went off to work in the vegetable garden, I could see his big straw hat moving about. I watered the horses, and cleaned up a bit. I don’t know for how long. Not very long, because I wanted to see Madre, I had to talk to her about something private. I remember thinking that I would go to the pergola at just before four or thereabouts, because that’s when she usually woke up. We always have tea at a quarter past four. Also, I knew she had a meeting at five so I wouldn’t have another opportunity to see her alone. As it was, I didn't talk to her at all…” Chiara mopped a tear that trickled slowly down her cheek and, after taking a deep breath, continued. “I went into the cantina first, and looked for some stuff I needed, then I washed my hands, and made sure I didn’t have any straw in my hair, there’s an old mirror there, and then I went to the pergola.”
“You went there at four?”
“Well, more or less. Anyway I got there, and I was just going to step in, you know how dark it is, when I realised someone was there, so I thought, well, obviously someone else needs to have a private chat, so I’d better make myself scarce.”
“So, you went into the house, then?"
“No, I went back into the cantina. I’d seen a coil of rope I wanted, only it took me a while to get it, as it was hanging from a hook in the corner, pretty high up, and someone had piled a great load of stuff there, so I had to move it all, then get the ladder, and finally get what I wanted. I realised it was late by then, so I left it on a barrel at the entrance to the cantina, to collect on my way out after tea. I expect it’s still there. Then I went into the house for tea,”
“What happened then?”
“Well, Emily was fussing because Madre was late, and she wouldn’t let me pour myself a cup, saying we had to wait. Then she went off to see if she’d overslept. Ambra was looking out of the window and she saw Emily behaving strangely and thought a snake had bitten her, so she called to us to come and see. Olly and I went to the window and saw her fall to the ground, so we rushed out, but she wasn’t ill, she was hysterical. She told us mother was dead, and she was talking about her head being split open, and I felt so ill at the thought that I just rushed off and ran to the stables. I don't know why, but I just wanted to get away. I couldn't believe what she was saying, but I knew it had to be true. No one could make up something like that and she was absolutely off her head with grief. It was all so horrible, I, I…” she stopped and, with a visible effort, managed to take control of her wavering voice. “ Anyway, as I said, I got on Emperor, and then you know what happened.”
He looked at her, this girl who didn’t tell lies. Her red hair was pulled back from her face into a pony tail. She looked younger and more innocent of life than her sister. She looked virginal, and he somehow felt sure that if she had told a lie, it would be evident on her face.
“Why did you want to see your mother alone? Was it to ask her one last ti
me to give you the money for your riding stables, give her one last chance, before killing her?” he made his voice harsh.
“No! You don’t understand. She had already given me permission. I didn’t need to ask her for anything more, much less kill her.” She looked at him in horror, di Girolamo, the defiler.
“Why should I believe you?”
“Because it’s true. I told you, I don’t tell lies.”
“I only believe what I know to be true. Nothing else.”
“I can prove it. She spoke to Avvocato Marchini about it, or at least I hope she did. She didn’t have much time. Even if she didn’t, it doesn’t matter, she gave me the go-ahead on it, and I spent a lot of time with Piero, that’s my partner, going over the details; that’s what I wanted to speak to her about. She wanted to know exactly how much money we would need. He’d had the house valued, and I was putting up an equivalent sum of money, then there were the expenses, for renovation, and so on.”
“How much?”
“I wanted two hundred thousand euros.”
“That’s a lot of money.”
“Is it? I don’t think so. It’s no more than my brothers and sisters have had. It’s what she would have spent on me, had I done five, or more years, at university, to become a vet, which is what she had been pressing me to do. In fact it’s probably less.”
“Your sister had formed the opinion that your mother had denied you this money.”
“My sister! You mean Emily, I suppose. Well, she knew nothing about it at all. This was our secret. Mummy wanted it that way until it was all signed and sealed. I think she wanted to avoid friction with Emily, who is always so concerned about Mummy spending money, on anyone other than herself, that is.” She looked flushed, and sounded bitter.
His hands strayed across the desk and touched on a small package, he turned it over and over with his fingers.
The Tuscan Mystery Trilogy Page 45