When there were thirteen people, one of them with a sodden German
Shepherd, standing in the gondola, all trying to huddle under the
umbrellas spread above their heads in an almost unbroken shield, the
gondolieri shoved off and took them quickly to the other side. Even in
this rain, Brunetti could see people standing without umbrellas at the
top of the bridge, their backs to him, while other people took their
photos.
The gondola slid up to the wooden steps, and everyone filed off.
Brunetti waited while the gondoliere at the front handed a woman's
shopping cart up to her. One of its wheels caught on the side of the
steps and it tilted back toward the gondoliere, who caught it by the
handle and handed it up. Suddenly the dog jumped back into the boat
and picked up
something that once had been a tennis ball. With it firmly between his
jaws, he leaped back on to the dock and ran after his master.
It occurred to Brunetti that he had just witnessed a series of crimes.
The number of people in the boat had exceeded the legal limit. There
was probably a law stating that umbrellas had to be furled while they
crossed the canal, but he wasn't sure and so let that one go. The dog
had worn no muzzle and wasn't on a leash. Two people speaking German
had been given change only when they asked for it.
On the way up to his office, Brunetti stopped in the officers' room and
asked Pucetti to come upstairs. When they were both seated, Brunetti
asked, 'What else have you learned?' Obviously surprised by the
question, Pucetti said, 'You mean about the school, sir?'
'Of course.'
'You're still interested?'
'Yes. Why wouldn't I be?'
'But I thought the investigation was finished.'
'Who told you that?' Brunetti asked, though he had a good f idea.
'Lieutenant Scarpa, sir.'
'When?'
Pucetti glanced aside, trying to remember. 'Yesterday, sir. He came
into the office and told me that the Moro case was no longer active and
that I had been assigned to Tronchetto.'
Tronchetto?' Brunetti asked, failing to hide his astonishment that a
police officer should be sent to patrol a parking lot. 'What for?'
'We've had reports about those guys who stand at the entrance and offer
tourists boat rides into the city.'
'Reports from whom?' Brunetti asked.
There was a complaint from someone at the American Embassy in Rome. He
said he paid two hundred Euros for a ride to San Marco.'
'What was he doing at Tronchetto?'
'Trying to park, sir. And that's when one of those guys with the white
hats and fake uniforms told him where to park and offered to show him a
taxi that would take him into the city, right to his hotel.'
'And he paid?'
Pucetti shrugged and said, 'You know what Americans are like, sir. He
didn't understand what was going on. So yes, he paid, but when he told
the people at the hotel, they said he'd been cheated. Turns out he's
something important at the Embassy, so he called Rome, and then they
called us and complained. And that's why we've been going out there,
to keep it from happening again.'
'How long have you been doing this?'
The went out yesterday, sir, and I'm due there in an hour,' Pucetti
said; then, in response to Brunetti's expression, he added, 'It was an
order.'
Brunetti decided to make no observation on the young officer's
docility. Instead he said, The investigation of the Moro boy's death
is still open, so you can forget about Tronchetto. I want you to go
back and talk to one of the boys, named Ruffo. I think you spoke to
him already.' Brunetti had seen the boy's name in Pucetti's written
report and recalled the young officer's comment that the boy had seemed
unduly nervous during the interview. Pucetti nodded at the name and
Brunetti added, 'Not at the school, if that's possible. And not while
you're in uniform.'
'Yes, sir. That is, no, sir,' Pucetti said, then quickly asked, 'And
the lieutenant?'
Till deal with him Brunetti answered.
Pucetti instantly got to his feet and said, Till go over there as soon
as I change, sir.'
