The Patience of the Spider (13 page)

Are they still married? Montalbano asked with involuntary
malice.

Yes. But Antonio quickly discovered that to hold on to
her, he had to cover her in gifts and fulfill her every desire.

Did he ruin himself?

No, thats not what happened. Operation Clean Hands
happened.

Wait a minute, Montalbano interrupted. Operation
Clean Hands started in Milan over ten years ago, when your
brother and his wife were still abroad. And before Antonio got
married.

True. But you know how things go in Italy, dont you?
Everything that happens up northFascism, liberation,
industrializationtakes a long time to reach us. Like a long,
lazy wave. Anyway, a few magistrates finally woke up down
here as well. And Antonio had won quite a few government
contracts. Dont ask me how, because I dont know and I dont
want to know, though its not hard to imagine.

Was he investigated?

He made the first move himself. Hes a very clever man.
To save himself from an eventual investigation that would
surely have led to his arrest and conviction, he needed to make
some papers disappear. He confessed this, in tears, to his sister,
one evening six years ago. And he added that the operation
would cost him two billion lire, which he needed to find in a
months time, because he didnt have the cash at that moment
and didnt want to borrow from the banks. Those were days
when anything he did could be interpreted the wrong way.
He said the whole thing almost made him laughor cry
because two billion lire was a trifle compared to the huge
sums that often passed through his hands. And yet those two
billion lire represented his salvation. And they would, of
course, be only a loan. He pledged to repay the entire sum
within three months, supplemented by any losses incurred by
the hasty sell-off. Giulia and my brother stayed up an entire

night discussing this. Salvatore would have given the shirt off
his back to keep his wife from despairing. The following
morning they phoned me and told me of Antonios request.

And what did you do?

I must confess that I reacted badly at first. Then I had an
idea.

What?

I said the request seemed senseless, insane, to me. All he
needed was to have Valeria sell her Ferrari, her boat, and some
jewelry, and they would have their two million quite easily.
Or, if he had trouble reaching that figure, Giulia and Salvatore
could make up the difference. But only the difference. In
short, I was trying to limit the damage.

Did you succeed?

No. That same day, Giulia and Salvatore spoke with Antonio
and told him about my offer. But Antonio started crying.
During that period tears came easily to him. He said that
if he accepted, not only would he lose Valeria, but word
would get around and he would lose his good standing in the
community. People would start saying he was on the verge of
bankruptcy. And so my brother decided to sell everything.

How much did they get for it, out of curiosity?

One billion seven hundred and fifty million lire. By the
end of the month they no longer had anything, just Salva-
tores pension.

Another thing, also out of curiosity, sorry. Do you know
how Antonio reacted, when he was given less than the sum
hed asked for?

But he got the two million hed asked for!

Who made up the difference?

Do I really have to say?

Yes.

I did, the doctor said reluctantly.

And what happened next?

After the three months had gone by, Giulia asked her
brother if he could pay back the loan, at least in part. Antonio
asked her if they could delay it a week. Mind you, they had
nothing in writing: no agreements, no promissory notes, nothing.
The only document was a receipt for the two hundred
fifty million lire my brother had insisted on giving me. Four
days later,Antonio was indicted for a variety of things, including
corruption of a public official, fraudulent balance sheets,
and so on. After five months had passed, Giulia, whod been
wanting to send Susanna to an exclusive boarding school in
Florence, asked again for some of the money back, only to
have Antonio reply rudely that this was not the right time for
it. And so Susanna stayed here to study. Well, in short, the
right time never came.

Are you telling me those two billion lire were never repaid?

Precisely. Antonio beat the rap at his trial, quite probably
because hed managed to get rid of the incriminating
documents, but one of his businesses mysteriously went
bankrupt. Then, by some sort of domino effect, his other
businesses all met the same end. Everybody got screwed:
creditors, suppliers, employees, everyone. Whats more, his
wife caught the gambling bug and lost incredible sums of
cash. Then, three years ago, Giulia and Antonio had a terrible
row, after which they stopped speaking to one another.
That was when Giulia first got sick. She no longer wanted to

live. And, as Im sure you understand, it wasnt simply a mat

ter of money.

