But there was no use continuing. His caller had already hung up.
Fine, he thought to himself. He’d ask Reggiani to put a tap on both telephones, the museum number and this one, and on his mobile phone as well. He let himself relish the thought of a face-to-face meeting with this crazy lady who thought it amusing to make such ridiculous threats. She must be calling him because she could see the lights on, or maybe she could even see him sitting in front of his computer screen. If only he had a dog!
To be on the safe side he closed the shutters, turned off the computer, went to the wall, took down the shotgun – an automatic five-round Bernardelli – and loaded it with five cartridges. Then he walked towards the staircase to go up to the bedroom.
The telephone rang again.
He stopped for a moment, with his foot on the step, to collect his thoughts, then turned around and picked up the receiver.
‘Listen, you bitch. If you think-’
‘Fabrizio! It’s Sonia! I’m so sorry, but I thought you’d still be awake!’
Fabrizio let out a long sigh. ‘Oh, it’s me who’s sorry, Sonia. I wasn’t sleeping, it’s simply that…’
‘I’ve just got back from a conference in Padua. I saw your email and I couldn’t resist… So who’s the bitch you thought you were talking to?’
‘Someone I don’t know. Someone who likes to break my balls by calling late at night and-’
‘Listen, I’ve seen the photos – they are incredible! Are you sure about the measurements you sent?’
‘Give or take a centimetre or two.’
‘I just can’t believe what I’m seeing. Do you really think they’ll let me publish it?’
‘I don’t see why not.’
‘Will you talk with Balestra?’
‘Sure. But what do you think it is?’
Sonia fell silent for a few moments. ‘To be utterly frank, I don’t know what to say. I’ve never seen an animal that big in any of the scientific literature. It’s a monster.’
Fabrizio’s voice became apprehensive. ‘A monster? What do you mean by that?’
‘Only that I’ve never seen such a thing. Even now, say, a Caucasian Molosser, which is gigantic, is not that size.’
‘Well, then, what the hell is it? I mean, you’re the expert, so how do you explain it?’
‘Hey, what’s wrong with you? Why are you so edgy? Are you sure I didn’t wake you up? Or did I… interrupt something?’
‘No. Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude. You’re saying that you don’t know what it is.’
‘It looks like a canid, but I’ve never seen one so enormous. An expert is only an expert on what he’s seen and studied, Fabrizio. You know that better than I do. All I can tell you is that I’ve never heard of such an animal, and neither has anyone else that I know of. I’d hazard a guess that it’s a breed that’s gone extinct and that we have no knowledge of or… a genetic mutation, something of the sort.’
‘Right. That’s a possibility, sure. Listen, try to make it here as soon as you can, and I’ll talk to the director in the meantime.’
‘I can leave tomorrow,’ said Sonia resolutely.
‘No, maybe not tomorrow. Give me a couple of days. I’ll call you as soon as anything comes up.’
There was a moment of silence and in that very instant the howl that Fabrizio had heard the first night rang out loudly. A long, desperate lament that grew in force and intensity, exploding into the blood-curdling scream of a wounded beast. An atrocious wheezing that sounded nearly human.
Fabrizio stiffened as a feeling of sheer terror surged through his body.
Sonia’s voice on the phone was full of anguish. ‘My God… what was that?’
She’d heard it.
‘I don’t know,’ replied Fabrizio mechanically. He then replaced the receiver and picked up the shotgun. It was locked and loaded.
5
DR LA BELLA put out his cigarette in the ashtray, took his glasses off with a slow, studied gesture and began to clean the lenses with an immaculate handkerchief.
‘Well?’ asked Lieutenant Reggiani in an almost impatient tone.
‘It’s just as I said, my dear Lieutenant, isn’t it? Remember? “If you don’t find the animal I’ll have more maimed bodies on my autopsy table.” And here we are.’
‘I want to know whether you’re sure this death can be attributed to the same cause,’ said Reggiani.
‘I have no doubts about that,’ answered La Bella, ‘although that statement cannot be made with absolute certainty. Would you care to take a look yourself?’
He got up and walked towards the cooler.
Reggiani wanted to say no, he would not care to take a look, but he obediently followed the doctor. It was his job, after all.
La Bella grasped the handle of one of the drawers and pulled it towards him until the top half of the corpse, covered by a sheet, was out. He lifted the sheet.
‘Dear Christ,’ murmured Reggiani, looking away in disgust. ‘It’s worse than the last one.’
La Bella closed the drawer and locked it.
‘Have you spoken to the public prosecutor?’
‘You bet I have. He’s been calling me every two or three hours to get an update on our investigation.’
‘And what might that be?’ asked La Bella mechanically.
‘We don’t know shit, Dr La Bella. That is the update. I have two corpses that have been ripped to shreds and not a single clue to go on. The story’s bound to break, which means that in the wink of an eye this town will be besieged by a horde of reporters and TV cameras dying for a slice of the blood and mystery. Until now, I’ve managed to convince the prosecutor that it’s best to keep this quiet to prevent the spread of panic. As luck would have it, the guy who found the second body has agreed not to spill the beans and I know I can trust my men. But I also know this can’t last for long. It’s bound to leak out. At the same time, I have to put maximum security measures into effect to protect local people. It’s not been easy.’
As the two men neared the exit, La Bella stared into the officer’s eyes with a discouraged expression and said, ‘I know it’s stupid to ask, but have you sent dogs out?’
‘It’s the first thing we did. But we didn’t get anywhere. We used our best trackers, but it was crazy. They’d run off in every direction, double back, take off like wild things through the bushes and then come back again. Absurd.’
‘I understand,’ said La Bella. ‘But you can’t not warn the residents. They have a right to know, to take precautions, to protect themselves…’
‘You don’t think that’s on my mind! Listen, at the start I was hoping that the first case would remain an isolated occurrence. That animal, or whatever it is, might have run off or ended up elsewhere, or have been caught or killed off, damn it. I’m about to go to the public prosecutor and submit my plan of action.’
‘If I’m not being indiscreet, can you tell me what that plan is?’
‘It’s not that I don’t trust you, Doctor, but I have to consult with the prosecutor first. Basically, we have to strive to achieve the impossible: inform the townspeople, ask the press to keep a low profile, solve the case by giving it all we’ve got.’
Dr La Bella patted him on the shoulder. ‘I don’t envy you, Lieutenant. Good luck. I’ve never met anyone in all my life who needed it more.’
REGGIANI got into his car with Sergeant Massaro and drove to the public prosecutor’s office. The official was exceedingly agitated and didn’t even ask Reggiani to sit down.
‘Maybe you don’t realize this, Lieutenant,’ he began, ‘but from one moment to the next this situation could slip totally out of our control. The government authorities may step in and take it out of our hands completely.’
Reggiani instantly lost his temper. ‘That, God willing, is the least of my problems! They’re not in harm’s way
