Death in Tuscany (8 page)

'A nuisance, would you say?' he asked, thinking of Professor d'Incisa's anger.

'No, Superintendent. I'd never say that. When they come into hospital they're patients, and we're here to take care of them. That's our job.'

'Of course. I only meant that if they take you away from other urgent cases—'

'Even junkies are human beings, and not all of them are the same. It can be discouraging, but they're never a nuisance. That's not just a question of professional ethics, it's a question of conscience.'

Among these junkies, are there many minors?'

'Yes, quite a few'

'Even children?'

'I beg your pardon?'

'She wasn't an adult, am I right?'

'Well, not really, but

'According to the pathologist she might have been fourteen, perhaps even thirteen.'

The woman seemed quite struck by this, and thought about it for a few moments. 'Oh my God, I suppose that's possible. But I thought she was older than that. Being a junkie . . .'

And that doesn't seem strange to you?'

'To be honest, yes, now that you've told me.'

'So you can understand why I have to ask you all these questions?'

'Oh, don't worry about that. If I can help you in any way

'Thank you. I have one more question. I didn't find any shoes among the girl's personal effects.'

She thought for a moment. 'That's right, she was barefoot.' And did that seem normal to you?'

'To be honest, I don't think anyone was bothered about it. The paramedics might have taken them off.'

As far as you recall, were her feet bruised or particularly dirty?'

Again, the woman thought for a moment. 'No, I'm pretty sure they weren't

'Thank you. I'm going to try and find out if it was the paramedics who took her shoes off. But if it was, they would have given them to someone, wouldn't they?'

'Of course, to one of the nurses.'

'The strange thing is, she didn't have any bra or knickers on either.'

'I don't understand.'

'Was she wearing any underwear when she was brought in?'

'I really don't know. We didn't undress her. There was no need to when we administered the Narcan, or when we took the blood test and put her on a drip.'

'Were you there all the time they were working on her?' 'Yes, all the time.'

'And in your opinion, was every possible care taken?'

Absolutely Professor d'Incisa may have been tired, but he directed his team with total dedication and did absolutely everything that had to be done. I'd swear to that in court.'

Ferrara smiled. 'That won't be necessary. This isn't an interrogation. We're not even investigating a crime. I'm just trying to understand how a child ended up full of drugs in an isolated spot which isn't even a hangout for junkies, and how she ended up here without shoes
...
or underwear.'

'When you put it like that, it does seem strange. Perhaps you should ask the nurses who looked after her when she was taken to the ward. They should know more about the clothes. You'll probably find they've been put somewhere by mistake.'

'I'm sure you're right. Do you remember which nurses?'

'One of them was definitely Elena Scandellari. She's here now, do you want me to call her?'

She was there, too! Could the day, which had begun so badly and continued to get worse, be ending well after all?

'You'd be doing me a great favour. Tell her I'm waiting for her here. You can go back to work. I've kept you too long. Thank you, you've been a great help.'

'If you need anything else, let me know. I didn't think she was so . . .'

'Young?'

'Yes.'

Ferrara wouldn't have been able to swear to it, but he had the impression her glasses had steamed up.

'Maybe she wasn't,' he said, trying to make her feel better. We're only guessing. She may have been fifteen or sixteen.'

'Even so . . .' the woman sighed as she went out.

The sigh made Ferrara think she might be feeling guilty that after that first day she hadn't seen the girl again, as if she had failed in her duty to her patient. But perhaps that was unfair, perhaps she had simply had some days off.

Elena Scandellari, who knocked at the door a few minutes later, couldn't have been more than thirty. She was buxom and quite pretty, and Ferrara guessed that she was usually lively and cheerful, but at the moment she seemed intimidated to be in the presence of a high-ranking police officer.

'Did Signora Finzi tell you why I wanted to see you?'

'About the clothes?'

'That's right. Apparently the girl wasn't wearing any shoes when she was admitted. Did the paramedics give them to one of you?'

'No, she didn't have any'

And she wasn't wearing underwear either, is that right?'