"Good morning." "What can I get you?" "I'd like to have a taste of your...zabaglione." "Certainly." "Excuse me." " Do you know where the police station is?" " It's just over there." " Do you know Inspector Montalbano?" " I've seen him around." "Thank you." " Hello?" " Doctor, is that you personally in person?" "Sure, Catarella, what's going on?" " The new inspector, Dr. Alluccello, is here." "What do you mean "new inspector"?" "He calls himself Dr. Alluccello, he's the new inspector." " He's in your office." " Put Fazio on." " He isn't here." "He had a call from someone at a hardware store about a theft." " You should come at once, Dottore!" " Alright" " Dottore!" " You mustn't let anybody in my office." " But the Dottore told me that he was a Dottore!" " I don't care!" "OK!" "I have to go now, I'll call you later." "You're Dr. Montalbano, right?" "If you don't explain your behavior, I'll have you arrested." " Why?" "What have I done?" " You pretended to be a police inspector, you took possession of my office and used my phone." " Sorry." " But the officer at the switchboard..." " Catarella." "Didn't he tell you who I am?" "I'm Deputy Inspector Domenico Augello." "My friends call me Mimi." "Sorry, I thought you'd been told." " Don't touch the desk, you'll make a mess." " Yes, sure." "This is the fax from the prefect about my appointment." "Listen, Augello ..." " You can call me Mimi." " Augello." "Here, the phone is only used for business purposes." "I was on the phone with a colleague from the old police station." "I'd left her an investigation." "Salvo, she's a beautiful girl." "In this police station we're all men and called by surname." "So for you, I'm Montalbano." "Now follow me." "This is your new office." " Do you like it?" " Isn't it a bit far from yours?" " We're supposed to work closely together." " No, you'll be fine here." " You can keep it." " Can I ask an officer to help me?" " If I do it myself it'll take a month." "Sorry, there are no agents free today." "They all have important work to do." " I can't spare anybody." " It doesn't matter." "Welcome to our police station and good luck." "Augello." "What a clown!" "Hello?" " Dottore, it's Fazio." " Are you done with the guy from the hardware store?" " What hardware store?" "Catarella said there had been a robbery at a hardware store." "Catarella has got it wrong, as usual." "I am in Gallotta, with Ettore Ferro, the surveyor." "Can you come?" "." " Sorry." " No problem." "Morning." " I wanted to apologize for earlier, but I ..." " You are pissed off, I can see." " But they also told me that you're good." " I'm not pissed off." "You're going out to investigate something?" "Can I come with you?" " I don't like people interfering in my cases." " It's my case too." " I'm your closest collaborator." " Not yet." " And it is not certain that you will be." "Come on, there's been a burglary." "Catarella, you're not doing anything, you could..." "Catarella is engaged in an urgent matter." "Come on!" "After I did a course at Interpol in Geneva where there are beautiful women, emancipated." " You know what Godard said?" " Yes, that the most beautiful women in the world are in Geneva." " But I prefer Truffaut." " Truffaut ..." "It was the most beautiful time of my life." "What experiences!" "What memories!" "Unforgettable!" "Even here in Vigata there are beautiful women." "Are you married...engaged?" "No, do you want to invite me to dinner?" "He's funny too!" " I am Deputy Inspector Domenico Augello." " Fazio." " His friends call him Mimi" " The thieves came in through the cellar." "Strange, that with a house like this, they only entered the cellar." " Maybe they keep the valuables there." " The owner is through here." " What did they steal?" " He'll tell you himself." "How did you manage to get these barrels in?" "I had them built here." "I designed this cellar." "It goes far beyond the walls of this house." " You're a winemaker?" " No." " Did you made me come here as a joke?" " I would never do that." "What's above there?" "The freezer, a refrigerator and some boxes." " Do you run a business?" " No" "I worked for forty years at the Technical Office of the City of Vigata." "I am now retired." "Why do you want to know what I do for a living?" "I am gathering information to..." "Never mind, what did they steal?" "Two days ago, I finished sealing the box containing the bottle caps from the beer I'd been drinking last year." "There were 365, one per day." "The other day I got a new supply of beer." "36 boxes of 10 beers each, plus 5 bottles loose." "Torrefelice Beer !" "You know it, don't you?" " It's a small brewery near Messina." " What's that over there?" "Nothing, unusable pieces of string." "Look." "Everything is organized by year." "Elastic bands 1978, 1979, 1980." "Used vests, 1979, 1980, 1981." "I don't throw anything away, I've kept everything for 20 years." " The rest of the house is the same, he keeps everything." "Everything!" "Okay, let's go." "We'll start an investigation, find out what we can." "It won't be easy, but we'll do what we can." " What do you keep in the barrels?" " My biological waste." " What?" "Inspector, I am desperate." "It is as if they had stolen a part of my life." "Don't worry." "Is this the only way out?" " Yes." " Augello, lead the way." "If you please." "Those barrels contain not only excrement, but