Aside from the elevator rides he’d taken as a corpse, two things about the deceased seemed clear to Montalbano: one, he was a decent man, but decidedly unpleasant; and two, he was killed in the elevator, between seven thirty-five and eight o’clock.
Since the murderer had run the risk of being surprised with the corpse in the elevator by a tenant, this meant the crime had not been premeditated, but committed on im-pulse.
It wasn’t much to go on. Back at headquarters, the inspector thought about this a little, then glanced at his watch.
Two o’clock! No wonder he felt so famished. He called Fazio.
“I’m going to Calogero’s for some lunch. If Augello arrives in the meantime, send him to me. And one more thing: post a guard in front of the deceased’s apartment. Don’t let her in before I get there.” “Don’t let who in?”
“The victim’s wife, Mrs. Lapecora. Are the Piccirillos still here?”
“Yessir.”
“Send ’em home.”
“What’ll I tell them?”
“Tell ’em the investigation is continuing. Let those honest people shit their pants a little.”
2 8
“What’ve you got?”
“For the first course, whatever you like.”
“No first course for me today, I’d rather keep it light.”
“For the main course, I’ve prepared
“Going in for haute cuisine, eh, Calo?”
“Now and then I get the urge.”
“Bring me a generous serving of the hake. Ah, and, while I’m waiting, make me a nice plate of seafood antipasto.” He was overcome by doubt. Was that a light meal? He left the question unanswered and opened the newspaper. It turned out that the little economic measure the government had promised would not be for fifteen billion lire, but twenty.
There were sure to be price increases, gasoline and cigarettes among them. The unemployment rate in the South had reached a figure that was better left unmentioned. The Northern League, after their tax revolt, had decided to expel the local prefects, a first step towards secession. Thirty youths in a town near Naples had gang- raped an Ethiopian girl. The town was defending them: the black girl was not only black, but a whore. An eight- year-old boy had hung himself. Three pushers were arrested, average age twelve. A twenty-year-old man had blown his brains out playing Russian roulette. A jealous old man of eighty—“Here’s your appetizer.”
And a good thing too. A few more news items and his appetite would have been gone. Then eight pieces of hake arrived, enough to feed four people. They were crying out their joy—the pieces of hake, that is—at having been cooked the way God had meant them to be. One whiff was enough to convey the dish’s perfection, achieved by the right amount of breadcrumbs and the delicate balance between the anchovies and the whisked egg.
He brought the first bite to his mouth, but did not swallow it immediately. He let the flavor spread sweetly and uniformly over his tongue and palate, allowing both to fully appreciate the gift they’d just been given. Then he swallowed, and Mimi Augello appeared in front of the table.
“Sit down.”
Mimi Augello sat down.
“I wouldn’t mind a bite myself,” he said.
“Do whatever you want, but don’t talk. I’m telling you as a brother, for your own good. Don’t talk for any reason in the world. If you interrupt me while I’m eating this hake, I’m liable to wring your neck.” “Could I have some spaghetti with clams?” Mimi, unfazed, asked Calogero as he was passing by.
“White sauce or red?”
“White.”
While waiting, Augello appropriated the inspector’s newspaper and started reading. When the spaghetti arrived, Montalbano had fortunately finished his hake. Fortunately, because Mimi proceeded to sprinkle a generous helping of Parmesan cheese over his plate. Christ! Even a hyena, which, being a hyena, feeds on carrion, would have been sickened to see a dish of pasta with clam sauce covered with Parmesan!
“How did you act with the commissioner?”
“What do you mean?”
“I just want to know if you licked his ass or his balls.”
“What on earth are you thinking?”
“C’mon, Mimi, I know you. You pounced on the case of the machine-gunned Tunisian just to make a good impression.”
“I merely did my duty, since you were nowhere to be found.”
