Bonsuan his promotion, but Brunetti's near certainty that the Lieutenant
had betrayed a witness and caused her death made it difficult to be in the
same room with him, impossible for him to go on record as approving of his
behaviour. He regretted that the price of his contempt for Scarpa would have to
be paid by Bonsuan, but Brunetti could see no way clear of it.
The thought of Paola
returned, but he pushed it away and turned from the window. He went downstairs
and into Signorina Elettra's office. 'Signorina,' he said as he went in, 'I
think if s time to begin taking another look at the Lorenzoni case.'
'Then it was the
boy?' she asked, looking up from her keyboard.
‘I think so, but I'm
waiting for Vianello to call me. He's checking the dental records.'
'The poor mother,'
Elettra said and then added, ‘I wonder if she's religious.'
my?'
'It helps people when
terrible things happen, when people die’
'Are you?' Brunetti
asked.
'Per carita’ she
said, pushing the idea back towards him with raised hands. "The last time
I was in church was for my confirmation. It would have upset my parents if I
hadn't done it, which was pretty much the same for all my friends. But since
then I've had nothing to do with it.'
'Then why did you say
that it helps people?'
'Because it's true’
she said simply. 'The fact that I don't believe in it doesn't prevent it from
helping other people. I'd be a fool to deny that.'
And Signorina Elettra
was no fool, well he knew that. 'What about the Lorenzonis?' Brunetti asked,
and before she could ask, he clarified the question. 'No, I'm not interested in
their religious ideas. I'd like to know anything I can about them: their marriage,
their businesses, where they have homes, who their friends are the name of
their lawyer’
1 think a lot of this
would be in Il Gazzettino’ she said. ‘I can see what's in the files.'
'Can you do this
without leaving fingerprints, as it were?' he asked, though he wasn't sure why
he didn't want to make it evident that he was looking into the family.
'Like the whiskers of
a cat’ she said with what sounded like real pleasure, or pride. She nodded down
at the keyboard of her computer.
'With that?' Brunetti
asked.
She smiled.
'Everything's in here’
'Like what?'
'Whether any of them
has ever had any trouble with us’ she answered, and he wondered if she was
aware of how entirely unconscious her use of that pronoun had been.
‘I suppose you could’
Brunetti said. 1 hadn't thought of that’
'Because of his
title?' she asked, one eyebrow raised, the opposite side of her mouth curved up
in a smile.
Brunetti, recognizing
the truth of this, shook his head in silent negation. 'I don't remember ever
hearing their name mixed up with anything. Aside from the kidnapping, that is.
Do you know anything about them?'
'I know that Maurizio
has a temper that sometimes works to other people's cost.'
'What does that
mean?'
'That he doesn't like
not to get his way, and when he doesn't, his behaviour is unpleasant.' 'How do
you know?'
'I know it the way I
know many things about the physical health of people in the city’ 'Barbara?'
'Yes. Not because she
was the doctor involved - I don't think she'd tell me then. But we were at dinner
with another doctor, the one who substitutes for her when she's on vacation,
and he said that he had a female patient whose hand had been broken by Maurizio
Lorenzoni.'
'He broke her hand?
How?'
'He slammed his car
door on it'
Brunetti raised his
eyebrows. 'I see what you mean by "unpleasant".'
She shook her head.
'No, it wasn't as bad as it sounds, not really. Even the girl said he didn't
intend to do it. They'd had an argument. Apparently they'd been to dinner out
on the mainland somewhere, and he'd invited her to the villa, the one where
the other boy was kidnapped. She refused and asked him to drive her back to
Venice. He was very angry, but he did finally drive her back. When they got to
the garage at Piazzale Roma,
had betrayed a witness and caused her death made it difficult to be in the
same room with him, impossible for him to go on record as approving of his
behaviour. He regretted that the price of his contempt for Scarpa would have to
be paid by Bonsuan, but Brunetti could see no way clear of it.
The thought of Paola
returned, but he pushed it away and turned from the window. He went downstairs
and into Signorina Elettra's office. 'Signorina,' he said as he went in, 'I
think if s time to begin taking another look at the Lorenzoni case.'
'Then it was the
boy?' she asked, looking up from her keyboard.
‘I think so, but I'm
waiting for Vianello to call me. He's checking the dental records.'
'The poor mother,'
Elettra said and then added, ‘I wonder if she's religious.'
my?'
'It helps people when
terrible things happen, when people die’
'Are you?' Brunetti
asked.
'Per carita’ she
said, pushing the idea back towards him with raised hands. "The last time
I was in church was for my confirmation. It would have upset my parents if I
hadn't done it, which was pretty much the same for all my friends. But since
then I've had nothing to do with it.'
'Then why did you say
that it helps people?'
'Because it's true’
she said simply. 'The fact that I don't believe in it doesn't prevent it from
helping other people. I'd be a fool to deny that.'
And Signorina Elettra
was no fool, well he knew that. 'What about the Lorenzonis?' Brunetti asked,
and before she could ask, he clarified the question. 'No, I'm not interested in
their religious ideas. I'd like to know anything I can about them: their marriage,
their businesses, where they have homes, who their friends are the name of
their lawyer’
1 think a lot of this
would be in Il Gazzettino’ she said. ‘I can see what's in the files.'
'Can you do this
without leaving fingerprints, as it were?' he asked, though he wasn't sure why
he didn't want to make it evident that he was looking into the family.
'Like the whiskers of
a cat’ she said with what sounded like real pleasure, or pride. She nodded down
at the keyboard of her computer.
'With that?' Brunetti
asked.
She smiled.
'Everything's in here’
'Like what?'
'Whether any of them
has ever had any trouble with us’ she answered, and he wondered if she was
aware of how entirely unconscious her use of that pronoun had been.
‘I suppose you could’
Brunetti said. 1 hadn't thought of that’
'Because of his
title?' she asked, one eyebrow raised, the opposite side of her mouth curved up
in a smile.
Brunetti, recognizing
the truth of this, shook his head in silent negation. 'I don't remember ever
hearing their name mixed up with anything. Aside from the kidnapping, that is.
Do you know anything about them?'
'I know that Maurizio
has a temper that sometimes works to other people's cost.'
'What does that
mean?'
'That he doesn't like
not to get his way, and when he doesn't, his behaviour is unpleasant.' 'How do
you know?'
'I know it the way I
know many things about the physical health of people in the city’ 'Barbara?'
'Yes. Not because she
was the doctor involved - I don't think she'd tell me then. But we were at dinner
with another doctor, the one who substitutes for her when she's on vacation,
and he said that he had a female patient whose hand had been broken by Maurizio
Lorenzoni.'
'He broke her hand?
How?'
'He slammed his car
door on it'
Brunetti raised his
eyebrows. 'I see what you mean by "unpleasant".'
She shook her head.
'No, it wasn't as bad as it sounds, not really. Even the girl said he didn't
intend to do it. They'd had an argument. Apparently they'd been to dinner out
on the mainland somewhere, and he'd invited her to the villa, the one where
the other boy was kidnapped. She refused and asked him to drive her back to
Venice. He was very angry, but he did finally drive her back. When they got to
the garage at Piazzale Roma,
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