also his fingernails the hairs from his beard, from his head..." "That's how he lives." " Disgusting!" " What does he keep in the deep freeze?" "Everything he needs for the next 365 days." "He works out how much meat he will eat in one year, how much fish, rice ..." "Then he orders, the vans arrive and he stores the stuff." " Has he got relatives?" " Only one nephew who lives in Venice." "He'll leave him the house, but it'll stay the way it is now." " I can imagine what his grandson will say when he opens the barrels!" " Gallo, take notes." "Sure." "Why would thieves enter a cellar to steal beer bottle caps?" " They are already setting up the stalls." " Why?" "What happens tomorrow?" " It's the celebration for the patron saint." " It's a picnic." " In theory." " In practice it is a big dinner." "I'm going with the boys from the station." " Are you coming?" " I prefer to work." " Dottor Augello, will you be there?" " Yes." "Any girls?" " Enjoy your meal, sir." " Thanks, Calogero." "Big competition Valkyrie Beer!" "Open the bottle and look under the cap." "You can win valuable prizes." " Hello?" " Augello, it's Montalbano." "Are you asleep already?" "I had a hard time tidying up the office." "What do you want?" "I wanted to tell you to take charge of the theft of surveyor Ferro's caps." "You could start off by investigating the Torrefelice company." "You call me at this hour to ask me to take care of a case that is pure bullshit?" "Get used to it." "That's how things work here." "Goodnight." "Damn!" "Come in!" " May I?" " Sit down." " Did you sleep well?" " Lousily." " The bed was uncomfortable?" " No." "If I wake up in the middle of the night, I can't get back to sleep, that's how I am." "Tough!" "." " So you have not..." " I've been up since 7 am" "I know everything about the Torrefelice company." "They started operating three years ago." "Now they're expanding." " Who is the owner?" " Don't know yet." "How does the company fit into the theft of the caps?" "Fazio said that the caps were very valuable to Ferro." "Perhaps for the thief too." " Another bottle-cap collector?" " Don't talk rubbish." " Do you know if Torrefelice is running a contest with prizes?" " No." " No in the sense that you don't know or that they did not?" " I don't know." "But national companies do these things those who can afford advertising." " Sure." "Call Sergeant Picone of the Guardia di Finanza of Montelusa." " He'll tell you the owner's name..." " I'll do it tomorrow." " Why tomorrow?" "Today is St. Calorio." "Fazio and the boys are waiting for me." "Do you want something to eat?" "No thanks." " You didn't waste any time getting acquainted." " I'm the sociable type." "Hurry up, or it'll get cold." "Cuttlefish with peas and seafood risotto." "Bread, water and wine." "Cutlery, wine glass and water glass." " Thanks!" " I'll come back later to collect them." "Thanks." "Shit!" " Hello?" " Sir, it's Fazio." "I am in Piano Torretta with Catarella and all the others." " So what?" " Things are a real mess here, weeping women." " What happened?" " A little girl of 3 has disappeared." "How did it happen?" "I don't know, we're looking for her." "If we don't find her soon we'll send out a search party." "Maybe it's better if you come here." " Okay, I am on my way." " I'll see you soon." " Dottore, they found the little girl a short while ago" " Injured?" " Apparently not." " Where are the others?" " In a villa, 6 km from here, they found her there." "She walked 6 kilometers in the rain and no one noticed her?" " I don't know." " Let's go." " Catarella, wait here." " Yes, sir!" " Dottore!" " Her parents?" " Arrived." " And the others?" "Gallo and Paterno went home with the family." "Augello's here." "Those are the Mongiardinos, the child's maternal grandparents." " The young one is Gerlando, her uncle." " I'd like to see the girl." " Come on." " I'm Dr. Riguccio." " Dottore." "I had the girl taken to my room and I only allowed her parents in." " Well done." " You examined her?" "A superficial look, she's suffering from shock." "The child can neither speak nor cry." " Who found her?" " She just showed up at the gate." "My wife found her and took her in." "Augello and Paterno were looking for her, they called here and found her." "Did you find any signs of abuse?" "Her left cheek is swollen." " Could it have been a slap?" " Yes, it is possible." " If you want to see her, she's over there." " Thanks" " Salvo, can I present Miss Burlando?" " She's a friend of the girl's mother." " Inspector Montalbano." "Livia." " How's the little girl?" " Fine, her parents are with her." "Alright." "Excuse me." " Inspector Montalbano." " Fernando Belli." "This is Giovanna, my wife." "Is this the dress the girl was wearing?" "Yes." " The shoes?" " They are under the bed." " When did you notice she had disappeared?" " Before it rained." "We were out with three cars, my in-laws, my brother-in-law and the family of a friend." "We loaded up to go home and then we realized that Laura wasn't there anymore." "5 minutes before she was playing with a ball a few meters away." "We started calling, looking for her." "Other people joined in the search." " It was terrible." " I can imagine." " Where were you exactly?" " On the edge of the Piano close to the hedges." " Any idea what might have happened?" "I think Laura may have chased the ball