Glass Souls: Moths for Commissario Ricciardi by Giovanni Maurizio de

Author:Giovanni, Maurizio de [Giovanni, Maurizio de]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Crime
ISBN: 9781609454104
Goodreads: 52873774
Publisher: Europa Editions
Published: 2015-06-30T07:00:00+00:00

XXVII

It was already late afternoon when a barefoot boy wearing a tattered sleeveless shirt at least four sizes too big for him came dashing into the guardroom, on the ground floor of police headquarters.

He was panting and at least twenty seconds ahead of Amitrano, the officer on duty at the front entrance. The scugnizzo looked around proudly. His skin was brown as old leather, his knees were ravaged by scrapes and cuts, he had the marks of ancient chilblains on his feet, and he was absolutely filthy.

“Brigadier Raffaele Maione!” he said in a loud voice. “Who here is him?”

Amitrano grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, hauling him off the floor and wheezing.

“Rude thing, little animal, let me show you right now just what happens when you forget to stop at the front door, I should have just shot you in the legs . . . ”

Maione, who was compiling the duty roster for the following day, wearily raised his hand.

“Amitra’, just drop it. I’d be curious to see what happens the day that an actual ill-intentioned individual manages to slip in here, maybe to take vengeance for an arrest or a simple stop. Whether or not you’re standing watch at the door seems to be immaterial.”

The boy, who wasn’t even remotely intimidated, said in a hoarse voice: “It’s true, we can get in here whenever we like. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Maione raised his voice.

“Hey, now, don’t you even think of it, understood? Or I’ll kick you black and blue in the seat of the pants so you won’t be able to sit down again as long as you live! Amitra’, let go of him for a second and let me hear what he has to say. Then slam him in a cell for a month, so we can see who’s afraid of who!”

The boy rubbed his neck, glaring ferociously at the officer who was keeping his eye on him.

“Oh sure, do you think I’m stupid? You can’t put me in jail because I haven’t done anything wrong. I’ve only come because I have a message to deliver to this certain Brigadier Raffaele Maione, and they paid me to deliver it. Otherwise, I never would have come to catch a whiff of the stink in this place!”

Maione advanced, towering over the boy, who however showed no signs of fear.

“What about, instead of putting you in jail, I knock you black and blue and pound you silly? Then I’ll just say that you fell down the stairs while we were chasing you, because you’d scampered into police headquarters without stopping when told to halt by Amitrano here. Come on, shall we make a bet?”

The subdued tone of voice and the determined expression, more than the sheer size of the brigadier, convinced the boy that he’d dragged it out long enough.

“Well, so you’re Brigadier Raffaele Maione?”

Maione nodded, disconsolately.

“Yes. And I’m pretty sure I know exactly who’s sending me this message. Anyway, come on, out with it.”

The boy

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