temptation in florence 03 - bankers death

by boeker, beate

“Yes.” For an instant, Annalisa's mouth hardened. “I went to the party with Toni, but we quarreled, so I decided to leave without him.”

  “And where did you see Valentino?”

  “He saw me. I was crossing the piazza della Repubblica, and suddenly, he overtook me.” Her eyes shone. “He's got a great car. Very impressive.”

  “What happened then?”

  Annalisa shrugged. “He promised to drive me home, made me a few compliments and tried to kiss me, but I wasn't in the mood, so I told him to try his luck with Carlina.”

  “Excuse me?” His voice sounded sharper than he had wanted.

  Annalisa's hand flew to her mouth. “Oops, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to say that.”

  He didn't say anything, just watched her. Was he being led on? Annalisa enjoyed making fun of people.

  Annalisa gave him a fleeting smile. “I mean, everybody could see that he was impressed with Carlina, and of course, she wasn't interested in him, so I thought I would send him against a wall. His ego could do with a rejection. He was much too self-assured.”

  “Please continue.” He had to unclench his teeth to get out that sentence.

  “Well, he said he'd try his best, and so we parted at the door. He still had to find a parking place for that huge car of his, and I didn't feel like going with him and walking half-way through the historical center on our way back.”

  “And what did you do yesterday between five and eight?”

  Annalisa smiled in triumph. “I have the most perfect alibi,” she said. “I was with my hairdresser.”

  “All the evening?”

  “Yep.” Annalisa bent her hair until some strands fell forward. “Almost, that is. I was there from six to nine.” She pulled her hair apart and showed him a strand. “Do you see these lighter streaks here? That's what she did. It looks nice, doesn't it?”

  “Are you telling me that you spent three hours at the hairdresser in order to get some streaks?”

  “Of course!” Annalisa nodded. “Have you never had a girl-friend before? These light-colored strands take so long; that's absolutely normal.”

  He decided to take her word for it. “Please tell me the name of your hairdresser.”

  Annalisa rolled her eyes again. “Checking up on my every word?”

  “Of course.”

  She shook her head. “You don't trust anybody, ever, do you, Garini?”

  He clenched his teeth. “Please answer my question.”

  Annalisa gave an exaggerated sigh. “The shop is called Belli Capelli, and they're on Via Ghibellina. My hairdresser is called Giorgina. She's a cousin once removed.”

  Of course. I didn't expect anything else. Garini decided it would be a waste of time to verify this statement. If the hairdresser was a Mantoni cousin, no matter how many times removed, she would tell him lies without hesitating. He could save himself the effort.

  “Isn't it great?” Annalisa beamed at him. “It's the first time I have a perfect alibi for a murder.” She sounded as if she had learned to play a new game.

  “Congratulations.” He shook his head in exasperation. This family got to him every time. “Can you imagine any reason why Valentino should be killed?”

  “Of course.” Annalisa leaned back. “Jealousy, for one thing. He was a true man for the ladies, and I can imagine that quite a few men here in this town were only too happy to hear he was killed.”

  Garini saw his colleague's face in front of his inner eye, lighting up when he had heard the name of the victim. Annalisa had hit the nail on the head. “Can you think of any other reason?”

  Annalisa shrugged. “Nope.”

  “Nothing at all?”

  “No.” She pressed her beautiful mouth into one thin line.

  Her very shortness made it obvious she was concealing something. I will get to the bottom of this. “Do you wish to tell me anything else?”

  Annalisa bent forward. “Since you're asking . . . yes.” She measured him with a glance. “I can't say I understand why Carlina is in love with you, but since she is, I wanted to ask you to put your wedding date in late September, just like Emma's. I went to a wedding in December and almost froze to death, and to another in July when it was scorching. Late September is the perfect time for weddings. Besides, I have just seen the right dress for it and need an excuse to buy it.”

  Garini played with the idea of switching off the tape recorder but decided to let it run. Maybe Cervi would still take him off the case if he read the transcription of the interviews. “We're not discussing my relationship with Carlina.” He made sure his voice sounded unemotional.