down to the road and didn't know how to get back." "Maybe she was picked up by a motorist who took her to the nearest house." " Sure." "But between Piano Torretta and here there are a dozen houses." " If you like, we can talk about it again tomorrow at the police station." " Okay." " Fazio." " Yes?" " Take her clothes to Forensics." "and then I want to know everything about Ferdinando Belli." " Okay." "Dottore, good-bye and thanks." "Want a ride to the police station?" " No thanks, I'll stay to ask a few more questions." " Goodbye." "Let's go, Catarella." " Excuse me, Dottore." " What is it?" "I've got Bernardo Belli on the phone." "He wants to talk to you." "Put him on." "Excuse me, Dottore." "Mr. Belli, good morning." "Good morning." "I was supposed to come to the station but I can't." " Why?" "Is the girl ill?" " No, she's doing well." "although she's still not talking." "It's me, I have a high fever." " Could have been the rain yesterday" " Yes." " If you agree, I'll come to see you this afternoon." " Okay, see you later." "Goodbye." "Of course, excuse me a moment, I have to go now." "Shall I call you at lunch?" "Sure, I can tell him." "Bye." "Livia says hello." "Giovanna Mongiardino's friend." " Didn't you ask enough questions yesterday?" " What do you mean?" "We got along well together." " I'm not interested." "Fazio, what can you tell us about Fernando Belli." " OK." "Fernando Belli, born in Genoa in 1954 married to a woman from Vigata, Giovanna Mongiardino." "He's the manager of Vigamare, a wholesale fish company." "He's rarely seen in town because he does most of his business in Genoa where he has another wholesale fish company." " How long has he been here in Vigata?" "They arrived in Vigata four days ago, to attend the Mongiardino's" "St. Calorio's celebrations." "They do the same at Christmas and Easter." "How did they meet?" "Gerlando, the wife's brother, and Belli met in the army." "After military service, Belli came to see his friend, met the lady and fell in love." " If Belli is in Genoa, who is responsible for the company here?" "Gerlando." " But it seems ..." " What?" "that Belli is not happy with the way he manages things." " Every time he comes here, they argue." " What about?" " No idea." "They may have kidnapped the little girl for ransom." "But the child has been freed." " Maybe she ran away." " Enough." " Or the kidnappers changed their minds." "Bullshit?" "Why would they?" "What if it was a sex maniac?" "Someone who wasn't able to take advantage of the girl?" "Fazio, a maniac would have had plenty of time to do whatever he wanted." "Why did they drop Laura at Riguccio's villa then?" "The real question is: why did the person who took Laura keep her for two hours in the car without harming her?" "Perhaps the person who took Laura was a woman." "Maybe the girl was seen by a married woman who cannot have children." "She sees the little girl is lost and her instinct is to take care of her." "She takes her to the car and is torn between the desire to kidnap her and the urge to return her to the parents." "Her maternal instinct.." "Sounds like a great movie script by that super cop Mimi Augello!" " Shove it up your ass!" " Excuse me!" "We've known each other for one day." "How long does it take before I'm authorized to to tell a subordinate to get lost?" " I have the same qualifications as you." " I was under the impression you were my deputy." "Would you please leave my office." "Don't you think you were a little too harsh with Dottor Augello?" "His theory wasn't that crazy." "Yes, but he went over the top." "He has to learn to stay in his place." "We still don't know the reason for the quarrel between Belli and Mongiardino." "I get onto it immediately." "Excuse me, I had to take a business call." "Not at all." "Thank you for seeing me." "I do not understand the reason for your insistence." "The story has ended well and I'm not going to complain formally." " A child was abducted." " But my daughter is fine now." " Are you sure it was a kidnapping?" " That's what I wanted to talk about." "I told you everything I knew." "She has been found she's well and I don't want any complications." " If I may, I'll leave now." "I have an engagement." " Has your fever gone?" "Yes, I feel better, thanks." " Could I talk with your wife?" " She's got a severe headache and doesn't want to see anyone." "Please excuse me." " Inspector, goodbye." " Goodbye." "The rose is beautiful." " Hello." " Hello, who are you?" " I am Salvo and you?" " I am Laura." " You're drawing?" "It's very good!" " Livia is teaching me." " How is she?" " Better, she's starting to to speak." " Did she say anything ..." " No, she hasn't said anything about what happened yesterday and if someone asks her, she retreats into silence." " Okay, I'll be going now, bye." " Bye!" " Goodbye." " Goodbye." "Dottore, it is already two meters long and still going." "Wait, I'll help." "This is from Marshal Picone, at the Guardia di Finanza." "Bring the rest to Dr. Augello when it's finished." "Come in." " May I?" " What do you want?" " Can I bring you some coffee as a peace offering?" "Are you are really an asshole or do you just like to act like one?" "You'll find out soon enough." " Picone has worked a miracle." " Investigations on Torrefelice?" " Yes." " Obviously you've read it before me." " Of course." " And of course