by Beate Boeker
Garini felt faint. “There are two bartenders. Can you describe the one you talked to?”
“We only saw one. I think he mentioned his colleague had gone out for a moment. His name is Filippo. He told me so. And then he said I had beautiful eyes.” She chuckled. “I told him it wasn't a very original line, and that I'd been hearing that for seventy years. Not during the last fifteen, though. He gaped at that and refused to believe I was ninety-nine years old.”
Garini shook his head, but remained determined not to be sidetracked. “And then?”
“Then we went straight to a secret meeting room.” She smiled. “I liked it. The door that led into the room was well hidden, you'd never have noticed it in passing.”
Garini swallowed. “Go on.”
“Well, we talked, and the Centurio gave us some valuable advice.”
“About what?”
“How to set up the business, how to do advertisements, what to do in case of official government checks, what other pitfalls to avoid, and so on.”
“Like a consultant, in fact?”
They nodded. “Exactly.”
“And did he take any money for this?”
“Oh, no, not yet. He said we first had to get to know each other. Of course, he recommended a ready-made booking system to us, which would make it really easy to manage everything. In return for offering us that system, he would be paid a certain amount and get a percentage of the sales.”
“Right.” Garini took a deep breath. “So how long were you with him?” Please tell me you left before ten.
“We left at around twenty past ten.”
When Lucio and Emma were both at the club. Garini sat up straight. “Did you see anyone you know?”
“But Stefano, of course we didn't know anybody. We don't usually go to nightclubs.” Uncle Teo looked at him as if surprised that Stefano could ask such a stupid question.
“Besides, we couldn't see anybody at all. On our way into the room, the club had hardly opened, and there were few people about. And when we left, we used another exit,” Aunt Violetta added. “Which was a shame, because I couldn't say goodbye to the cutie, Filippo at the bar.”
The second exit Tonio had talked about? “You'll have to show it to me.”
Aunt Violetta and Uncle Teo exchanged a look.
“We're not sure if we can do that,” Uncle Teo said. “It was pretty dark, and the doors never looked like doors at all, so they're easy to miss.”
Stefano sighed. “So what happened to the guinea pig?”
“Well, we had brought all three of them along because we thought the Centurione might want to see a demonstration.”
“A racing guinea pig demonstration in a nightclub?” Garini didn't trust his ears.
“Yeah.” Aunt Violetta nodded with enthusiasm. “And we were right, he did want to see it. He fell in love with Gustavo II right away.”
“Gustavo II being another guinea pig?”
Uncle Teo smiled. “Yes. He's a sweety, with his mane of black hair and his white face. I'm sure he'll be the key attraction to our business. Kabuki, in contrast, is a bit lazy sometimes. But at least he doesn't try to escape all the time.”
Garini closed his eyes.
“But then Grazia Afrodite Venere managed to get out of her cage and disappeared.” Aunt Violetta pursed her mouth.
“Grazie Afrodite Venere?” Garini shook his head. That fits right in with Ambrosia Amore. No wonder the guinea pig had felt at home at the nightclub.
“Yes, our Gracy. We searched for her for ages, but she had gone.” Uncle Teo lifted both hands.
“In the end, we gave up and decided to return the next day, hoping for more luck.” Aunt Violetta banged the table again. “But now they won't let us in! And Gracy might be in there, hungry and scared!”
Garini narrowed his eyes. “One moment. What color is she?”
“She's beautiful, very big and strong, and her fur is so shiny. It's tan and black and white.” Aunt Violetta spoke with pride.
“Would it be possible to take her for a rat?”
They both reared back. “Never!” they said simultaneously.
“I'm not so sure. If the light is bad, and if you see something small running alongside a wall, out of the corner of your eyes – yes, I think that the first, automatic impression would be that it's a rat.” Garini stared at them. So this is the solution to the rat problem, and this is why some people said there were no rats at all in the club and others insisted on having seen one.
Uncle Teo's eyes became big. “Are you trying to tell us someone took her for a rat and killed her?”
“Quite the reverse. Someone took her for a rat and got killed.”
The two elderly people looked at each other, shocked. “What?”
“Last night, a prostitute was killed in the nightclub, and shortly before that, she claimed to have seen a rat.”
For once in their lives, they were silent.
Uncle Teo cleared his throat. “The poor girl. But … but do you know if our Gracy was there during the crime?”
“I have no idea.”
Aunt Violetta shook herself. “She might be traumatized. I wonder if she'll still be able to race?”
Uncle Teo looked at her. “She might need counseling.”
Garini didn't even listen anymore, but looked at them thoughtfully. These two were at the nightclub during the time of the murder. What if they had surprised Lucio with the prostitute? Would family pride have caused a panic reaction, so they killed the girl? He shook his head. If that had happened, they wouldn't be so worried about their lost guinea pig. They'd have bigger worries. Besides, where would they have gotten the knife? The knife. He really had to find out more about the murder weapon. He got up. “Look, I can't let you into the club right now, but I'll go inside and will try to find her. All right?”
Uncle Teo looked at him. “She's partial to cucumber.”
