sea was left unguarded.” Fulmine, Lampo, Tuono: lightning, flash, thunder.
“Naturally, they didn’t find any fishing boat in trouble.”
“Naturally. And me, too, when I arrived at the scene, I found no trace of the
“Of smuggling.”
The inspector stood up, threw up his hands, and shrugged:
“Well, what can we do? The people in Trapani and Mazara have taken over the investigation.” A consummate actor, Montalbano.
o o o
“Inspector! Inspector Montalbano!” Somebody was calling him again. Was he ever going to get to see Signora, or Signorina, Clementina before nightfall? He turned around; it was Gallo who was chasing after him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I saw you walking by so I called you.”
“Where are you going?”
“Galluzzo phoned me from Lapecora’s office. I’m going to buy some sandwiches and keep him company.” Number 23, Salita Granet, was directly opposite number 28. The two buildings were identical.
o o o
Clementina Vasile Cozzo was a very well-dressed seventy-year-old lady. She was in a wheelchair. Her apartment was so clean it glistened. With Montalbano following behind, she rolled herself over to a curtained window. She gestured to the inspector to pull up a chair and sit down in front of her.
“I’m a widow,” she began, “but my son Giulio sees to all my needs. I’m retired; I used to teach elementary school. My son pays for a housekeeper to look after me and my flat. She comes three times a day, in the morning, at midday, and in the evening, when I go to bed. My daughter-in-law, who loves me like a daughter, drops by at least once a day, as does Giulio. I can’t complain, except for this one misfortune, which befell me six years ago. I listen to the radio, watch television, but most of the time I read. You see?” She waved her hand toward two bookcases full of books.
So when was the signora—not signorina, that much was clear—going to get to the point?
“I’ve just given you this preamble to let you know I’m not some old gossip who spends all her time spying on what others are up to. Still, now and then I do see things I would rather not have seen.” A cordless phone rang on the shelf below the woman’s armrest.
“Giulio? Yes, the inspector’s here. No, I don’t need anything. See you later. Bye.”
She looked at Montalbano and smiled.
“Giulio was against our meeting. He didn’t want me getting mixed up in things that, in his opinion, were no concern of mine. For decades the respectable people here did nothing but repeat that the Mafia was no concern of theirs but only involved the people involved in it. But I used to teach my pupils that the ‘see-nothing, know-nothing’ attitude is the most mortal of sins. So now that it’s my turn to tell what I saw, I’m supposed to take a step back?” She fell silent, sighing. Montalbano was starting to like Clementina Vasile Cozzo more and more.
“You’ll have to forgive me for rambling. In my forty years as a schoolteacher, I did nothing but talk and talk. I never lost the habit. Please stand.”
Montalbano obeyed, like a good schoolboy.
“Come here behind me and lean forward; bring your head next to mine.”
When the inspector was close enough to whisper in her ear, the signora raised the curtain.
They were practically inside the front room of Mr.
Lapecora’s office, since the white muslin lying directly against the windowpanes was too light to act as a screen.
Gallo and Galluzzo were eating their sandwiches, which were actually more like half-loaves, with a bottle of wine and two paper cups between them. Signora Clementina’s window was slightly higher than the one across the street, and by some strange effect of perspective, the two policemen and the various objects in the room looked slightly en-larged.
“In winter, when they had the light on, you could see better,” the woman commented, letting the curtain drop.
Montalbano returned to his chair.
“So, signora, what did you see?” he asked.
Clementina Vasile Cozzo told him.
o o o
When she’d finished her story and he was already taking his leave, the inspector heard the front door open and close.
“The housekeeper’s here,” said Signora Clementina.
A girl of about twenty, short, stocky, and stern-looking, cast a stern glance at the intruder.
“Everything all right?” she asked suspiciously.
“Oh yes, everything’s fine.”