you've already solved the case." " Not quite." "Just an hypothesis!" "Bring the papers." " Good afternoon." " Good afternoon." " Did you find them?" " Not yet." "Did you keep the boxes that the Torrefelice beer came in?" " Sure." " If they've been delivering to you for three years you should have ninety boxes." " Exactly." "Can I see them?" "Here, this is the beer department." "Be careful." "Here you go." "1990." " This is from last year." " Yeah." " These are from the other years." " Yes. - '89." " These too. - '88." "Let's see." "Check those." " There's nothing here." " So?" " Do the suppliers know that you always keep everything?" " Yes." "Okay, we'll put everything back." "Let me do it, you don't know where everything goes.." " Can you talk now?" " One second." "First things first." "Picone told us that the Torrefelice company belongs to the Pizzuso brothers of Messina." "So far, so good, because they are not previous offenders." "We have the customers' list and we know they do deliveries with five vans registered to them." " Did you find a suspicious client?" "Yes, Vincent Cacciatore." "He lives near Ferro the surveyor." "Furthermore, Cacciatore drinks beer like an Irishman." "Thirty cases of ten, every three months." "And Fazio gave me another piece of information." "Cacciatore was arrested several times for smuggling drug." " Where do these clues lead us to?" " The Pizzusos are not honest." "They are drug dealers, I do not know what kind of drug but it can surely be hidden in the bottle caps." "Among their customers, in Vigata, there's Vincenzo Cacciatore." "Once the courier mistakenly gave the case with the asterisk to Ferro instead of Cacciatore." " Then the Pizzusos noticed it, but they could not do anything more." " Yeah." " What excuse could they use to ask Ferro to return the beer?" " Right." "So they waited, knowing that the surveyor doesn't throw anything away." "They waited a year, then went to his house and stole the box of three hundred sixty five caps and drugs." "What do we do now?" "Cacciatore receives the beer delivery on the 10th of every month." "It's two days to the next delivery, so we could stop the truck open a bottle and find the drugs in the cap." " Yes, Augello, that's what we'll do." "Thanks, Salvo." "But you can call me Mimi." "Let's not rush things." "Excuse me, Doctor, there's a monsignore who wants to talk to you." "A monsignore?" " Let him in." " Please, monsignore" "Please sit down." "What can I do for you?" "Inspector, first of all, I must tell you something." "I came here because my wife gives me no peace." " Excuse me, monsignore, I'm afraid I don't understand..." " Monsignore?" "No, Bonsignore!" "My name is Ernesto Bonsignore and I have a shop selling fruit and vegetables in Gallotta." " I see." " Tell me." " Can I start with a question?" "Have you received any report of the abduction of a child?" " Why do you ask?" " Because something happened yesterday." "We went to St. Calorio's feast, but immediately after lunch as it was starting to rain, we decided to go home." "We were driving along the road that goes around Piano Torretta when the car ahead of us indicated to pull out in order to pass another car that was stopped with the rear door open." " What did you do?" "Inspector, what could I do?" "I kept going because a queue had formed behind us." "While overtaking the car with the girl, the road started to flood." "Could you see what was happening in the car?" " No." "I had to pay attention to the road but my wife saw." "Your wife thought she saw a kidnapping." "She was convinced that the man could not be the child's father because he was treating her..." " How?" " Too severely." "In fact my wife said: "Cruelly"." "Gallo and Paterno, you will stop here." "Fazio, you take the other side with me and then..." " Augello..." " Montalbano, you need me?" "No, I wanted to tell you that Bonsignore is here." "He appears to be a witness of the girl's kidnapping." "I just wanted to let you know." " Thanks." "But now I'm preparing for the ambush on the Pizzuso brothers." " I hope to be informed of the plan as soon as possible." " Certainly." "Then, when you are done organizing the Normandy landing come see me at home." " Is that an invitation to dinner?" " No." " If I work overtime, I want to be comfortable." " OK, let's go over it again." " You found a nice place here." " It was a stroke of luck." " Red wine?" " No, with clams a white is better, it is in the fridge." " This one?" " Yes." "Let's not talk anymore, in a little while the pasta will be ready." "And you do not talk when you eat." "It's a habit I picked up as a child." " What did Bonsignore say?" " Remember when you said that the kidnapping might have been carried out by a frustrated mother?" " Still want to tease?" " No, but maybe it was carried out by a disappointed father." "Bonsignore was passing Piano Torretta, but at some point he saw a girl trying to escape from a car." "Then a man pulled her back in again, very roughly." " Do you have a description of the man?" " No." " Did he say what kind of car it was?" " I didn't ask." " Why not?" "If I had asked any more questions, the whole village would be talking about it by now." "The Bonsignores will not forget a single detail of this story and if we need information, we will question them." "This confirms that there was a kidnapping