The Girl of his Dreams

'That she wasn't alone?' Brunetti offered.

'Exactly.'

'The other two have been arrested with her a few times,' Brunetti added.

This time, Steiner brought both hands to his head and scratched at it vigorously, as though it were a friendly dog. When he finished, he returned his attention to the tree for some time, then glanced over at Brunetti and said, ‘I think this is where we have to stop and consider things.'

'Like the fact that they're minors?' Brunetti suggested. At Steiner's nod, he added, 'and the fact that jurisdiction becomes an issue.'

Again, the Carabiniere nodded, then surprised Brunetti by asking. 'Is your boss Patta?'

'Yes.'

'Humm. I've worked for men like him. I suppose you're used to putting things to him in – well – in inventive ways?'

Brunetti nodded.

'You think you can convince him to let you run with this? It's not that anything much is likely to come of it, but I don't like it that it's a kid.'

'Of the possibilities you gave, is there one you believe?' Brunetti asked and was reminded of his own dogged questioning of the pathologist.

Before Steiner answered, he consulted the trees and the bird again, and then said, 'As I said before, either she fell or she was pushed. And the other kids must have been there, so they know which one it was.'

'They would have said something,' Brunetti suggested, though he didn't believe it and offered it only to see how the other man would react.

Steiner let out a huff of disbelief. 'These aren't children who talk to the police, Commissario.' After a moment's reflection, he added, 'I don't know if they're even children who talk to their parents.'

Brunetti spoke before he thought. 'You can't set out as three and go home as two and no one notices it or asks about it.'

Steiner took his time before he answered, 'It's probably something that happens to them all the time. If you think about it. They see the police and scatter; someone comes in while they're in a house, and they run; someone sees them prising open a door and screams at them, and they run in different directions to make it harder to catch them. I'm sure they know the best way to escape from any situation.'

'The girl didn't,' Brunetti said.

'No,' Steiner agreed in a soft voice. 'She didn't, did she?' After a moment, Brunetti said, 'It's strange that they never notified us that the girl was missing.'

'Not really’ Steiner said. 'If you think about it, that is.'

Silence fell between them, but it was the silence of empathy and common purpose. Finally Brunetti said, 'I've got to go and tell the mother’

'Yes’ Steiner said, 'you do.' After a pause, he asked, 'How do you want to do it?'

'I'd like to take my assistant with me. Vianello.'

'Good man’ Steiner surprised Brunetti by saying.

Choosing not to comment, Brunetti said, 'I'd like one of you to come with me. And I'd like to arrive in one of your cars.' Steiner nodded, as if to suggest that nothing would be easier. 'And’ Brunetti continued, ‘I think it would be best to take someone from the social services with us.' As he spoke, he realized he was now including the Maresciallo in his plans.

Steiner agreed. 'I'll tell my superior.'

'And I'll think of a way to tell mine.'

Steiner pushed himself to his feet and walked towards the door. 'It will take me about twenty minutes to get this organized: a boat and a car and someone from the social services. I'll come and get you in one of our boats: say half an hour.'

Brunetti extended his hand, thanked the Maresciallo, and left, heading back to the Questura.

20

There was no sign of Vianello. Brunetti stopped at the officers' squad room, but the Inspector was not there, nor did anyone know where he might have gone. Brunetti went down to Signorina Elettra's office on the odd chance that the Inspector might be there, or, less likely, in with Patta.

'You seen Vianello?' he asked without greeting as he went in.

She looked up from the papers on her desk and, after a pause that went on a bit too long, said, ‘I think he's waiting for you in your office, sir.' Her head bent back over the papers.

'Thank you,' Brunetti said. She did not reply.

It was only when he was on the steps that he registered the abruptness of his tone and the coolness with which she had answered him, but he had no time for such niceties. Brunetti found Vianello in his office,

standing at the window, gazing across the canal. Before Brunetti could speak, the Inspector said, 'Steiner called me, said the boat was just arriving there, and he'd be here in a few minutes.'

Brunetti grunted in acknowledgement, went over to his desk, and picked up the phone. When Patta answered with his name, Brunetti said, 'Vice-Questore, it's Brunetti. It seems the Carabinieri have located the parents of the girl who drowned last week. Yes, sir, the Gypsy,' Brunetti answered, wondering if there were perhaps other girls who had drowned in the last week that Patta had failed to tell him about.

'The Carabinieri want someone from the Questura to go along while they inform them,' he said, doing his best to fill his voice with irritation and impatience. He listened for a moment, then answered, 'Near Dolo, sir. No, they didn't tell me exactly where. But I thought you, as the ranking person here, would be the most suitable person to accompany them.'

In response to his superior's question, Brunetti said, 'With the boat ride and the wait for the car at Piazzale Roma – they told me there's been some sort of mix-up and it won't be there until three – I'd say it wouldn't take much more than two hours, sir, maybe a bit more, depending on the car.' Brunetti listened for some time and then said, 'Of course I understand, sir. But there's no other way to inform them. There are no phones out there, and the Carabinieri don't have a telefonino number to contact.'

Brunetti glanced across at Vianello and held the phone away from his ear as Patta presented his reluctance to the listening air. Suddenly Vianello leaned forward and pointed towards the entrance to the canal and the approaching boat. Brunetti nodded and pulled the phone back to his ear.

'I understand that, Vice-Questore, but I'm not sure it's convenient… Of course I understand the importance of maintaining good relations with the Carabinieri, but surely they'd prefer that an officer of higher…'

Brunetti caught Vianello's eye and made a rolling motion with his outstretched finger, suggesting that this conversation might go on for some time. It did, until Vianello started towards the door, when Brunetti interrupted to say, 'If you insist, sir. I'll give you a full report when I get back.'

He replaced the phone, grabbed the envelope with the photos of the dead child, and hurried after Vianello, who was already halfway down the stairs.

Outside, Vianello jumped on to the waiting launch and shook hands with Steiner, then held out a hand to steady Brunetti as he jumped aboard. Vianello addressed the Maresciallo as 'Walter', and left it to Brunetti to decide which form of address to use with the other man. He opted to follow in the wake of Vianello's friendship and used the more familiar tu, giving his first name, after which Steiner touched him on the upper arm and told Brunetti to call him Walter.

Still standing on deck, Brunetti explained that Patta had asked him to take the news to the child's parents, thinking it best to provide no explanation of how this had come to pass. Steiner's face remained impassive; he permitted himself to say only, 'The most successful superiors understand how important it is to know how to delegate.'

'Indeed,' Brunetti replied, and the familiarity begun by the use of tu grew even stronger.

The men moved down into the cabin as the boat made its slow way up towards Piazzale Roma, where a