Hows Antonios business doing now?

Splendidly. Two years ago he got his hands on some new
capital. Personally, I think the bankruptcies were all staged,
and in reality he illegally transferred his money abroad. Then,
with the new law, he brought it back in, paid his percentage,
and put his affairs in orderlike all the other crooks who did
the same thing, once the law legalized what had once been illegal.
Now, because of the earlier bankruptcies, all his businesses
are in his wifes name. As for us, I repeat: We havent
seen a cent.

Whats Antonios surname?

Peruzzo. Antonio Peruzzo.

Montalbano knew that name. Fazio had mentioned it
when reporting the phone call from a former administrative
employee at Peruzzos whod wanted to remind Susannas
father that too much pride was a bad thing. It was all starting
to make sense.

You do realize, the doctor went on, that Giulias illness
complicates the present situation.

In what way?

A mother is always a mother.

Whereas a father is only sometimes a father? the inspector
retorted brusquely, feeling slightly irritated by the clich

I meant that with Susannas life in danger, if Giulia
werent so sick, she wouldnt have hesistated a second to ask
Antonio for help.

And you think your brother wont?

Salvatore has a lot of pride.

The same word the former Peruzzo employee used.

So you think theres no way he would ever give in?

My God, no way, I cant say. Maybe, if put under
enough pressure . . .

Like receiving one of his daughters ears in the mail?

Hed said it on purpose. The whole manner in which the
doctor had set about telling the story had put his nerves on
edge. The man acted like he had nothing to do with any of
it, even though hed personally thrown in two hundred and
fifty million lire. He only got upset when Susannas name was
mentioned. This time, however, the doctor gave such a start
that Montalbano could feel it in the bench they were sitting
on, which shook a little.

Would they go so far?

They could go even farther than that, if they want.

Hed succeeded in rousing the doctor. In the wan light filtering
out the living rooms French doors, he saw him reach
into his pocket, pull out a handkerchief, and wipe his brow.
What he needed to do now was to pry open the chink hed
opened in Carlo Mistrettas armor.

Im going to tell it to you straight, Doctor. The way
things stand right now, we havent the slightest idea who the
kidnappers are or where theyre keeping Susanna prisoner.
Not even a vague idea, despite the fact that weve found your
nieces helmet and backpack. Did you know wed found
them?

No, this is the first Ive heard of it.

A long, deep silence ensued. Because Montalbano was
waiting for the doctor to ask a question. A natural question that

any other person would have asked. The doctor, however, didnt
open his mouth. So the inspector decided to go on.

If your brother doesnt take the initiative, the kidnappers
could take that as a sign that hes not willing to cooperate.

What can we do?

Try to persuade your brother to make some overture to
Antonio.

That wont be easy.

Tell him that otherwise youll have to make the overture
yourself. Or is it too hard for you, too?

Well, yes, its very difficult for me too, you know. But
certainly not as hard as it is for Salvatore.

He stood up stiffly.

Shall we go back inside?

I think Id like to get a little more air.

Well, Im going in. Ill go see how Giulias doing, and if
Salvatores awake, which I doubt, Ill tell him what you said to
me. If not, Ill tell him tomorrow morning. Good night.

Montalbano didnt have the time to finish a cigarette before
he saw the doctors silhouette come out of the living
room, slip into his SUV, and drive off.

Apparently Salvatore hadnt been awake and the doctor
hadnt been able to talk to him.

The inspector got up and went into the house. Fazio was
reading a newspaper, Minutolo had his head buried in a novel,
and the uniformed policeman was looking at a travel magazine.

Sorry to disrupt the quiet contemplation of your reading
group, said Montalbano. Then, turning to Minutolo, I
need to talk to you.