attempt." "Yes, but it doesn't help the investigation." " We lack a fundamental fact." " What?" "Did the kidnapper simply take the first girl he found or did he grab the girl because he knew she was Belli's daughter?" "If he was after any girl, then everything is a matter of chance and an investigation becomes difficult." "But if he took her knowing who she was, the abduction was not random." " The abductor will have been in possession of other information." " Sure." "He knew that Bellis and Mongiardinos would go to Piano Torretta." "When did they decide?" "Who did they tell?" "The pasta!" "Perhaps the kidnapper hid by the house and followed them." " The San Calorio holiday is not compulsory." " True." "Other than the slap he gave her, he did nothing indeed, he took care that she would end in the right hands." "When he saw Dr. Riguccio's house, he left her opposite it so that she didn't need to cross the road." "Why these precautions?" "Maybe he was afraid to meet someone more cruel than himself." "Let's eat." "Livia!" "Listen what I thought." "You want to know who was aware of Belli's movements." "Livia is a friend of Giovanna's and she may know." " I'll call her..." " You're taking advantage of the investigation to be with a woman." " Are you jealous?" " What?" " You like her too." " I do not like her." " If you like her, I'll stand aside." " She's pretty, but this isn't the right time." " We are very different." "The parmigiana?" " Are you crazy?" "Parmesan cheese with clams?" " Yes." " No way." "You're right, we're very different." " Are you still here?" " I talked with Livia." " So?" "We met for a coffee." "She had a shirt..." "I don't give a damn." "Did you get the information?" "Of course." "By way of compensation I had to invite her to dinner." " What did she say?" "The night before the party, Belli told Giovanna, his wife, that he didn't want to go on a trip with the Mongiardino family, that she could go alone and that he would stay home." " Why?" "After lunch, there had been a violent argument with Gerlando." " Did Giovanna tell Livia what they argued about?" " No." "Then Giovanna persuaded her husband to go but there was a change of plan and instead of going to Marina Sicula, they went Piano Torretta." " Why?" " Belli's reason was that Piano Torretta is closer to Vigata and this way they would spend less time with her brother-in-law." "So Giovanna told her brother about the change of plan." " The Bellis and the Mongiardinos knew about the change." " And Livia too." "But who told the kidnapper about the change of destination?" "I don't know, but you could cut the atmosphere at the Mongiardino's with a knife." "After the quarrel between the two brothers, Giovanna spoke to her husband." " Why?" " She blamed him for everything that happened because he wanted to go to Piano Torretta." "If they had gone to Marina Sicula, nothing would have happened." " What kind of logic is this?" " You know what women are like." " Inspector, to what do I owe the honor?" " Good morning, sir." "I need to talk with your son-in-law, Fernando." "Is he at home?" "He left suddenly with my daughter and the girl." "They returned to Genoa." "Fernando received a phone call, packed up in a hurry and gave no explanation." " Just like that they are gone?" " Livia left too?" " No, she had a few more days of leave and didn't want to return to Genoa." "I told her she could stay here but she preferred a room at the Hotel Pirandello." " I understand." " Can I ask you some questions?" " Of course." "But let's go outside, it's better." " Can I get you anything?" "No, thank you." " This sudden departure surprises me a lot." " Me too." "They planned to stay another three days." "This is a rubber ball I'd bought it for Laura and now I'll have to paint it." "It's like the one that she had at the feast of St. Calorio and then lost." "Sir, I will be honest with you." "There is not much doubt now that it was an attempted kidnapping." "How can you say that?" "Couldn't it be..." "Two witnesses saw a man dragging Laura into a car." "My God!" "Do you know if Fernando, your son-in-law, has enemies?" "No, on the contrary, everyone loves him." "Can you tell me why your son and Fernando don't get along together?" "They disagree on how the company should be run." "The reason why Fernando no longer wanted to participate in the outing of San Calorio, was it linked to a recent discussion with Gerlando?" " Yes." " Maybe that's why Fernando and his daughter left early and not the mysterious phone call from Genoa." " It's possible." "I fear that those two have gotten to breaking point" " We don't sell retail." "Excuse me, I'm Inspector Montalbano." " Ah..would you like a couple?" " But you just said you don't sell retail." " I..." " Inspector." " Hello." " Your behavior is unacceptable." " I came to buy fish." "Don't pretend you don't understand." "You asked my father questions that have nothing to do with what happened to my granddaughter." "Please leave now." "Something bothers me about your niece's disappearance." " To set my mind at rest, I need to speak with all your family." " Fine." "You think she's been kidnapped." "But what does the alleged kidnapping have to do with your questions to my father about my relationship with Fernando?" " Right!" " What do you argue so much about?" " About the management of the company." "And how do