Page 18 of Murder on an Italian Island (Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mysteries #12)
MONDAY AFTERNOON
My afternoon windsurfing lesson wasn’t as disastrous as I had expected, and by the end, I was definitely beginning to get the hang of tacking, although gybing defeated me.
I still spent quite a lot of time in the water but I definitely began to feel that I was making progress.
As for the Graziani case, I also felt that Virgilio and I were making progress, but there was a long way to go – starting with finding out whether the police had identified the murder weapon.
I got the answer to that question when Anna and I walked back to the hotel. I immediately saw that there were no longer any police vehicles in the car park and the expression on Virgilio’s face when I spotted him on the terrace said it all.
‘Half an hour ago, Inspector Bellini sent his sergeant to inform me that they’ve found no sign of a murder weapon and the pathologist is now agreeing with him that the wound to the back of the victim’s head could have been caused in the fall.
In consequence, as we thought, Bellini has effectively closed the case and put it down to misadventure – an unfortunate accident brought about principally by an excess of alcohol.
By the sound of it, the pathologist reports that Graziani had consumed enough wine to sedate a rhino. ’
I was secretly pleased and relieved that this went a long way towards removing the cloud that had been hanging over Virgilio’s head and, although he wasn’t showing it, I felt sure he must feel the same way.
While Anna went upstairs to take a shower, I sat down with Virgilio, with Oscar sprawled on the tiles at our feet. ‘Did you have a chance to pass on to the inspector what we’ve discovered?’
‘Not directly. I told the sergeant and he gave me the official line – “all avenues of investigation have been followed up and nothing suggests anything other than an accident”. So Bellini has washed his hands of it.’ He attracted the attention of the waiter and ordered two beers before adding a codicil.
‘The sergeant let slip that Bellini is starting three weeks’ leave tomorrow, taking a holiday in the USA and Canada with his wife and kids.
That goes a long way towards explaining his readiness to draw a line under this case as soon as possible.
’ I could hear the frustration in his voice, and I felt the same way, but I did my best to conceal it.
‘Well, you said it yourself, you’re not sorry that Graziani’s dead, so maybe the best thing to do is to just accept that and try to put the whole episode behind us.
’ This really didn’t sound right to me at all, but I knew it was the sensible and pragmatic thing to do, even if it went totally against my principles.
Virgilio took his time replying, waiting until the waiter had brought our beers and a bowl of water for Oscar. He clinked his glass against mine, took a mouthful and looked me straight in the eye. ‘It was murder, I just know it.’
I took a mouthful of beer and nodded. ‘I agree. I’m convinced of it as well, but I can’t prove it any more than you can.’
We sat in silence for a minute or two. I felt sure that both of us were thinking the same thing, but I chose to let him say it first. Finally, he made up his mind.
‘Bellini is a fool and if I were his superior officer, I’d give him a kick up his lazy backside.
I don’t know about you, but, much as I would like to, I can’t let it go. I need to know what happened.’
I reached over and clinked my glass against his, giving him a broad smile. ‘I’m with you all the way so, Commissario , what’s our next move?’
‘The way I see it, I have a straightforward choice. I can contact the Questore in Livorno and see if I can get him to intervene, asking him to draft in an officer who’s prepared to put in the legwork.
The trouble is that, without any hard evidence, doing that could put the Questore in an awkward position.
That sort of intervention would cause quite a lot of ill feeling – particularly as far as our friend Inspector Bellini’s concerned – and I wouldn’t want to make an enemy of anybody in the force if I can help it.
I think you and I need to proceed on this on our own – if you’re sure that Anna won’t mind too much – and carry out our own investigation until we have something concrete.
I have a perfectly valid warrant card that I can flash in order to arrange interviews with suspects, although it could get awkward if the word gets back to Bellini’s people.
Still, that’s a risk I’m prepared to take. ’
‘Anna knows the score and she’s happy for me to get involved.