  “But you should think about my words.” Annalisa got up and gave him a tantalizing glance through her lashes. “As you can see, Valentino was keen on Carlina, and others might be, too. Get a move on. You're not exactly young, are you?”

  That was enough. “I'm about twenty years younger than your last lover, Annalisa. As I recall, he was in his mid-fifties, wasn't he?”

  Annalisa flushed a deep red. “You're despicable.” She flung herself out of the room and slammed the door with a bang.

  Piedro sat in his corner with his eyes wide open, as if he had seen an apparition.

  Garini switched off the tape recorder and took a deep breath. He felt the urge to see Carlina, to talk to her, to ascertain himself that she was normal and different from the rest of the family. A glance at his watch showed him that it was almost lunch-time. Maybe she would come home for lunch, and maybe he would be able to see her privately for a few minutes. Maybe she was even home and in her apartment. Following his impulse, he got up, pocketed the tape recorder and went to the door. The interview with Emma and her husband Lucio could wait. “Let's take a lunch break, Piedro. Please be back in thirty minutes.”

  When they appeared on the landing, he bumped into Fabbiola and Maria, deep in conversation. They stopped the second he opened the door and turned to him, guilt written large upon their faces. I wish I could wiretap this house. He nodded at them and started to mount the stairs while Piedro clattered downstairs.

  “Where are you going?” Fabbiola sounded alarmed.

  He turned around and caught the tail-end of a conspiratorial glance between Maria and Fabbiola. So Maria was in this, too? He tried to recall Carlina's words at Ernesto's birthday. Hadn't she said that the petite woman was the cleaning lady of the house? She sure didn't look like it with her doll-like face and slender arms.

  He answered Fabbiola's question, but his gaze rested on Maria who flushed. “I just wanted to see if Carlina is at home.”

  “She's not here.” Fabbiola's gaze darted upstairs and down again. “She's still at Temptation.”

  Something was wrong, but he pretended to go along. “I thought she would come home for lunch. Doesn't she usually join you in Benedetta's kitchen?”

  “Oh, she might do that later.” Fabbiola pulled a bit of invisible dust from the sleeve of her wide blouse. “I'm not sure what her plans are for today.”

  Maria shifted her weight from one foot to the other and looked at him with an anxious expression in her violet-blue eyes.

  Why did they want to stop him from going into Carlina's apartment? “I'll just double-check that she's not in.” Garini turned away.

  “Wait!” Fabbiola grabbed Garini's sleeve. “I think you haven't interviewed Maria yet, have you?”

  Maria turned a startled glance on Fabbiola. “What do I have to do with this?” Her voice was breathless.

  My question exactly. Garini suppressed a sigh.

  “Why, nothing, of course!” Fabbiola gave a false laugh. “But I know that the Commissario is very thorough and will want to interview everybody inside the house. We can go back to the kitchen, so he can tape your statement. Come on.” She grabbed Maria's arm and pulled her toward the door.

  Maria hung back. “But Fabbiola, I . . . .”

  “You have nothing to fear, my dear.” Fabbiola gave her a warning glance that conveyed another message as clearly as if she had spoken. “Ju
st answer the Commissario's questions.”

  Garini didn't move. Fabbiola had already convinced him to make a thorough search of Carlina's apartment, something he had not planned to do, but for the moment, he enjoyed the show she put on.

  “I already know his questions,” Fabbiola continued when neither Maria nor Garini budged. “First, do you have an alibi, second, when did you last see the victim alive, third, why should anybody want to kill him?”

  Maria's look of dismay was almost ludicrous. “But I don't know why anybody should want to kill him!”

  Fabbiola gave a satisfied nod, so that the strand of henna-colored hair fell forward. “See, that was easy. How about the alibi? What did you do yesterday evening between five and eight?”

  Maria took a step back. “I . . . I . . . why, nothing! I was at home.”

  “Good!” Fabbiola nodded with satisfaction as if she was talking to a child that had just managed to add two and two. “Now only one question remains. When did you last see Valentino alive?”

