Requiem in La Rossa by Tom Benjamin

Author:Tom Benjamin [Benjamin, Tom]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-11-03T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

We were in the boardroom in the Marconi office, for once that long polished dark-wood table was getting some use. Present: the team, minus Dolores, who was over at the university checking out the background of Professor Bellario, plus Claudio and Vesuvio. It wasn’t entirely unheard of for a client to come in for an update – after all, they were paying – but more often than not they preferred us to simply get on with it and present them with the end results – the photos, videos or other evidence of miscreance, the missing person or item in question. But I had let slip I was having a catch-up the previous evening, and now here was Vesuvio, in his designer T-shirt, artfully ripped jeans, and the sunglasses he did not remove throughout the meeting – both a very rock star and very Italian look, although my guess was this was actually down to his drinking long into the night with his cronies after I had left.

‘You’ve contracted us to get Guido Delfillo off the hook,’ I said to him. ‘Let’s try not to forget that. I’ve spoken to Avvocato Servi and he has already filed for bail based on the suspicions of the coroner, but the commissario is having none of it.’

‘Anyone might think she had it in for you,’ said Vesuvio. ‘I heard the rumours.’

‘Small town,’ I said. ‘But I genuinely don’t think our shared history has anything to do with the reaction of Commissario Miranda. She simply plays the numbers game, and isn’t interested in going down rabbit holes, which may be why she has one of the highest clean-up rates in the city.

‘When the coroner comes back with something more solid about any poisoning, well, she may let Guido off the main charge. In fact, on that note, I have a duty to advise you we could simply wait to hear from Doctor Mattani before pursuing the investigation any further. We could suspend our activity and save you money.’

Vesuvio dismissed this. ‘The girl, Amanda.’ He visibly shuddered. ‘What about her?’

‘It looks as if she paid Bellario a bribe to get into the conservatory. Arguably, Guido was the fall-guy.’

‘But she didn’t just top herself!’ He shook his head. ‘The sheer coincidence, man.’

I looked around the table. There was no point in pretending we didn’t feel the same way.

‘You’re right,’ I said. ‘It does seem suspicious, presuming there may be some connection between the two deaths.

‘Okay, let’s begin with Professor Bellario. At the moment, one of my colleagues is looking into his affairs to see if we can come up with something. Then, as I mentioned yesterday evening, we’re also looking at Melodia, his wife – whether the crime could have been motivated by greed or passion. What would she inherit? Did he have insurance? Did she have a lover? Her presence at the scene, along with her contact with Amanda, also places her in the frame.

‘Then there’s Professor Gloria Penna, who you will remember also had much to gain from Bellario’s death.

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