Apart from anything else, it’s a matter of clearing your name.
’ We both knew full well that allegations, even unfounded and unproven allegations, can hang about and risk damaging a career.
‘As a private investigator, I have every right to investigate whatever case I want, so why don’t I do the sensitive stuff?
The worst that can happen is for the police here to kick me off the island.
The way I see it, the first person I’d like to interview is the victim’s brother, Aldo.
The more I think about it, the more I believe that he might have been involved.
Maybe I could approach him saying that I’ve been engaged to look into Ignazio’s death on behalf of somebody who prefers to remain anonymous.
If I put it to him that I’m hoping he can provide me with some evidence that might help identify the killer, that should hopefully reassure him that we’re not coming after him – at least not yet. ’
Virgilio nodded in agreement. ‘Sounds good to me. In the meantime, I’ll call Marco and see if he’s managed to find out anything more about our fellow guests.
I would really like to sit down and talk to them one by one, but, now that the official line is that Graziani’s death was an accident, that may not be so easy.
And some of them may even be leaving in the morning.
It would be good to get a feel for the people.
You know how it is, Dan; you can tell a lot about someone simply from the look on their face. ’
At that moment, the two Carabinieri officers appeared and sat down a couple of tables along from us.
Virgilio and I exchanged glances, and he lowered his voice.
‘Starting with these two. I think I’ll go and ask them if they can spare me five minutes of their time.
It’s probably best if you don’t accompany me as they may not want to talk about their mission in front of somebody they see as an outsider. ’
‘Definitely. While you’re doing that, I’ll go up and take a shower. After that, I want to see what I can find out about Aldo Graziani and his campsite.’
After a shower and a change, I opened the laptop and set about checking up on the victim’s big brother.
I started by accessing the campsite website and was impressed at its professionalism.
Unless Aldo was a computer genius, he had probably paid somebody a lot of money to set this up.
I was also impressed by the range of facilities.
As well as the large pool and the bar/pizzeria, there were also two tennis courts, a business centre, boasting a high-speed Internet connection, a hair and beauty salon, and two smart, modern shower and toilet blocks, one including a sauna and hot tub.
The place had certainly moved on a lot since the days of his father’s little campsite for a couple of dozen tents.
Interestingly, I could find very little about Aldo himself.
I couldn’t even find a photo of him and it looked as though he was deliberately steering clear of social media.
I didn’t blame him for that, but it made my life more difficult.
I found a few articles in the local newspaper and other online news outlets about the campsite but, again, virtually nothing about the owner.
Although there were articles about Ignazio’s death, most reported it either as an unfortunate accident or suicide.
From what I’d heard today, everybody around here had known about his return to the island and where he’d been for the last twenty years and why, but most of the media had chosen to downplay his past and stick to Inspector Bellini’s verdict of misadventure, no doubt much to the relief of his brother.
Anna had dozed off by this time, so Oscar and I quietly sneaked out of the room and went downstairs to Reception, where I was pleased to find Rita on her own.
‘Rita, can I ask you something? I was talking to some men in the village earlier on and they told me that Ignazio Graziani was hounded off the island twenty years ago. He was making a nuisance of himself with a number of women and might even have attempted to abduct a girl here in Santa Sabina. Does that ring any bells with you?’
She looked shocked. ‘Really? That’s news to me.
I was at university on the mainland at that time and I remember my parents telling me that Ignazio had been sent away, although they didn’t go into any detail about why.
’ An expression of sadness spread across her face.
‘I’m afraid my mother and father have both passed away now, so I can’t ask them for any detail. ’
‘So you don’t know if the attempted abduction story is true or not?’
‘I’m sorry, I know nothing about that at all, but I can ask around if you like.’
I thanked her and brought up the other piece of information I’d gleaned today. ‘I also heard that the victim’s brother, Aldo, has a reputation as a womaniser. Does that sound familiar?’