The Dance of the Seagull im-15

by Andrea Camilleri

  As he was swimming towards the beach, he saw Livia sitting on the veranda in her bathrobe, drinking coffee.

  “How’s the water?”

  “Stale.”

  When he came out of the shower, he found Livia standing in front of him.

  “What is it?”

  “Nothing. Do you have to go to the station right away?”

  “No.”

  “Well, then . . .”

  He understood. Hearing a sort of symphony orchestra strike up in his head, he squeezed her tight.

  It was a beautiful way to make peace.

  “Four o’clock, and I mean it!” she reminded him afterwards, accompanying him to the door.

  “Get me Fazio right away,” he said to Catarella, passing in front of his post.

  “He ain’t onna premisses, Chief.”

  “Has he called?”

  “Nossir, Chief.”

  “As soon as he gets in, tell him to come to my office.”

  There was a veritable mountain of papers teetering on his desk. He felt disheartened. He was tempted to blow it all off. What could they do to him if he didn’t sign them? The death penalty had been abolished, and even life sentences were on the way out. And so? Maybe with a good lawyer he could drag things out until his crime of refusal to apply his signature fell under the statute of limitations. There were even prime ministers who had benefited from this statute of limitations to dodge prosecution for much more serious crimes.

  But then his sense of duty won out.

  2

  Augello came in without knocking or even saying hello. He looked downcast.

  “What’s wrong, Mimì?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Come on, Mimì.”

  “Leave me alone.”

  “Come on, Mimì.”

  “I spent the whole night quarreling with Beba.”

  “Why?”

  “She says I don’t earn enough money with my salary and so she wants to find a job. Actually, she’s already been offered a good one.”

  “And you’re against it?”

  “No. The problem is the kid.”

  “I see. You mean, how can she work at a job with the kid?”

  “For her there’s no problem. All taken care of. She wants to send him to day care.”

  “So?”

  “Well, I’m against it.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s too small. It’s true he’s old enough, but he’s too small and I feel bad for him.”

  “You think he’ll be mistreated?”

  “Of course not! He’d be treated just fine! But I feel bad for him anyway. I’m hardly ever at home. If Beba starts working, she’ll end up going out in the morning and not coming home till evening. And the little kid’ll think he’s been orphaned.”

  “Cut the crap, Mimì. Being an orphan is something else altogether. I can tell you from experience, as you know.”

  “Sorry. Let’s change the subject.”

  “Any news?”

  “Nah. Dead calm.”

  “Do you know why Fazio hasn’t shown up yet?”

  “No.”

  “Listen, Mimì, have you ever seen a seagull die?”

  “No.”

  “This morning I watched one die right in front of the veranda.”

  “Had it been shot?”

  “I can’t say.”

  Augello stared at him. Then he stuck two fingers into the breast pocket of his jacket, pulled out his glasses, and put them on.

  “What do you mean?”

  “No, first you have to tell me why you put on your glasses.”

  “To hear you better.”

  “Do they have a hearing device built in?”

  “No, I can hear just fine.”

  “So why did you put on your glasses?”

  “To see you better.”

  “Oh, no you don’t, Mimì, that’s cheating! You said you put them on to hear me better! Hear, not see!”

  “It’s the same thing. If I can see you better, I can understand you better.”

  “And what’s to understand?”

  “What’re you getting at?”

  “I’m not getting at anything, Mimì! I just asked you a simple question!”

  “And since I know you well, I know where this simple question is going to lead.”

  “And where’s that?”

  “To us starting an investigation into who killed that seagull! You’d be perfectly capable of it!”

  “Cut the shit, Mimì!”

  “Oh, no? And what about the time you found that dead horse on the beach? You made trouble for everyone until you were able to—”

  “You know what I say to you, Mimì? Get the hell out of here and go scratch your balls in your own office.”

  He’d been signing papers upon papers for half an hour when the phone rang.

  “Chief, ’at’d be a Signor Mizzica ’at wants a talk t’yiz poissonally in poisson.”

  “On the phone?”

  “Nossir, ’e’s onna premisses.”

  “Did he say what he wanted?”

  “Says iss a quesshin o’ fishin’ boats, the kine witt motors.”

  “Tell him I’m too busy and have him talk to Inspector Augello.”

  Then the inspector changed his mind.

  “Actually, no, I’ll talk to him first.”

  If Signor Mizzica dealt in fishing boats, maybe he could tell him something about seagulls.

  “Hello, Inspector, Adolfo Rizzica’s the name.”

  As if Catarella would ever get a name right . . .

  “Please sit down and tell me what I can do for you. But I should warn you that I’ve got barely five minutes to listen to you. Just give me a general sense, and you can tell the rest to my second-in-command, Inspector Augello.”

  Rizzica was about sixty and well dressed, with a polite and respectful demeanor. He had a salt-eaten face typical of a man of the sea. Sitting at the edge of his chair, he was quite nervous. His forehead was beaded with sweat and he was clutching a handkerchief. He kept his eyes lowered and couldn’t make up his mind to begin talking.