  Maria lifted both hands and pushed back her curls. “I only saw him during Ernesto's birthday party.”

  “See? That's it already!” Fabbiola opened the door to her apartment and pulled Maria forward. “Let's go inside and ask the Commissario to tape this, so it'll be all official and correct.”

  “That's fine.” Garini smiled at Maria. “You've made a statement in front of a witness, so for the moment, this is enough.”

  “Good!” Fabbiola grabbed his sleeve again.

  I hope this won't become a habit. He resisted her tug.

  Fabbiola fixed him with a stare that was probably meant to be hypnotic. “Let's go down and see if Carlina has arrived for lunch. She might already be in Benedetta's kitchen.”

  “I'm here, Mama.” Carlina's voice floated down from upstairs. Then she came clattering down the steps, one hand on the smooth wooden banister. Her eyes lit up when she saw Garini. “Stefano.”

  His heart beat faster. He wanted to be alone with her. “Carlina.”

  Maria looked from one to the other with a quick glance. Her mouth trembled.

  “Ah, there you are, my dear.” Fabbiola gave another false laugh. “I thought you hadn't arrived yet.”

  Carlina frowned. “But I met you when I--”

  “It's good that you're here,” Fabbiola interrupted her in a somewhat feverish way. “I think Benedetta has lunch ready. Let's go down right now.”

  “One moment, please.” Garini went to Carlina and took her hand. “I need to talk to you.” He looked over his shoulder with a warning glance at Fabbiola. “Alone.” Then he turned back to Carlina. “Let's go upstairs.”

  “Oh, you can talk in my apartment, Commissario!” Fabbiola made a beckoning motion with her right hand. “My home is your castle.” Her booming laugh filled the staircase.

  Maria and Carlina both winced.

  “Thanks, that's not necessary.” He grabbed Carlina and pulled her upstairs.

  As soon as the door had closed behind them, he slid the bolt to the side so nobody could come inside, pulled her into his arms and gave her a long, hard kiss.

  When they emerged, breathless, she smiled. “I like that kind of talking.”

  “Promise me you'll never turn out to be like your mother.” His voice sounded rough.

  She put a hand on her heart. “I promise.”

  “And now tell me why your mother is hell-bent on preventing me from going into your apartment.”

  The smile slipped from her face, and her whole body stiffened.

  He dropped his arms and took a step back. Then he looked around, taking in every detail. Next to Carlina's favorite armchair, a new carpet covered the floor. It was dark-green, much too old-fashioned and traditional to fit the light colors in Carlina's apartment. With one big step, he went to it, knelt down, and flipped it over. A dark stain disfigured the wooden planks on the floor.

  A dove landed outside on the roof. Its cooing sounded loud in the quiet room.

  The world seemed to turn around him. He lifted his head and met her gaze. “Why didn't you tell me that your cousin was stabbed here?”

  She lifted her chin. “Because he wore nothing but the boxer shorts he had bought from me that afternoon.” Her voice sounded belligerent.

  Something cold poured through him. He dropped the carpet and got up. “Did you have a date?” He had to force himself to get the words out.

  She clenched her teeth so hard that the muscles at the side of her face bulged. “No, I didn't have a date with my precious cousin, Garini. He staged a surprise seduction.”

  “You had no idea?”

  “I had no idea.”

  “Why did you do it?”

  “Why did I do what?” She folded her arms in front of her chest.

  “Why did you move the body?” Anger filled him. Why had she led him on?

  “I didn't. That was my family.”

  “Of course.”

  She swallowed. “I was sent out to call you.”

  “Oh, they wanted me?” His voice was heavy with sarcasm.

  “Yes, they wanted you.” Carlina shrugged. “Because they expected you to be loyal to the family.”

  He gave a snort. “Just because of our relationship?”

  “Yes.”

  “I wouldn't consider that.”

  “I know. I told them so.”

  He shook his head and pushed a hand through his hair, exasperated. “But why didn't you tell me?”

  “Because I didn't want everybody to laugh at you.”

