“No problem.You don’t have to understand. Just do as I say.”
Fazio looked offended.
“Inspector, when I do things without understanding them, they come out bad. So you’re going to have to deal with that.”
“Fazio, Father Crucilla is expecting to be followed.”
“But why, for the love of God?”
“Because he’s supposed to lead us somewhere. But he’s supposed to pretend he doesn’t know he’s doing it. It’s an act, get it?”
“I’m beginning to understand. And who’s gonna be waiting for us in this place the priest is gonna take us to?”
“Japichinu Sinagra.”
“Holy shit!”
“Your polite euphemism leads me to think that you finally realize what an important matter this is,” said the inspector, talking the way they do in books. Fazio, meanwhile, had started eyeing him suspiciously.
“How did you ever discover that this Father Crucilla knows where Japichinu Sinagra is hiding? The whole world is looking for Japichinu: the Anti-Mafia Commission, the Flying Squad, the ROS, the Secret Service, and nobody’s been able to find him.”
“I didn’t discover anything. He told me. Actually, no, he didn’t tell me, he insinuated it.”
“Who, Father Crucilla?”
“No. Balduccio Sinagra.”
Something like a mild earthquake seemed to pass through the room. Fazio, his face fire-red, staggered, taking one step forward, two steps back.
“His grandfather?!” he asked, breathless.
“Calm down, you look like a character in the puppet theater. Yes indeed, his grandfather. Wants the kid to go to jail. Japichinu, however, is probably not entirely convinced. Messages between grandfather and grandson are conveyed by the priest, who Balduccio wanted to introduce me to at his house. If he had no interest in my meeting him, he would have sent him away before I arrived.”
“I just don’t get it, Chief. What’s he thinking? Japichinu’s gonna get life, not even God can save him from that!”
“Maybe God can‘t, but someone else might.”
“How?”
“By killing him, Fazio. In prison he’s got a good chance to save his skin. The punks in the new Mafia are really sticking it to all these guys, the Sinagras as well as the Cuffaros. So, maximum-security prison means security not just for people on the outside, but for those on the inside, too.”
Fazio thought it over a little, and finally seemed convinced.
“Do I have to sleep in Montereale, too?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t think the priest goes out at night.”
“How’s Father Crucilla gonna let me know when he’s leading me to Japichinu’s hideout?”
“Don’t worry, he’ll find a way. But when he shows you the place, I’m warning you, don’t get any bright ideas, don’t make any move at all.You’re to contact me immediately.”
“Okay.”
Fazio stood up and headed slowly towards the door. Halfway there, he stopped and turned around to look at Montalbano.
“What is it?”
“Chief, I’ve known you too long not to see that you’re not telling me the whole story.”
“For instance?”
“Don Balduccio must’ve told you something else.”
“You’re right.”
“Can I know what it is?”
“Certainly. He said it wasn’t them. And he assured me that it wasn’t the Cuffaros, either. So the culprits must be the new guys.”
“The culprits for what crime?”
“I don’t know. At the moment, I don’t know what the hell he was referring to. But I’m beginning to get an idea.”
“Can you tell me what that is?”
“It’s too early.”
Fazio barely had time to turn the key in the lock when he was pushed violently against the wall by the door, which Catarella had thrown open.
“You almost broke my nose!” said Fazio, holding his hand over his face.