  “I’m waiting, Signor Rizzica.”

  “I own five fishing trawlers.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. And so?”

  “I think I can talk straight with you, so I’ll get right to the point. One of these five boats seems suspicious to me.”

  “Suspicious in what way?”

  “Well, once or twice a week, this trawler comes in late.”

  “I still don’t understand. Comes in later than the others?”

  “Yessir.”

  “So where’s the problem? Please try to be—”

  “Inspector, normally I know where these guys piss, how much time they take to do it, and I’m always in touch with them via radiophone. And when they’re done, they tell me they’re on their way in.”

  “And so?”

  “Even the captain of this boat, whose name is Maria Concetta—”

  “The captain’s a woman?”

  “Nossir, he’s a man.”

  “So why does he have a woman’s name?”

  “It’s the boat that has a woman’s name, sir. The captain’s name is Salvatore Aureli.”

  “Okay, and?”

  “Captain Aureli’ll tell me he’s coming in with the others, but then will put in an hour late, sometimes an hour and a half.”

  “Does his boat have a slower engine?”

  “Nossir, on the contrary.”

  “So why’s he coming in late?”

  “That’s the mystery, Inspector. I think the whole crew’s in on it.”

  “In on what?”

  “That sea’s full of traffic, Inspector. Worse than an autostrada, know what I mean?”

  “No.”

  “I think—but it’s only what I think, mind you—I think he stops somewhere to load.”

  “To load what?”

  “Can’t you guess?”

  “Listen, Signor Rizzica, I
haven’t got time for guessing games.”

  “In my opinion, Inspector, they’re trafficking drugs. An’ if anyone finds out about this, I don’ want any part of it.”

  “Drugs? Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely sure, no. But, you know . . .”

  “And what sort of explanations has Aureli given for being late?”

  “He comes up with a new story every time. Once it was because the motor seized up, another time the net got caught—”

  “Listen, perhaps it’s best if you go at once and talk to Inspector Augello about all this. But first I’d like to ask you one question.”

  “Sure, by all means.”

  “Have you ever happened to see a seagull die?”

  Hardly expecting such a question, Rizzica gave him a bewildered look.

  “What’s that got to do with—”

  “It’s got nothing to do with it, nothing at all. It’s just something I’m personally curious about.”

  The man thought it over briefly.

  “Yes, there was one time, when I had only one trawler and was boarding the boat, I saw a gull fall down dead.”

  “Did it do anything before dying?”

  The man grew even more bewildered.

  “What was it supposed to do, write a will?”

  Montalbano got irritated.

  “Listen, Mizzica—”

  “Rizzica.”

  “—don’t get wise with me! I asked you a serious question.”

  “Okay, okay, I’m sorry.”

  “So, what did it do before it died?”

  Rizzica thought about it for a minute.

  “It didn’t do anything, Inspector. It fell like a rock into the water and just floated there.”

  “Ah, so it died at sea,” said Montalbano, disappointed.

  If it fell into the water, there was no way it could have performed its dance.

  “I’ll show you into Inspector Augello’s office,” he said, getting up.

  Was it possible that nobody else had ever seen a seagull dancing as it died? Was he the only one? Who could he ask? The telephone rang. It was Livia.

  “Did you know your refrigerator’s empty?”

  “No.”

  “This is clearly an act of sabotage by your beloved Adelina. You told her I was coming, and the woman, who obviously hates me, cleaned it out.”

  “Good lord, such strong words! She doesn’t hate you, you just don’t particularly like each other, that’s all.”

  “So you put me on the same level as her?!”

  “Livia, for heaven’s sake, let’s not start! There’s no need to make a big fuss over an empty refrigerator. You can come and have lunch with me at Enzo’s trattoria.”

  “And how will I get there? On foot?”

  “All right, then, I’ll come and pick you up.”

  “How soon?”

  “Jesus, Livia, I’ll come and get you when it’s time.”

  “But can’t you give me even a vague idea of when—”

  “I said I don’t know!”

  “Listen, don’t get up to your usual tricks, I won’t stand for it!”

  “And what are these usual tricks of mine?”

  “When you say you’ll be there at a certain time and you show up three hours late.”

  “I’ll be extremely punctual.”

  “But you haven’t told me what time you—”

  “Livia, stop! Are you trying to drive me insane?”

  “You already are insane!”

  He hung up. And less than thirty seconds later, the phone rang. He grabbed the receiver and yelled angrily:

  “I am not insane! Understand?”

  There was a slight pause, and then Catarella began to speak, voice quavering.

  “Chief! I swear on my mortal soul an’ dead body, I nivver tought you wuz insane! I nivver said it!”

  “Sorry, Cat, I thought you were someone else. What is it?”

  “Iss Fazio’s wife is what it is.”

  “On the phone?”

  “Nossir, she’s ’ere poissonally in poisson.”

  “Show her in.”

  Why had Fazio sent his wife? Couldn’t he have just phoned if he was sick?

  “Hello, Grazia. What’s wrong?”

  “Hello, Inspector. I’m so sorry to bother you, but—”

  “No bother at all. What is it?”

