Commissario Brunetti - 17 - The Girl of His Dreams by Donna Leon

Author:Donna Leon
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Mystery
ISBN: 9780143115618
Publisher: Penguin Books
Published: 2009-04-07T10:20:53+00:00

'Pretty girl.'

Instead of answering, Brunetti walked down to the edge of the canal, where he turned back and studied the facade of the building they had just left.

Vianello asked, looking in the same general direction, 'What are you looking for?'

'The roof, to see what sort of angle it has,' Brunetti answered, shielding his eyes from the sun with an upraised hand. They were too close, so they saw only the facade and the underside of the gutters; there was no way they could back up to improve the perspective.

'Their bedroom is at the back,' Brunetti said, thrusting his hand away from his face and gesturing towards the building. 'There were two other doors on that side of the corridor.'

'And?' Vianello enquired.

'And nothing, I'm afraid’ Brunetti answered and started back down the calle. As Vianello drew abreast of him, Brunetti said, 'She told me she was at the opera with her son and then they went to dinner with her sister and her brother-in-law. So we check that first.'

'And then?'

'If it's true, then we try to find out something about the girl’

After a moment's hesitation, Vianello asked hesitantly, 'The Gypsy?'

'Yes, of course’ Brunetti answered, slowing for a moment and giving him a curious look.

Vianello met his glance, looked away, and when he looked back, asked, 'Did Rizzardi really say that? About gonorrhoea?'

'Yes.'

They came out into Campo Santo Stefano and by mutual consent started towards the Accademia Bridge and the boat that would take them back to the Questura.

As they passed behind the statue, Vianello said, 'Why do I keep thinking it's worse because of her age?'

They walked in front of the church and turned towards the bridge. 'Because it is worse’ Brunetti said.

Pucetti came in to report soon after the other men returned to the Questura. By then, Brunetti had located Signora Fornari's brother-in-law, who confirmed her story, even adding that he had walked her and her son to the 1.07 vaporetto.

Pucetti had done as told and had shown the photos of the dead girl to his colleagues downstairs; he had left copies of the photos at the Carabinieri station at San Zaccaria, asking that they be circulated to see if anyone recognized her. As he spoke, he placed the folder with the remaining photos on his superior's desk.

When the younger man had stopped talking, Brunetti asked, 'But no one recognized her?'

'No one here, not yet. I put two of the photos on the noticeboard’ Pucetti said. 'One of the Carabinieri over at San Zaccaria said he thought she'd been brought in there about a month ago, but he wasn't sure. He said he'd check the records and talk to the men who filed the report.'

'Let's hope he does it,' remarked Vianello, who had greater experience of the Carabinieri and their ways.

'I think he will,' protested Pucetti. 'The fact that it's a child seemed to bother him. Seemed to bother everyone I spoke to, in fact.'

Glances passed between the three men.

'You going to speak to her son?' Vianello asked, reminding Brunetti that the boy had still to be questioned to corroborate his mother's story.

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