  “To laugh at me?” He couldn't believe it. “Why should they laugh at me?”

  “Because . . . because you have to investigate a case where your girlfriend's cousin is found dead in a highly compromising situation. They will all assume that I was cheating on you.”

  He took a deep breath. “So that's why you asked about my alibi.”

  “Yes.”

  Garini turned his back on her. What a total mess. She was right, of course. The whole town would laugh. In the first shock of realizing that Valentino had been stabbed right here, he had not thought this far. His only thought had been Carlina's involvement.

  The dove cooed again, then fluttered away.

  “Garini?”

  “What?”

  “Do you believe me?”

  He turned back to her. “Do I believe what?”

  “Do you believe that I wasn't cheating on you?”

  He wanted to believe it, but he first needed time to clear his head. Every instinct inside him screamed to get his distance, to take time off to assess the situation, but he knew it was a luxury he couldn't allow himself. Now that the cat was out of the bag he had to face the family immediately. He could scrap all the statements of this morning. A whole day wasted. His insides coiled up in anger. Every single member of the Mantoni clan had been leading him on, even the people he thought he could rely on - Leopold Morin - Uncle Teo. Every single one. Even Carlina. That hurt most.

  “Garini?” Her voice sounded small.

  He pressed his lips together. “Actually, I'm extremely fed-up with being led on by you and your family, and I don't quite know yet how to react.”

  She bit her lips.

  He clenched his teeth. “I think it's best if we discontinue our relationship for the duration of the investigation.” The words were out before he had thought them through. They had come from deep inside him, out of the feeling of his trust being betrayed and, most of all, because of their easy assumption that he was one of them, that he would protect their shenanigans and go along with whatever mad scheme they would come up with. Even Carlina had gone along, expecting him to follow. Over my dead body. If the Mantonis thought they could corrupt him, they would have another thought coming.

  Carlina had gone pale.

  He forced himself to look away. “Let's go down.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He slid the bolt open and held the door for her. “I have an urgent need to talk to your family.”
r />   Chapter 6

  I

  Benedetta's kitchen smelled of warm butter, sage, and a hint of garlic. It was packed full with Mantoni family members, and they had just started to dig into the freshly made raviolis with ricotta-spinach filling.

  When Garini came through the door, holding Carlina by the arm as if she was a prisoner, the room fell silent.

  Garini took his time. He looked from one to the other, meeting every pair of eyes for a second before moving on. The expressions on their faces were identical - fear combined with a certain belligerence that comes from being in a tight corner. Benedetta sat at the end of the table, next to her Leopold Morin. Garini felt a surge of anger when he looked into the face of the Frenchman. All of them had banded together against him, even the ones he had trusted. Ernesto and Annalisa sat side by side, their red hair flaming. Next to Ernesto was his best friend Rafaele Altori. He seemed to practically live in this house at the moment. Down the table, Fabbiola. She was the only one who had something unappetizing on her plate. It looked like lentil soup in an off-color. On Fabbiola's right hand side, Emma and Lucio, the only ones he had not yet talked to. No doubt they had their lies already prepared for him. Across from them, Uncle Teo, his back straight, his bushy eyebrows furrowed. I have an ax to grind with you. Garini's gaze swept on. Next to Uncle Teo, the two jugglers - Maria and Simonetta. They always seemed to come as a pair.

  The silence became heavier every second. For some reason, the anger inside Garini was at once searing hot and so cold it made him shiver.

  “Before I take the next step in the murder investigation of Valentino Canderini, I need to make a statement.” His voice cut through the room, sharp and precise. He took care to sound as official as a report presented to the judge. “I am not going out with Carlina anymore, so don't count on any loyalty toward the Mantoni family. I will investigate this case exactly as I investigate every other case.”

  Fabbiola jumped up. “You told him! I told you to hold your tongue, Carlina!”

  Carlina flinched.

  Garini could feel it because he was still holding onto her arm.

  “You are wrong, Signora Mantoni-Ashley.” He made sure to address her as formally as possible. “You yourself told me.”