  “You tell me.”

  Good God, what did that mean?

  Signora Grazia, to judge from her eyes, looked worried and troubled.

  Montalbano decided at once to try to find out more, in the hopes of gaining some understanding and responding properly.

  “Meanwhile, please sit down. You seem upset.”

  “My husband went out last night at ten o’clock, after you called him. He said he had to meet you at the port. And I haven’t heard from him since. Usually when he stays out all night he gives me a call. But this time he didn’t, so I’m a little worried.”

  Ah, so that’s what this was about. But in fact he hadn’t called Fazio the night before. And they didn’t have an appointment at the port. What on earth was the good man up to?

  At any rate, the first thing to do was to calm down the wife. And thus began an Oscar-caliber performance. Montalbano let out a sort of groan and slapped himself loudly on the forehead.

  “Madonna mia! I completely forgot! I’m so sorry, signora, but it totally slipped my mind!”

  “What, Inspector?”

  “Your husband had told me to phone you, since he couldn’t! And to think he’d repeated it to me so many times! And I, like an idiot—”

  “Please don’t say that, Inspector.”

  “Good God, I’m so sorry to have made you worry so! But rest assured, Grazia, your husband is just fine. He’s involved in a very delicate—”

  “That’s enough for me, Inspector. Thank you.”

  She stood up and held out her hand.

  Fazio’s wife was a woman worthy of the man. Of few words and great dignity, she never, on the few occasions the inspector had eaten at their house (but what a terrible cook!), got involved in the two men’s conversation when they discussed work-related matters.

  “I’ll see you out,” said Montalbano.

  He accompanied her to the parking lot, still apologizing, and watched her get into her husband’s car. Which meant that Fazio hadn’t taken it to go wherever he’d gone.

  He went back into the station and stopped in front of the closet that served as a switchboard room. He said to Catarella:

  “Call Fazio for me on his cell phone.”

  Catarella tried twice in rapid succession.

  “Iss off, Chief.”

  “Then tell Inspector Augello to come to my office at once.”

  “But ’e’s still wit’ Signor Mizzica.”

  “Tell him to tell the guy to fuck off.”

  What could have possibly happened to Fazio? he wondered, worried, entering his office.

  Fazio had lied to his wife, telling her he had an appointment at the port. Why at the port of all places? That might be the answer to everything, or it might mean nothing at all. He might have simply said the first thing that had come into his head.

  The troubling thing was that he hadn’t phoned his wife. And that must certainly have been because . . . because apparently he was in no condition to do so.

  Be clearer, Montalbà, said Montalbano Two.

  He doesn’t want to be any clearer because he’s afraid, Montalbano One cut in.

  Of what?

  Of the conclusions he’s forced to draw.

  And what are they?

  That Fazio can’t phone because he’s being held prisoner by someone, or else he’s injured or dead.

  But why do you always have to imagine the worst?

  What else can you imagine in this situation? That Fazio ran off with another woman?

  Augello came in.

  “What’s the big rush?”

  “Close the door and sit down.”<
br />
  Augello obeyed.

  “Well?”

  “Fazio has disappeared.”

  Mimì gawked at him, open-mouthed.

  After talking for fifteen minutes, they arrived at a conclusion. Which was that Fazio had clearly started an investigation on his own without telling anyone. He did get these sorts of brilliant ideas every once in a while. This time, however, he’d underestimated the danger, which seemed strange, given his experience, and had ended up in trouble.

  There was no other possible explanation.

  “We have to track him down by tomorrow at the very latest,” said Montalbano. “I can probably keep his wife at bay until then, since she has a lot of faith in me, but sooner or later I’ll have to tell her the truth. Whatever it is.”

  “Where do you want me to start looking?”

  “Let’s assume the story about the port is true. You should start there.”

  “Can I bring someone with me?”

  “No, it’s better if you go alone. I don’t want word to go around that we’re looking for him. It might get back to the wife. If by this time tomorrow we haven’t made any progress, then we’ll get moving on a big scale.”

  After Augello left, the inspector had an idea.

  “Catarella, get someone to sit in for you for five minutes, then come into my office.”

  “Straightaways, Chief.”

  And indeed he appeared straightaways.

  “Listen, Cat, I need you to give me a hand with something.”

  Catarella’s eyes began to sparkle with contentment, and he stood at attention.

  “I’ll even give yiz both ’ands, Chief.”

  “Think hard before answering. There’s no direct phone line in Fazio’s office, right?”

  “Right, sir.”

  “Therefore every phone call that comes in for him has to pass through the switchboard, right?”

  Catarella didn’t reply, but twisted up his face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Chief. Fazio’s gotta sill phone. If summon happens a call ’im on ’is sill phone, Fazio’s sill phone, I mean, that summon callin’ ’ass callin’ don’ go true the swishboard.”

  “That’s true. But let’s just put that problem aside for now. Let’s think only about the switchboard. I want you to tell me whether there’ve been any phone calls for Fazio in the last four or five days, from anyone who had never called before. Is that clear?”