“I'll keep that in mind.” Garini put some coins on the table, got up and left the café. Was he clutching at straws, anything to deflect him from having to talk to Emma? How could he search for a lost guinea pig as if it was the most important thing on earth? It wasn't like him to procrastinate. He gave himself a mental shake and left the café. On the sidewalk, he ran straight into Piedro.
“I got the pictures of the knife from the laboratory,” he said between pants.
Garini lifted his eyebrows. “That was quick work. Have they already run all the tests?”
Piedro nodded. “The blood group corresponds to that of the victim, and the wound corresponds to the knife. That's all they could tell. Boring stuff.”
“And why did you come here with it?”
Piedro looked up at him. “I thought you wanted to see the pictures right away, and Gloria told me you'd gone to the scene of crime.”
“All right. But first, let's go inside.” They identified themselves to the guard and went into the club. The crime scene team had brought strong headlights, so they wouldn't miss anything, in spite of the bad lighting inside. Garini briefly talked to the commanding officer of the drug unit and learned that they were about to finish, then went to a quiet corner and took the pictures Piedro handed to him.
It was a normal kitchen knife, tapered at the front, with a black plastic handle. It looked like quality work, not too fragile, not too heavy.
“How long is it?”
“Approximately twenty centimeters, quite long for a kitchen knife.” Piedro pointed to the blade. “Do you see that small name here? It says Zwilling. I looked it up; it's a well-known brand for knives, from Germany.”
“Expensive?”
“Yeah.”
Stefano smiled at him. “Well done, Piedro. It's good that you looked up the name and found out more.”
Piedro looked a bit surprised, as well he might. He didn't get many compliments from his boss.
Stefano knew he should encourage him more often, but as Piedro so often made blunders, it was difficult to find good points.
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br /> “This knife is usually sold in a set, and quite often used in gastronomy.”
Garini's head shot up. “In gastronomy? That's interesting.” He looked around and saw a slim youth working behind the bar. “Let's see if that guy can identify this knife.”
Piedro looked a bit embarrassed. “Would it be okay if I went to the bathroom first?”
“Sure.” Garini ambled over to the bar and took a seat at one of the bar stools. “Buongiorno.”
The young man looked up, his face closed. “We're not serving drinks yet.”
“I'm not asking for a drink.” Was this Aunt Violetta's cutie? If yes, he must have behaved very differently last night. Garini decided to use Piedro's absence to begin the guinea pig hunt. “Do you happen to have a bit of cucumber?”
The youth stared at him. He had brown eyes and looked as if he'd worked too much, with dark circles beneath his eyes. “A cucumber? Like we use for the cucumber mint margarita?”
“Possibly.” Stefano had to smile. Would Gracy be tempted if he offered her a cucumber mint margarita?
The youth seemed to be out of his depth. Nervously, he cleared his throat. “I … I'm not sure if I can do that.”
“Why not?”
“My boss, he … he asked me make sure none of the policemen serve themselves from the bar. I had to come in extra early today, just to guard the bar.”
“That shows a certain mistrust in the police, but I'm not blaming him.”
The youth stared at him. “Are you from the police?”
“Yes. My name is Stefano Garini from the homicide department. And you?”
“I'm Filippo Arcardi.”
Filippo. So he was the cutie. Tonio had also mentioned his colleague, the one who worked at the bar and did the tables. This might be a good witness. “I already talked to your colleague, Tonio, earlier today.”
The brown eyes watched him with mistrust. “You did?”
“Yes. We're trying to find out as much as possible about last night.”
Filippo shrugged. “Wasn't different from any other night.”
“If you don't count the raid and the murder.” Garini's voice was soft.
Filippo turned red. “I meant before.”
“So you didn't see anything unusual?”
Filippo shook his head. “Nope.”
“A couple of elderly people with guinea pigs?”
The young man stared at him, as if wondering what hallucinogenic he took. “Guinea pigs?”
“Or maybe not. But an old couple, a lady in a wheelchair?”
Filippo's mouth relaxed. “She was funny. Asked for an extra large sex on the beach. I forgot about her. But they left right away, long before the raid and the murder.”
“And otherwise you didn't see anything?”
“No.”
“Tonio mentioned a girl with a bag of flour.”
“Oh, her. Yeah, she was a bit strange.”
Garini frowned. This young man preferred to see nothing unless he was told. Was this just a natural tendency to avoid any prolonged contact with the police?
The brown eyes focused on Garini. “Do you think she did it, the girl with the flour, I mean?”
“It's early stages yet. We can't say anything.” Garini pulled out Lucio's picture. “How about him? Did you see him?”
Filippo nodded. “Yeah, he's here quite often.”
“Did you notice anything about him at all? When he came and when he left?”
Filippo shrugged. “Nah. Sorry. I'm only doing my job here, not checking times and stuff.”
Thank God for Tonio. With Filippo as the sole witness, they would have gotten nowhere. “Did you see the other people he came with?”
Filippo frowned, clearly making an effort. “A small group. One was Bianco Brillo.”
“So you know Bianco Brillo?”
Filippo nodded. “He's friends with my boss. Comes here regularly.”
“Can you tell me when he left?”