your views about the company differ?" "I want Vigamare to expand into new markets and he wants it remains as it is." " Why doesn't he want to expand?" " Can I be honest?" " Of course." "Fernando set up this company as a favor to my sister." "Giovanna wanted to set me up and hoped that Vigamare would force her husband to return to Vigata." "Fernando has no interest in Vigamare." "Your father told me that your relationship is at a breaking point." " That is correct." " In what sense?" "Fernando resigned from the company before he left." " We went to the lawyer that same evening." " Who bought the shares?" " I did." " Congratulations!" " Thank you." " I hope I satisfied your concerns." " Perfectly." "Goodbye." " Have a good day." " Good day to you." " Inspector, what's up?" "The sardines are not good?" " I'm not hungry." "That's it." " Good evening." " Good evening, Inspector, you too here!" " Yes." "I'm here almost every day." "He introduced me to this place." "Why don't you join us." " No, I was about to leave." "Stay a while, five minutes." " Salvo usually goes to bed early." " I'll drink one last glass of wine with you." "Cheers!" "It's good!" "I told Mimi that I was surprised by Giovanna's departure." "I called her at home, but nobody answers." "That's odd, usually someone is there." "After what they have been through, they'll want a bit of peace and quiet." "Mimi said that two witnesses would confirm the abduction." "Mimi talks too much." "A police officer should be careful not to spread information." "The little advantage that we sometimes have on criminals can be thrown away by loose talk." " Don't you think?" " Talks like a school teacher." " But the lesson is interesting." "If it was a kidnapping, it was the fastest in history." "Perhaps it was a warning to Fernando to make him understand they could get to his loved ones." "Who would do such a thing here?" "Fernando lives and works in Genoa." " Have you decided?" " I leave you to your dinner." " Good evening." " Good evening to you." " See you tomorrow, Montalbano." " Mimi, tomorrow morning I'll pick you up at 5am." " At 5am?" " At 5am." " You said at 10." "Didn't they teach you, at Interpol, that for an ambush you should check the territory, the place, the escape routes..." "These are things that require many hours." "Signorina, be sure to send him to bed early." "Sure, I also want to go to bed early tonight." " Goodbye." " Goodbye." "Then, marinated anchovies fried squid, red mullet..." "The motherfucker is late." "Why did we come here four hours ago?" " Don't you know the procedures...?" " You're a huge asshole." "If you were interested in Livia, why didn't you say so, instead of behaving like this?" "I go to Calogero's nearly very night." " And then she invited me to the table." " You're a hypocrite." "And you're a womanizer." " You are ridiculous, Mimi." "I called you Mimi, are you happy?" " I am a womanizer." " But I'm better than you and your holier-than-thou airs..." " Shut up." " I'll speak if I want to." " Shut up and look." " Finally!" "All right?" "Had a good trip?" " Yes." " Stop, police!" " What's going on?" " Up against the wall!" "Inspector, I haven't done anything." " You're making a big mistake, there's nothing wrong here." " We'll see." " Has drinking beer become a crime?" " Quiet." " Anything there?" " Nothing." "Next time, send some adults." " You shut up." " And what about this?" " Take him!" " Stop!" "Stop him!" "Fazio!" "Are you all right?" " My heart." " What?" " I'm not well, Dottore." "Gallo, take the car!" "Hurry up!" "Fazio!" " Excuse me, where is the resuscitation unit?" " Down at the bottom." " Thanks." " Madam!" " Inspector!" " Is there any news?" " I know nothing." " No one tells me anything." " Be strong, everything will be fine" " Did you call your son?" " Yes." " Inspector Montalbano?" " Yes." " There is a phone call for you." "There." " Hello?" " How's Fazio?" " I don't know yet." " You have news?" " Yes, good news, you were right." "The drug was not under the round, it was the round itself." "I also have the results of the analysis of little Laura's clothes." "On the dress there were traces of sauce, jam and motor oil." "The pants were stained with pee." "She must have been very scared." "We'll talk later in the police station." "I have to go now." " Where are you going?" " I am Inspector Montalbano." "He is a friend of mine." " Sorry, you can't go in there." " At least tell me how is he." " He'll make it." " Will there be any consequences ?" " The gentleman will enjoy a peaceful retirement." " Retirement?" " So he won't work again?" " He had a heart attack." "His job has become too risky for him." "Goodbye." "Bastards!" "Mafia!" "Cowards!" " You do not even dare to put your head out!" " Calm down!" "You'll have a heart attack!" "Calm down." "I'm just peacefully expressing my thoughts." "I'm not breaking any laws." "Bastards!" "Cowards!" "Come out!" " Calm down, nobody's coming out." " What's going on?" " Now we'll sort everything out." " I am an honest citizen." "I'm protesting against a corrupt system." " That's all I'm doing." " If you don't go away, I'll have you arrested." "Bravo, arrest me and let Don Balduccio Sinagra go free and those like him who are killing free enterprise." " Mr. Farruggia, come here, please." " I'll take this." " How do you do, I'm Inspector Montalbano." " Have