‘Do you ever have occasion to speak to this Mr Gamberetto?’
‘Nope. Never laid eyes on the man. I just know his name from seeing the contract in the office.’
‘Doesn’t he come in to sign the contract?’ Ambrogiani asked.
‘No, one of the officers goes out to his office. I imagine he gets a free lunch out of him, then comes back with the signed contract, and we process it.’ Brunetti didn’t have to look at Ambrogiani to know he was thinking that someone might be getting a lot more out of Mr Gamberetto than a free lunch.
‘Is that the only contract Mr Gamberetto has?’
‘No, sir. He’s got the contract to build the new hospital. That was supposed to start a while back, but then we had the Gulf War, and all building projects got put on hold. But it looks like things are beginning to loosen up, and I imagine work will begin in the spring, soon as the ground is ready to be broke open.’
‘Is it a big contract?’ Brunetti asked. ‘Certainly sounds like it, a hospital.’
‘I don’t remember the exact figures, it’s been so long since we handled the contract, but I think it was something in the neighbourhood of ten million dollars. But that was three years ago, when it was signed. I imagine it’s increased a fair bit since then.’
‘Yes, I should certainly think so,’ Brunetti said. Suddenly they all turned towards the sound of wild barking from the house. As they watched, the front door opened a crack and a large black dog came catapulting from the door and down the steps. Barking dementedly, she ran directly to Kayman and jumped up at him, licking at his face. She turned to the two men, checked them over, then ran off a few metres to squat on the grass and relieve herself. That done, she was back at Kayman, leaping up, aiming her nose at his.
‘Get down, Kitty Kat,’ he said, no firmness at all in his voice. She soared up again and made contact. ‘Get down now, girl. Stop that.’ She ignored him, ran off, the better to gain momentum for her next leap, turned, and raced back. ‘Bad dog,’ Kayman said in a tone that meant the opposite. He pushed the dog down with both hands and latched them in the fur at her neck, where he began to scratch her roughly. ‘Sorry. I wanted to get away without her. Once she sees me get into the car, she goes crazy if she can’t come along. Loves the car.’
‘I don’t want to keep you, Sergeant. You’ve been very helpful,’ Brunetti said, putting out his hand. The dog followed his hand with her eyes, tongue lolling to the left of her mouth. Kayman freed one hand and shook Brunetti’s hand, but he did it awkwardly, still bent down over the dog. He shook Ambrogiani’s, then, when they turned away and went back towards the gate, he opened the door to the car and allowed the dog to leap in ahead of him.
As the car backed towards them, Brunetti stood by the metal gate. He waved to Sergeant Kayman to indicate that he would see to closing the gate and did just that. The American waited long enough to see that the gate was closed, put his car in gear, and drove off slowly. The last they saw was the head of the dog, poking out of the rear window of the car, nose prodding at the wind.
* * * *
20
As the head of the dog disappeared up the narrow road, Ambrogiani turned to Brunetti and asked, ‘Well?’
Brunetti began to walk towards the parked car. When they were both inside and the doors closed, Ambrogiani sat behind the wheel without starting the engine.
‘Big job, building a hospital,’ Brunetti finally said. ‘Big job for Signor Gamberetto.’
‘Very,’ the other agreed.
‘The name mean anything to you?’ Brunetti asked.
‘Oh, yes,’ Ambrogiani said, then added, ‘he’s someone we’ve been told to stay away from.’
When Brunetti gave him a puzzled glance, Ambrogiani explained, ‘Well, it’s never been given as a specific order - nothing like that ever is - but the word has filtered down that Signor Gamberetto and his affairs are not to be examined too closely.’
‘Or else?’ Brunetti asked.
‘Oh,’ Ambrogiani said with a bitter chuckle, ‘It’s never as crude as that. It is simply suggested, and anyone who has any sense understands what it means.’
‘And stays away from Signor Gamberetto?’
‘Precisely.’
‘Interesting,’ Brunetti offered.
‘Very.’
‘So you treat him like he’s just a simple businessman with dealings in the area?’
Ambrogiani nodded.
‘And by Lake Barcis, it seems.’
‘Yes, it does, doesn’t it?’
‘You think you could find out about him?’
‘Well, I think I could try.’
‘Meaning?’
‘Meaning that, if he’s a medium-sized fish, then I’ll be able to find out about him. But if he’s a big fish, then there won’t be much to find out. Or what I do find out will tell me that he’s no more than a respectable local businessman, well-connected politically. And that will merely confirm what we know already, that he is a man with Friends in High Places.’
‘Mafia?’
