Page 39 of Murder on an Italian Island (Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mysteries #12)

After dinner, I saw her back to the room and took Oscar for his evening stroll.

While we walked about, my mind returned to the book I was writing and, for the first time in weeks, a glimmer of inspiration presented itself.

The killer wasn’t a man, but a woman. Up till now, I had been convinced that the murder had been committed by a man but, as I knew full well, murder is by no means the preserve of the male of the species.

Of course she needed to have a powerful reason to see him dead, but what could that be?

Suddenly, the thought of the alleged attempted abduction of a girl here at Santa Sabina flashed through my head and the answer came to me.

What if I borrowed that idea for my book?

I could make it that years ago, the victim had assaulted and abused a young woman, ruining her life forever, and this murder was payback for that.

I needed to work out how the two of them had met again and how it was he hadn’t recognised her, but I felt a shot of excitement.

I had found the solution to my dilemma and I now knew how to make the story work.

I glanced down at Oscar, who was trotting happily beside me with a branch in his mouth.

‘I’ve cracked it, Oscar. It was a woman and the death in San Gimignano was payback for something terrible that happened in the past.’

He looked back up at me, his eyes glowing green in the moonlight, and I swear he nodded.

Twenty minutes later, as I walked back along the clifftop path, I spotted a figure standing close to the cliff edge, staring out to the sea. Oscar trotted over to greet her and I saw that it was Rita.

‘ Ciao , Rita. It’s a lovely night for a walk, isn’t it?’

She turned towards us and the moonlight glistened against moisture on her cheeks. Had she been crying? When she answered, her voice was subdued. ‘ Ciao , Dan.’

‘Is everything all right? Signor Silvano’s birthday party went well. I’m sure you organised the whole thing.’ I tried to sound as cheerful as possible, although I was trying to work out what the trouble might be.

She mumbled a reply and returned her gaze to the sea.

I could see she wanted to be on her own and I was about to wish her goodnight and turn away when I realised what had been staring me in the face for days.

I’d been hoping that solving the murder of Ignazio Graziani might help me with my own book, and suddenly, I could see that it was the other way around.

My book might just have provided the answer to the riddle of his death.

We stood in silence for a minute or so while Oscar, instinctively sensing that Rita was upset, went over and leant against her leg in a show of support.

Finally, keeping my voice as gentle and compassionate as possible, I brought the subject up.

‘Can I ask you a personal question, Rita? How old are you?’

If she was surprised, she didn’t show it. ‘I’m thirty-five, almost thirty-six.’

‘That’s the same age as Elvis, isn’t it?’

Again, there was just a deadpan reaction. ‘He’s two weeks older than me.’

I took a deep breath and said it. ‘You’re the girl that Ignazio tried to abduct twenty years ago, aren’t you?’

Incredibly slowly, her head turned towards me and I could see the tears once more running down her cheeks. I had to wait almost a minute before she spoke, her voice low and husky. ‘How did you know?’

‘You told me you were at university on the mainland when it happened, but that was over twenty years ago so you would only have been fifteen. You were still here, weren’t you?’ She gave the faintest nod of the head and I went on. ‘Tell me something: why didn’t you go to the police about it?’

I had a long wait before she answered, but I didn’t pressure her.

When she finally spoke, her voice was clear, although her tone was subdued.

‘It was my father mainly. He told me I’d brought shame on the family – as if it had been my fault.

My mother was more sympathetic, but she agreed with him that it was best not to say anything, and, as far as everybody in the village was concerned, to act like nothing had happened.

’ I saw her eyes reach across the gap between us and her voice strengthened.

‘How was I supposed to carry on as if nothing had happened after what he did to me?’ Her voice almost cracked, but she rallied and continued.

‘I don’t know what you’ve heard, but it wasn’t an attempted abduction.

He pulled me into his van and he kept me in there with him for an hour: the longest hour of my life.

’ There was another pause before she carried on, her voice little more than a whisper.

‘I was only fifteen and he raped me. How could I forget that?’

The pieces of the puzzle were falling into place, but I felt no sense of satisfaction.

Up till now, I had believed that Ignazio’s victims had been four.

Now I knew that the true tally was five.

I was pleased to see that Oscar was still staunchly at her side and her hand was gently stroking his head.

All I felt was a deep sense of pity for her and revulsion at the behaviour of this man whose actions had caused so much pain to so many.

I was going to say something, anything, to try to tell her that I understood, when she carried on talking in a studiously even voice.

