The Shape of Water

osteologist at Montelusa Hospital, a man who had always fought with Luparello from within the party, but fairly and courageously and always out in the open. This clash of ideas—the newsman continued—could be simplified in the following terms: Engineer Luparello was in favor of maintaining the four-party governing coalition while allowing the introduction of pristine new forces untrammeled by politics (read: not yet subpoenaed for questioning), whereas the osteologist tended to favor a dialogue, however cautious and clear-eyed, with the left. The newly elected secretary had been receiving telegrams and telephone calls of congratulation, even from the opposition. Cardamone, who in an interview appeared moved but determined, declared that he would commit himself to the best of his abilities not to betray his predecessor’s hallowed memory, and concluded by asserting that he would devote “his diligent labor and knowledge” to the now-renovated party.

“Thank God he’ll devote it to the party,” Inspector Montalbano couldn’t help but exclaim, since Dr.

Cardamone’s knowledge, surgically speaking, had left more people hobbled than a violent earthquake usually does.

The newsman’s next words made the inspector prick up his ears. To enable Cardamone to follow his own path without losing sight of the principles and people that represented the very best of Luparello’s political endeavors, the members of the secretariat had besought Counselor Pietro Rizzo, the engineer’s spiritual heir, to work alongside the new secretary. After some understandable resistance, given the onerous tasks that came with the unexpected appointment, Rizzo had let himself be persuaded to accept. In his interview with TeleVigata, Rizzo, also deeply moved, declared that he had no choice but to assume this weighty burden if he was to remain faithful to the memory of his mentor and friend, whose watchword was always and only: “to serve.”

Montalbano reacted with surprise. How could this new secretary so blithely swallow having to work, with official sanction, alongside the man who had been his principal adversary’s most loyal right-hand man? His surprise was short-lived, however, and proved naive once the inspector had given the matter a moment’s rational thought. Indeed that party had always distinguished itself by its innate inclination for compromise, for finding the middle path. It was possible that Cardamone didn’t yet have enough clout to go it alone and felt the need for extra support.

He changed the channel. On the Free Channel, the voice of the leftist opposition, there was Nicolo Zito, the most influential of their editorialists, explaining how in Sicily, and in the province of Montelusa in particular, mutatis mutandis—or zara zabara, to say it in Sicilian—things never budged, even when there was a storm on the horizon. He quoted, with obvious facility, the prince of Salina’s famous statement about changing everything in order to change nothing and concluded that Luparello and Cardamone were two sides of the same coin, the alloy that coin was made of being none other than Counselor Rizzo.

Montalbano rushed to the phone, dialed the Free Channel’s number, and asked for Zito. There was a bond of common sympathy, almost friendship, between him and the newsman.

“What can I do for you, Inspector?”

“I want to see you.”

“My dear friend, I’m leaving for Palermo tomorrow morning and will be away for at least a week.

How about if I come by to see you in half an hour?

And fix me something to eat. I’m starving.”

A dish of pasta with garlic and oil could be served up without any problem. He opened the refrigerator: Adelina had prepared a hefty dish of boiled shrimp, enough for four. Adelina was the mother of a pair of repeat offenders, the younger of whom was still in prison, having been arrested by Montalbano himself three years earlier.

~

The previous July, when she had come to Vigata to spend two weeks with him, Livia, upon hearing this story, became terrified.

“Are you insane? One of these days that woman will take revenge and poison your soup!”

“Take revenge for what?”

“For having arrested her son!”

“Is that my fault? Adelina’s well aware it’s not my fault if her son was stupid enough to get caught. I played fair, didn’t use any tricks or traps to arrest him. It was all on the up-and-up.”

“I don’t give a damn about your contorted way of thinking. You have to get rid of her.”

“But if I fire her, who’s going to keep house for me, do my laundry, iron my clothes, and make me dinner?”

“You’ll find somebody else!”

“There you’re wrong. I’ll never find a woman as good as Adelina.”

~

He was about to put the pasta water on the stove when the telephone rang.

“I feel like crawling underground for waking you at this hour” was the introduction.

“I wasn’t sleeping. Who is this?”

“It’s Counselor Pietro Rizzo.”

“Ah, Counselor Rizzo. My congratulations.”

“For what? If it’s for the honor my party has just done me, you should probably offer me your condolences. Believe me, I accepted only out of a sense of undying loyalty to the ideals of the late Mr. Luparello.

But to get back to my reason for calling: I need to see you, Inspector.”

“Now?!”

“Not now, of course, but bear in mind, in any case, that it is an improcrastinable matter.”

“We could do it tomorrow morning, but isn’t the funeral tomorrow? You’ll be very busy, I imagine.”

“Indeed. All afternoon as well. There will be some very important guests, you know, and of course they will