They withdrew into a corner of the room, and the inspector
told him everything hed learned from the doctor.

While driving home, he glanced at his watch. Christ, was it
late! Surely Liviad already gone to bed. So much the better,
because if she was still up, the usual squabble, sure as death, was
bound to break out. He opened the door gently. The house
was dark, but the outside light on the veranda was on. And
there was Livia, in a heavy sweater, sitting on the bench in
front of half a glass of wine.

Montalbano bent down to kiss her.

Forgive me.

She returned his kiss. The inspector heard singing in his
head. There would be no quarrel tonight. Livia, however,
seemed melancholy.

Did you stay home waiting for me?

No. Beba called and told me Mimas in the hospital.
So I went to see him.

10

A sudden pang of jealousy. Absurd, of course, but he couldnt
help it. Could Livia be melancholy because Mimay in a hospital
bed?

How is he?
Hes got two broken ribs. Theyre discharging him to

morrow. Hell have to take care of himself at home.
Have you eaten?
Yes, I couldnt wait any longer, said Livia, getting up.
Where are you going?
Im going to warm up some
No, thats all right. Ill get some stuff from the fridge.
He returned with a dish covered with green and black

olives and Ragusan caciocavallo. In his other hand, a glass and a
bottle of wine. The bread hed slipped under his arm. He sat
down. Livia gazed at the sea.

I cant stop thinking about that girl who was kidnapped,
she said without turning, and something you said
to me the first time we talked about it.

In a way, Montalbano felt reassured. Livias melancholy
was not for Mimut for Susanna.
What did I say?

That the day she was kidnapped, she went to her
boyfriends apartment to make love.

So?

But you told me that normally it was always the boy who
had to ask; whereas that day, Susanna herself took the initiative.

What does that mean, in your opinion?

That maybe she had a premonition of what was going to
happen.

Montalbano said nothing. He didnt believe in premonitions,
prophetic dreams, or things of that nature.

After a brief silence, Livia asked:

Are you getting anywhere?

Just two hours ago, I had neither compass nor sextant.

And now youve got both?

Thats what Im hoping.

He began telling her what hed learned. When hed finished
speaking, Livia looked puzzled.

I really dont see what conclusions you can draw from
the story this Dr. Mistretta told you.

No conclusions at all, Livia. But it provides many starting
points, many indications that I didnt have before.

Such as?

Such as the factand Im convinced of thisthat they
wanted to kidnap not the daughter of Salvatore Mistretta
but the niece of Antonio Peruzzo. Hes the one with the
dough. And theres no saying she was kidnapped only for the
ransom money; theres also the revenge motive. When Peruzzo
went bankrupt, he must have messed up many peoples
lives. And the kidnappers strategy is to drag Antonio Peruzzo
slowly into the middle of this. Slowly, so that nobody

realizes that they wanted to get to him from the start. Whoever
organized this kidnapping knew what had happened
between Antonio and his sister; they knew that Antonio was
beholden to the Mistrettas, and that, as Susannas godfather,
he was responsible . . .

He trailed off, wanting to bite his tongue. Livia cast a
placid glance at him; she looked like an angel.

Why dont you continue? Did you suddenly remember
that you yourself want to become the godfather at the baptism
of a criminals son, and that you may soon have some serious
responsibilities of your own?

Can we please drop that subject?

No, I think we should explore it.

They explored it, squabbled, made peace, and went to bed.

At three twenty-seven and forty seconds, times mechanism
jammed again. But this time the clack sounded far away,
and only half woke him up.

It was as if the inspector had spoken to crows. (Indeed, people
in Vig and environs believe that to those who can understand
them, these black birds, garrulous creatures that they are,
communicate the latest news on the doings of human beings,
since they have a clear viewa birds-eye view, in factof
the whole.) What happened was that around ten oclock the
following morning, when Montalbano was in his office, the
bomb exploded. Minutolo called.