“No, I'm sorry. Like I said, I don't pay much attention to that kind of thing.”
Garini took out the picture of Emma. “And her? Did you see her here last night?”
Filippo stared at the picture. “Not sure.”
It sure was uphill work. “How about Ambrosia Amore? You knew her, I think?”
“Of course I did. She worked here, like the other girls.”
“Were you friendly?”
Again, Filippo colored. “Not really.”
For a bartender, he's pretty shy, at least, when it comes to young women. He seemed to have taken Aunt Violetta in his stride. “But you saw her last night.”
“Yeah.” Filippo lifted one shoulder. “She was at the bar for her break.”
“When was that?”
“Must have been ten. She usually took a break around then.”
Finally something. Garini wondered how many weeks Ambrosia Amore had taken her break at ten before Filippo noticed. Or had he been secretly in love with her and knew the times because of that?
“Did she seem in any way different?”
Filippo wagged his head. “I can't tell. I didn't really look at her. It was busy.”
“Will you miss her?”
Filippo lifted both shoulders. “I hardly knew her.”
“So you never went out together?”
“Never.” The word was said with total conviction.
Still, Garini wanted to make extra sure Filippo didn't have a secret attachment to the dead girl. “So tell me, you've got a girl of your own?” He tried to make his voice chatty, but knew it failed. Being chatty was way out of his comfort zone.
Filippo blushed scarlet this time. “Sort of,” he mumbled.
“Nice. Does she work here?”
“Oh, no. She's a cashier at Crai, the supermarket.” He looked at his watch. “I wanted to take her out for a drive today.”
“I'm sorry.” Garini smiled at him. “But I hope your boss pays you well for the lost time.”
Filippo grimaced. “So-so.”
Garini looked around. Where was Piedro? He should have taped this conversation, but something told him that Filippo would have said even less if he'd tried the official approach. Well, they could always do it later.
For an instant, neither said anything. Then Filippo said, “That cucumber. You want a cube or a slice?”
Garini looked up. “I thought you're not supposed to serve the police?”
Filippo shrugged and smiled a little. “My boss said no drinks. Didn't mention food.”
“A slice, then. Thank you.”
Filippo turned around and took a cucumber from a small fridge, then turned back to Garini. He pulled up a cutting board, picked up a knife, and started to cut several slices. “Here you are.”
Garini stared at the knife. It was the twin of the knife he had seen on the picture, only smaller.
Chapter 8
He took two cucumber slices and popped one into his mouth. Then he pointed at the knife in Filippo's hands. “Nice knife, that.”
Filippo seemed surprised. “It's just a knife.”
“Good quality, though.”
“I guess.”
“You got several of them?”
“Yeah.”
“Would you show me where?”
Filippo's head shot up. “What's all this?”
“Ambrosia Amore was stabbed.”
Filippo blanched. “So I heard.”
“And this knife looks very similar to the one that was used.”
The young waiter swallowed visibly. Then he went to the side and pulled open a drawer. “Here.”
Garini followed him. The drawer was at the far end of the counter. Any guest could have reached around the bar and taken out a knife if both waiters were distracted by their work. Drat. The drawer had a wooden partition inside, and each department was chock-full of knives in all sizes and forms. “Can you tell if one is missing?”
The brown eyes stared at him. “Are you kidding?”
; “You mean, no?”
“Most certainly not.”
Garini pulled the photo of the murder weapon out of his pocket and showed it to Filippo. “Does this look familiar to you?”
Filippo stared at the knife as if mesmerized. “It looks like one of ours.”
Garini put it back into his pocket, then went through the knives in the drawer. “They're all from Zwilling.”
At that instant, Piedro shot into the bar area. “This club is disgusting!” He shook himself. “There was a rat in the men's bathroom. I ran out, and by mistake, I turned into the wrong direction. Man, it's a maze out there. I got lost in all those tunnels.”
Filippo frowned. “There ain't no rats in this club. And you had no business going to the tunnels. They're not for visitors.”
Garini grabbed another piece of cucumber and jumped up. “Show me where you saw the rat, Piedro.”
Piedro stared at him. “Our job is to catch murderers, not rats.”
“Quite right.” Garini gave him a grim smile. “But a rat or two might come in handy.”
“There ain't no rats in this club.”
But Garini and Piedro didn't hear Filippo. They were already gone.
In the bathroom, the light wasn't particularly bright either, but at least the place was clean. Garini turned to Piedro. “Where did you see the rat?”
Piedro pushed out his lower lip and pointed toward the stall at the far wall. “Over there. But I really don't see –“
Garini didn't want to explain that he was hunting for a Mantoni pet, so he didn't explain. Instead, he eased open the door and squatted down. In the darkest corner, he could see a roundish shadow. He held the cucumber in front of him. The shadow lifted its head and moved a tentative step forward.
“You're trying to catch a rat with a piece of cucumber?” Piedro's voice was loud.
The shadow winced and retreated.
“Please return to the bar and interview Filippo,” Garini said. “Try to get him to talk about Ambrosia Amore.”
Piedro sighed. “And what will you do?”
“I'll join you in a minute.”