Commissario Brunetti - 13 - Doctored Evidence by Donna Leon

Author:Donna Leon
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9780143117087
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Published: 2010-01-26T10:20:25+00:00

'I've no idea,' the doctor answered. One of the children in the outer room began to cry, that high-pitched wail that cannot be faked. Carlotti looked at his watch. 'If you have no more questions, Commissario, I'd like to get on with seeing my patients.'

'Certainly,' Brunetti said, getting to his feet and returning his notebook to his pocket. 'You've been more than generous with your time.'

As they walked towards the door, Brunetti asked, 'Did Signora Battestini ever receive visitors while you were there?'

'No, no one ever came to see her that I can recall,' the doctor said. He stood still as he searched his memory. 'Once or twice, as I said, she'd get phone calls, but she'd always say she was busy and tell whoever it was to call back.'

'Did she speak Veneziano to these people, do you remember, Dottore, when she talked to them?'

'I don't remember,' Carlotti answered. 'Probably Veneziano. She'd almost forgotten how to speak Italian. Some of them do.' Then, for the sake of clarity, he added, 'At least I never heard her speak it.' He put his hand back to his head. 'Once, ^bout three years ago, she was on the phone when I came in. I had a key by then, you see, and I could let myself in if she didn't hear the bell. The television was on - I could hear it down in the street — so I knew she wouldn't hear me if I did ring, so I didn't bother. I opened the door, but the sound had been lowered. The phone must have rung while I was coming up the steps, and she was talking to someone.' He paused for a moment, then added, ‘I suppose that whoever it was had called her. She often said it cost too much to make phone calls. At any rate, she had turned the television down a bit and was talking to someone.'

Brunetti waited beside him, saying nothing, allowing him space and time for memory.

'She said something about having hoped to hear from the person, whoever it was, but her voice was . . . oh, I don't know . . . cruel or sarcastic or something between the two. And then she said goodbye and called the person something. I can't remember now what it was. Dottore maybe, or Professore, something like that, and because she used a title, you'd think she would have spoken respectfully, but it was just the opposite.' Brunetti watched him as he spoke, saw the memory take shape. 'Yes, it was Dottore, but she was speaking in Veneziano. I'm sure of that.'

When it was clear that the doctor had no more to say, Brunetti asked, 'Did you say anything about the conversation to her?'

'No, no, I didn't. In fact, the moment was so strange, perhaps because of her voice, or just some feeling I had about the way she was talking, that I stayed just outside the doorway and didn't go in. There was something so strange

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