Death Brings Gold. Nicola Rocca
the brooding expression on Walkerâs face. âMartina Pilenga is not available at the moment.â
âWhat do you mean âis not available at the momentâ ?â
âJust what I said, Chief. What our witness said, Belmondâ¦â
âBelmondoâ Walker remarked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
âYes, Belmondo. Like Belmondo was saying, Martina Pilenga moved in with her mother â probably following the stormy period with her husband â, but itâs been a couple of days since sheâs been there. The widow Pilenga, Martinaâs mother, said her daughter had told her that she was going to be away for the weekend â¦â
âBut?â asked Walker, as if he was inevitably expecting a âbutâ.
âBut she is pretty old,â Bassani hurried to answer. âAnd doesnât remember where sheâs gone. Actually, she doesnât even remember if her daughter told her.â
A cloak of silence fell on them again. Then it was the Chief who spoke again.
âSo, letâs see if Iâve understood it wellâ¦â he grumbled. âA man is found lifeless in his flat after discovering his wife was unfaithful. The colleague who finds him states that that man was a good person, but had just found out that his wife had cheated on him. We, obviously, try to trace the wife of this poor unlucky man and, strangely enough, sheâs away for the weekend and no one, not even her mother, knows where sheâs gone. It could be a coincidence, of course! But Iâd say something strange is going on here. Very strange.â
The Chief took a pause. He couldnât wait for Caslini - the detective heâd worked with since his arrival in Milan â to get back quickly enough from his holiday. Itâs not that he didnât like Bassani, he simply lacked initiative. Moreover, Walker was convinced that he was a slacker.
âThatâs why I want that woman to be found asp,â Walker continued, running his fingers through his hair. Then the tone of his voice went up. âCall her girlfriends, relatives, colleagues, cats, dogs, even turtles â if she has any⦠I want somebody to tell me asap where the fuck this woman is. And I want her here, in my office. Itâs the only lead we have.â
âIâll do my best, Chief,â the detective said. âAnything else?â
Walker shook his head.
The detective turned, heading towards the door. When he was about to open the door, the Chief Inspector stopped him.
âBassani?â
He turned around.
âYes, Chief,â he answered.
âIf that woman, for whatever reason, cannot manage to come to my office this very dayâ now his voice was calmer, âI at least want to speak with her on the phone.â
Bassani gave his boss a perplexed look, and tried to answer in a way that wouldnât disappoint him.
âIt will be done, Chief.â
Before disappearing through the door, Bassani raised his hand to wave goodbye.
Walker stood motionless for a long time, before deciding to treat himself to a cigarette. Although by law it was strictly forbidden, as long as that office was his, he would smoke any time he felt like it.
Smoking relaxed him, as well as helping him think.
Automatically he let the ash fall on a little china plate which had seen better days, when he felt a sharp pain running through his arm. He clenched his teeth and grimaced with pain, tossing and turning on his chair. The wound on his shoulder was still burning. Maybe he had underestimated it.
CHAPTER 7
âWhat do you mean sheâs at the spa?â
âA SPA is, likeâ¦â replied Bassani, â⦠a sort of wellness centre, Chief.â
âI know perfectly well what a SPA is,â Walker replied dryly. Then the tone of his voice mellowed. âDid you think I thought it was the Software Publishing Association?â
Bassani smiled, shaking his head.
Walker became serious again.
âWhat I meant was⦠what the hell is she doing in a SPA?â
âShe must have gone there to relax, Chief. Maybe to have a break from her husband, since it looks like they were on bad terms.â
Walker nodded, remembering what Belmondo had told him about the marital instability between the victim and his wife.
âSo,â the Chief Inspector considered, âGhezziâs wife is relaxing at a wellness centre. Sauna, Turkish baths, massage and other shit like that. All of this while her husband is resting peacefully at the morgue, after having been killed. Quite bizarre this thing.â
âWell, although a mortuary isnât a wellness centre, at least it is a calm place. Where you certainly donât get stressedâ Bassani tried to joke about it.
âThat was a good joke, detective. Unlike mineâ, smiled Walker. âBut now, letâs be serious again. The fact that this woman is unreachable could make her a suspect. Actually, the only suspect, at this moment.â
Bassani nodded without saying a word, allowing the Chief Inspector to continue.
âWho told you that Ghezziâs wife is at a wellness centre?â
âAfter speaking with some people who knew her, one of her girlfriends told us.â
Bassani didnât mention the identity or details of that person and Walker didnât care to know.â And where is this wellness centre?â
âIn a town in the region of Versilia, Chief.â
âSo I can assume that it would be impossible to have her in my office today.â
âExactlyâ¦â
âBut I did say that in that case I would have wanted â¦â
The phone ringing cut the Chiefâs sentence clean off . Before he could answer it, Bassani hurried to say he had called the place where Mrs Pilenga was staying.
âAfter introducing myself, I told them I needed to speak urgently with Mrs Pilenga. I gave them your extension. This should be herâ Bassani concluded, nodding towards the receiver that kept on ringing. For once, he felt like he had done something right.
âState Police, Chief Inspector Walker speaking.â
On the other end of the line was the tense voice of the receptionist who, after having introduced himself, passed the phone to Mrs Pilenga.
âHello?â the woman said, her anxiety tightening her throat.
The Chief Inspector introduced himself and, choosing his words carefully, informed her of the fate that had befallen her husband.
No reply.
After a time that seemed, according to Walker, sufficient to take in the news, he prompted Mrs Pilenga.
âMrs Pilenga, are you still there?â
âThis isnât a joke, is it?â she asked faintly.
âItâs not a joke, Mrs Pilenga. My condolences.â
âDead in our flat?â
âYes, Mrs Pilenga,â confirmed Walker, not reminding