“But we agreed,” Rick said, “that she couldn’t have taken the body on the gondola and skied down.”
The other two men noticed Rick’s quick reaction. “Rick,” said Flavio slowly, “she could have been in on it with someone else.”
Rick reached for the bottle of wine and then pulled back. “That’s true. And her main motive could well be an inheritance. My first strong impression of Cat Taylor was that she comes from money and is used to having it. Likely there are aging parents—aging and wealthy parents—and only two siblings to inherit. She will get it all. But who would have helped her?”
“The guy across the hall, Lotti,” said Flavio. “She doesn’t know anyone else in town.”
“She knows Bruno. She told Luca and me that she rents her skis from him. And their relationship could go beyond ski-fitting.”
“What’s important is we can’t rule her out,” said Luca, taking charge of the discussion. “The next logical suspect would be the real estate developer, Melograno. He was trying to get a loan to develop that property. Taylor may have turned him down when they met the previous day. Not usually the motive for a murder, but it’s possible, I suppose.”
“Umberto has the reputation of using any means, but usually money, to get what he wants,” said Flavio. “There was something last year about him trying to bribe a regional official, but I don’t remember the details.”
Luca nodded. “The local police mentioned that to me. Nothing came of it.”
Flavio chuckled. “Hmm. I wonder why nothing came of it? But it’s quite a jump from bribery to homicide. Umberto’s always been a bully, but murdering someone…I don’t know about that.”
“Riccardo and I saw one of the mayor’s wood sculptures in his office. Coincidence?”
Flavio thought a moment before answering. “Probably. Many people have bought Elio’s work. He’s the best wood-carver in town. But more important than having one of his carvings is that Umberto is Elio’s main political backer, and the next election is coming up in a few weeks. It doesn’t hurt to have the mayor in your pocket if you’re a real estate developer.”
“And if we’re talking about suspects, what about the mayor?” asked Rick. “His ex-wife was dating the victim, and possibly was doing it even before the marriage formally ended. Could be a motive there.”
Flavio’s frowned and shook his head slowly. “This is turning into a South American novella.”
“My wife watches them all the time,” said Luca.
“But you don’t?” asked Flavio.
“Of course not. Everyone want coffee?” They nodded and Luca asked the waitress to bring it, checking the wine bottle before she left. There was still a glass or two in it, so it was left on the table. “Now, before moving to the rest of the inhabitants of Campiglio, there is Gina Cortese. No real motive for murder that I can think of. How about you?”
Flavio shrugged. “She found out about his girlfriend in Milan?”
“Weak,” said Luca. “Possible, but weak.”
Their coffee arrived and they each stirred varying amounts of sugar into their small cups while staring at the dark liquid.
“Perhaps something will come to one of us during the evening,” said Flavio, though his voice indicated he considered the prospect unlikely. “I forgot to mention a related development, something that will interest you, Riccardo.”
“I can’t imagine what,” said Rick as he drained his small cup.
“Since the dead man and his sister are Americans, your consulate in Milan is sending up a vice consul to assist Signora Taylor. A nice touch, but I hope he doesn’t get in the way of the investigation.”
“It’s the basic consular function, helping American citizens far from home who are in trouble,” Rick explained. “My father did it for many years before he moved up in the ranks. It’s mostly with Americans who’ve lost passports or been victims of pickpockets, but it can be more serious, like this case.”
“Do we have that for Italians, Flavio?”
“I suppose if I’d gotten into trouble in Albuquerque I could have asked the Italian consul to bail me out. The nearest one was in Los Angeles.”
“Flavio,” said Rick, “you know very well who would have saved your ass if you’d gotten into legal trouble in the States, and it wouldn’t have been the Italian consul.”
Luca turned to Flavio and waited for his answer. He was enjoying getting his mind off the case, even for a moment.
“I never got into any trouble, Rick, as you well know. If I remember correctly, it was you who—”
Rick held up his hand. “Luca isn’t interested in frivolous stories of American university life.”
“Well,” muttered Luca, “in truth, I wouldn’t mind—”
“See, Flavio? So, Luca, when is this American consul arriving in Campiglio?”
“Not sure. Probably early tomorrow morning. If I could ask you another favor, Riccardo?”
“If he’s a consular officer, Luca, he’ll speak Italian. You don’t need—”
“No, no, it’s not that. The problem is that tomorrow I have to write and fax a report to the prosecuting attorney, now that it’s a homicide At least she hasn’t insisted on coming up here to get in my hair. But also I have to deal with some reporters tomorrow morning, two from Milano and one from Trento.”
“Who from Trento?” asked Flavio. “Not Sandri, I hope.”
“I’m afraid so.” He picked up his coffee cup, saw that there was not even a drop left, and set it back in the saucer. The two Italians shook their heads sadly.
Rick was tempted to ask about this Sandri, but his mind was on Cat Taylor. “I’ll be glad to deal with the vice consul for you tomorrow, Luca.”
***
“I was so hoping that…” Cat’s voice trailed off.
She sat with her hands clasped and stared at Rick without seeing his face. Once again she treated the policeman as if he were invisible, even though Luca had carefully stated the facts for her. As