you come to inspect a game of Cops and Robbers?" "I'll pretend I didn't hear that." "Now, what's the problem?" "I own a small construction company." "I haven't been able to get a contract for months." "I always lose out to companies I've never heard of." " Do you know these companies?" " Sure, they're all linked to Don Sinagra." "Now that the charges against him have been dropped" "I'll be forced to declare bankruptcy because I am an honest person." " What's your intention?" "Do you want to press charges?" " What's the use?" "However there is a way to succeed in obtaining a contract." "Don Sisino Cuffaro, Don Balduccio Sinagra's traditional rival, once sent a henchman to offer me protection." "I would have gotten contracts and he would have joined the Board of Directors although I would have remained officially the administrator." " What do you think I did?" " You sent him away." "I don't think Farruggia was lying, he knew what he was saying." "I want the names of all of Sinagra's companies together with their registered address." "You'll find something in Court or the Chamber of Commerce." " I can find this information, but then?" " What does "then" mean?" "He's a Mafia boss who has resumed business in the construction industry." " It's something bigger than us." " Things are not bigger than us." "We don't feel strongly enough about issues that need to be addressed." "Say it again!" "I want to write it down, it's beautiful." " Stop it." " I'll get on it." " Augello!" " What else do you want?" "I wanted to tell you..." "What?" "Livia!" "My dear!" " How are you?" " Fine, I must speak with Salvo." "It's very important." " I need to talk to you." " Now?" " Yes." "Okay, let's go." "I was thinking of what we said at the restaurant." " Can I call you Salvo?" " Of course." "The most normal thing would be to talk to the girl." "Then I remembered that she loves to draw and after the abduction she drew a lot of pictures." " Yes, I remember." "I thought they could help and so I brought them." "Want to see them?" " Sure." " Shall we sit here?" " What's this?" " Does it mean something to you?" "You can recognize some elements of the kidnapping scene." "The car, the man." "Even the ball, Laura had one." "But it is strange that both the man and Laura are outside the car." "Laura was not wet, and during the storm she was indoors." "That's right." "However they are inside this rectangle." " You can conclude that it was indoors." " Maybe it's a garage." "It could be." "While we were looking for her, she was in a garage?" "Laura's clothes had traces of motor oil, so..." " So she was in a garage." " Yes, she was." " Thanks, you were a great help." " Thank you." " Hello?" " Hello, Giuseppe, I would like to know how your father is." " He's feeling better, they let him go." " Already?" " You know my father." "He said that he wanted to return to work." " They let him out in despair." "He is resting now." " Okay." "Tell your father that one of these days I'll come to see him and that he must do what the doctors say." " Okay." " See you soon!" " Bye!" " Hello?" "It's Montalbano." " Do you always answer like this?" " Like what?" "Like a policeman." "I am a policeman." "How are you?" " Fine, I wanted to know if there's any news." " News?" "No." "I was thinking about what we found out by studying Laura's drawings and I would like to find the garage where she was held." "The area shouldn't be too large." "I know that it's a bit irregular, but could I come with you tomorrow?" "What?" "Come with me?" " You really want to come with me?" " Is it not possible?" "It isn't." "However..." " All right, I'll come and pick you in the afternoon?" " OK, see you tomorrow." " Sleep well." " You too." "Shit!" "The Police at Montelusa sent you this." " They said you requested it." " It has finally arrived." "Thanks, you may go." "What do you want?" "I said you can go." "Thanks." " You're welcome, Dottore." " Augello..." " "Augello"!" " Why are you laughing?" "Don't pretend not to understand." "Have you scored with the lady from Genoa?" ""Scored?" What kind of language is that?" "I stepped aside because it's obvious that she likes you." "But if you don't want to see the game through to the end, let me know because I'll get up from the reserves' bench and start warming up." "I'll pretend I didn't hear that." "Do you have anything important to tell me?" "Yes." "I have come to report on the financial investigation." "I note with pleasure that occasionally you actually do some work." "Bravo." "Thanks." " What is it?" " You take notes like Fazio?" "So what?" "We are not here to learn poems by heart like at school!" "You are absurd." "So..." "Balduccio Sinagra has, and has not, four companies that are able to compete for public works contracts." "What do you mean by "has and has not"?" "For some time these companies were in difficulty." "In order to continue operating they needed to pay off their debts but there was no money." "Three months ago, a miracle happened." "The four companies found the the money to settle their debts, but..." "But?" "Were they forced to change hands?" "No, they didn't change hands." "The manager remained in place and the board is the same." "However, now the board has a new member:" "Balduccio." "He always appears together with another name." "In these four companies, Balduccio officially doesn't