‘When I saw Ignazio again on Saturday night, I was determined to confront him. It was something I just knew I had to do. When my shift finished at ten o’clock, I didn’t go home; I sneaked into the trees and watched him and his brother sitting at table with that woman, drinking and arguing.

When Aldo and Teresa stormed off, I waited for my chance and it came when I saw Ignazio set off towards the cliff.

’ She rubbed the back of her hand across her cheeks but she didn’t stop.

‘I made my way around to head him off and you can imagine my surprise when I saw Virgilio come up the path from the beach and almost bump into Ignazio. There was a scuffle and I saw Virgilio punch him so hard, he fell back into the trees only a few paces away from me.’

She paused and I had time to reflect that the presence Virgilio claimed to have sensed in the shadows had been his own cousin.

Before I could respond, Rita picked up the story again.

‘Virgilio went off and after a bit, Ignazio pulled himself to his feet and wandered over here.’ I saw her finger point at the ground right in front of her.

‘It was here, in this exact same spot, that I came face to face with him. He stopped when he saw me, and I just stood there in silence, unable to say a word. As I looked at him, it all came back to me: the pain, the disgust and the shame.’ She paused to take a few deep breaths.

‘He stared at me blankly and mumbled, “Who are you?” He didn’t recognise me.

Can you imagine how that made me feel, Dan?

Here he was, the man who had ruined my life, and he couldn’t even remember my name. ’

She lapsed into silence, and I could see from the movement of her shoulders that she was sobbing. My instincts were telling me to go over and give her a hug, but I didn’t. I had to know what had happened.

Finally, after several minutes, I risked the all-important question.

‘And so you pushed him over the cliff?’

She didn’t look at me. She was staring down at her feet or maybe at Oscar, and I saw her shake her head slowly.

‘I could have done, you know. I felt such a burning hatred inside me that I’m sure I could have pushed him, but I didn’t.

Instead, I just stood there in silence, staring at him in utter disgust.’

The detective in me told me that she would say this, wouldn’t she, but I found myself believing her. I sensed she was too emotionally shaken to dissimulate, and when she continued, I could hear how hard she was struggling to keep control of her voice and her emotions.

‘He was very drunk but he must have realised that I didn’t want anything to do with him and he took two steps back and turned away.

As he did so, I saw his foot slip and then, in the blink of an eye, he disappeared over the cliff edge.

I didn’t kill him. As it was, he did it all by himself.

I’d like to think that he recognised me and did it deliberately as an act of contrition, but I know that isn’t true.

Animals like that don’t go in for contrition. ’

‘Did you tell this to the police?’ I already knew the answer, but I wanted to hear what she thought.

She shook her head. ‘No, I knew how it would look so I said nothing, but I can’t keep it to myself.

I’ve hardly slept a wink since last Saturday.

You’re a good, fair man, and I’m sure you recognise the truth when you hear it.

I needed to tell somebody, but not the police.

I couldn’t bear the thought of having it all raked up again.

I knew it would be like going through it all over again.

I thought I’d lose my mind.’ She looked across at me and this time, her tone was almost matter-of-fact.

‘That’s why I decided to come out here now. It’s the only way.’

She took a sideways step towards the edge of the cliff and I braced myself to rush forward and grab her, but Oscar at her side blocked her way.

Keeping my eyes firmly on her, in case she made another move towards the edge, I stood there in silence for a while before the obvious course of action presented itself to me.

Moving very slowly and deliberately so as not to startle her, I stepped towards her and took her gently by the arm, easing her away from the clifftop, and setting off in the direction of the hotel with Oscar still at her side.

As we walked, I glanced towards her and I knew as I said it that I was doing the right thing.

‘I’m not the police, Rita. Not now. As far as Ignazio’s death’s concerned, the case is closed.

It’s been decided that it was accidental death – just like you’ve just described it to me – and I see no reason to complicate things any more.

I’m not going to say anything to anybody, not even Virgilio.

That chapter of your history is closed and you have your whole life before you now. ’

‘Are you sure?’ She raised her eyes towards me and I sensed a wave of relief running through her. ‘I don’t know how to thank you, Dan.’

‘You don’t need to thank me. It’s over and he’s gone.

You did nothing wrong. Now’s the time to make a fresh start and enjoy life to the full, but you don’t need to do that on your own.

Only this evening, I was talking to somebody who told me he loved you dearly.

Why not take a chance and let him into your life? You know who I mean, don’t you?’

She nodded in reply and a hint of a smile appeared on her face. ‘I know.’