Читать книгу Death Brings Gold - Nicola Rocca - Страница 22

CHAPTER 15

When Inspector Walker entered Café Cielo, the man who had invited him to breakfast was already sitting down.

Walker greeted him with a nod and approached him.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Inspector,” replied Carobbio. “Please, sit down” he added, inviting him to take a seat.

Walker obeyed. Then he took off his gloves and scarf and rubbed his hands.

“What would you like?”

“Whatever you’re having will be fine,” said Walker, without giving it much thought.

“Two Scotches, then,” declared the Chief Inspector of Forensic Police.

Walker gave him an incredulous look.

“I was joking,” continued Carobbio, smiling. “You really think I’d have Scotch for breakfast?”

David smiled too.

When the waitress came, Carobbio ordered two cappuccinos with soy milk and two wholemeal chocolate brioches. The girl nodded, firstly showing a perfect smile and then, when she turned her back to them, a rear worthy of a standing ovation. Both men admired the ass, catching each other doing so. However neither one hazarded a comment.

“Chocolate in the morning wakes the mind up, Inspector,” said Carobbio. “Did you know it?”

Walker, still absorbed in following the progress of the girl’s bottom, was caught unprepared.

“No,” he answered, bringing his eyes towards the other man. “I’ve never heard this one. Maybe because in the morning I wake my mind up with these,” he concluded, throwing his packet of Marlboros on the table.

“Oh, Inspector, that’s a really bad habit! Anyway, that thing about the chocolate is not a rule. I mean… it wasn’t a Nobel prize winner who discovered it, but for me it works. I can’t explain why, but chocolate in the morning wakes up my neurons.”

“Well, let’s hope it has the same effect on mine”, Walker said with a wink.

After this amusing exchange of witty remarks, the waitress arrived with their breakfast.

Carobbio waited until the girl was gone.

“Let’s get down to it, Inspector. To serious matters,” he said gravely.

“I’m all ears,” answered Walker, knowing that the Chief of Forensic hadn’t invited him to breakfast just to discuss chocolate brioches.

Carobbio took all the time he needed to explain the situation.

“We have examined the fingerprints discovered at Ghezzi’s.” He chewed a piece of brioche with pleasure and swallowed it. “As I have probably already mentioned, three sets of fingerprints were found in the flat. One belongs to Ghezzi, the owner of the flat; the other to his wife, Mrs Martina Pilenga, and thus far everything seems normal.”

Carobbio allowed himself another sip of cappuccino.

“The problem is the third set,” he continued calmly. “It belongs to a minor craftsman from that area.”

“And who is he?” asked Walker, curious.

“He’s someone called … ah, I’ve got his name on the tip of my tongue. Damned old age! Anyway, he’s known for being someone who is quick to use his hands.”

“What do you mean?” asked David, interrupting him.

Carrobbio continued, as if nothing had happened.

“It means that when there’s a fight, he is not the type to back down. He has a record because he has been charged several times for minor scuffles.”

“Well, fist fighting is not exactly like killing a man,” said Walker ironically.

“That’s true, Inspector. But if I were you, I’d start to get more information on this character. And I’d put him under surveillance.”

“I’ll work something out when I’m back at Police Headquarters.”

“Wise decision,” Carobbio congratulated him. Then, he became serious again, coming to his real purpose for organising their meeting. He slipped a yellow envelope out of his briefcase. He opened it and selected some photos featuring a man’s face. “I wanted to show you these.”

“Is he the third fingerprints man?” guessed Walker.

“That’s right,” confirmed Carobbio. “Do you know him?”

Walker took all the time he needed to observe the images.

“Never seen him before,” he acknowledged.

Carobbio slipped another sheet out of the envelope.

“And here you can find all his personal details. With my bad memory, I have to write everything down.”

Walker took it and started reading. Reading the man’s name and surname was enough to make his heart speed up.

Suddenly he lifted his eyes.

“Fuck!” he said. “I don’t know him, but I know who he is.”

When he arrived at Police Headquarters, Walker summoned Bassani to his office.

“Detective, we have a lead,” he informed him.

“Good.”

Then, before showing him the photographs, he rattled off the little speech he had prepared while he was in the car .

“Yesterday, when Mrs Pilenga mentioned the name of her lover, you said you had heard that name before. Is that right?”

“Yes, but I don’t remember where. My memory has never been my strongest point, Chief.”

Here’s another one with a short memory, Walker thought.

“Let me try to jog your memory” he said , as he laid out on his desk the photos Carobbio had left for him. “It’s Mrs Pilenga’s lover.”

Bassani tried to find a more comfortable position in his chair. He had barely looked at the photos when he blurted out:“ Damn!That’s where I heard that name before. Some years ago, when I was still in uniform, some other officers and I jumped in to stop a fight between locals and immigrants. He was one of the most difficult to handle.”

The detective paused briefly.

“He is one guy who really knows how to use these” he stated, holding up his hands.

Walker smiled, satisfied.

“Inspector Carobbio told me the same thing.”

He paused, just enough time to light another cigarette followed by two good drags.

“Maybe he’s the man we’re looking for,” he said, pointing at the face staring at him from the photographs.