count for much." "However unofficially he is the owner of all four companies." " The others are stooges." " Exactly." "Balduccio put in the money to stabilize the companies." "We'll soon have to start counting the dead." "The Cuffaros won't stand still and watch one of Sinagra's men doing as he wishes." "Do you think that gang warfare could break out again?" "You said that on the new boards alongside Balduccio another name also appears." "Whose?" " Calogero Infantino." " Who?" "Calogero Infantino." "He's got a clean record." "He owns a shop, a wholesale supplier of electrical appliances." " Now what?" " Do you know who Calogero Infantino is?" " No." " He's the husband of Angelina Cuffaro." "Shit." "The Sinagras and Cuffaros working together?" "One of Cuffaro's men offered to buy out Farruggia." "So there won't be any bodies to count, the two clans will work together." "Definitely." "At least until one of them gets greedy and violates the agreement, then everything will be as it was before." "Have you a photo of Calogero Infantino?" "I think so." "Here it is." " It's him?" " It's who?" "This is the man who talked with Gerlando Mongiardino." "The Sinagras and Cuffaros share the property market and are involved in everything." "They also took over Vigamare." "You mean the Mafia gave Mongiardino the money to buy out his brother in law?" "I think so." "In fact, I'm sure." "If you had been a little further from the road nothing would have happened to the girl" " Yes, it's true." "How will you find the garage?" "We'll have to search the area from here to Dr. Riguccio's villa and see if the houses have a garage with rolling shutters." " How good is your eyesight?" " 20-20." " Good." " Why are we stopping here?" " I have to deliver something." " It won't take a minute." "Will you wait here?" " No, I'll come with you." "Come on, don't be discouraged." "I didn't want to say anything, it was an impossible task." "I didn't think it was so hard to tell whether a house has a garage." " I've wasted your time, sorry." " I had fun." "I give you warning, he's a strange person." " In what sense?" " You'll see." "My caps!" "Thank you, Inspector." "Thank you." "I'm so happy." " The caps?" " Yes, I'll explain you later." "Surveyor, the insides of the caps are missing." "However I'm sure you've read the papers." "Yes, patience." "Excuse me, why did you bother to come here?" "You could have called me, I would have come to pick them up." "It's no bother." "I was passing by for a survey that has proved fruitless in the end." "I'm sorry, what was it?" "I'm pursuing an investigation." "I need to know which houses in this area have a brick garage." " But I wasn't able to find out." " Signorina, Inspector!" "Come with me." "I worked forty years at Vigata's City Council." "I was in charge of the technical department." "However I believe..." "I think I can be helpful." " What are these?" " The maps of the town." "You can check quickly and accurately which homes have brick garages." "Was I helpful, Inspector?" "You don't know how much!" "Here I am." "Sorry, but as a dinner it is not the best." " In the area there are three houses with garages." " Yes." "I have transcribed the names of the owners." "Bonito, Di Gregorio..." "And Zirretta." "It will be easy to find out about them." " We did a good job." " Yes." "What an idiot!" "I forgot the bread." "Come in." "Catarella said you were looking for me." " You all right?" " Yes, why do you ask?" "No reason, you look strange." " What are those?" " Drawings that little Laura Belli did in the last few days." "We saw them with Livia ..." "I think that perhaps while she was abducted she was kept in a garage." " If you say so!" " I obtained a map that extends from Piano Torretta to Gallotta." "Together with Li..." "I made a list of all the owners of apartments with garages." "Gaspare Bonito, Francesco Di Gregorio" "Federico Zirretta." "Let me know all about these people." "Questions?" "Just one." "Have you scored yet?" " What the fuck are you doing?" "If you hit me in the face, you could kill me!" " Get out." "I don't understand!" " He's on the terrace." " Will I be disturbing him?" " No, he'll be happy." "I won't talk shop." "Dad, Inspector Montalbano has come to see you." " Dottore, what a pleasure!" " How are you?" " Fine" " I'll leave you alone." " Thank you, Giuseppe." "Doctors don't understand anything." "According to them I should spend one month convalescing." "A month passes quickly." "I get bored just sitting around without doing anything!" "Now Giuseppe is about to leave." "He's going back to Rome." " He's finished his leave, and I'll be left alone." " He's a good kid." " You two look alike very much." " To me he looks like his mother." ""Don't do this, don't do that."" "Any progress on the investigation into the kidnapped girl?" "No, there's nothing new." "I asked Augello to make checks on some suspects." " Now we're waiting." " And Dottor Augello?" "He doesn't know anyone here." " He could put his foot in it and spoil everything." " Don't worry." " Augello knows what he's doing." " You're right, I am sorry." "Doing nothing, the brain..." "This is a really nice place." "If I'd known, I'd have brought a deck of cards." " I would have given you a briscola lesson." " Are you kidding?" " No." "Salvo." " Montalbano, I have the information you asked for." " Good." "Now." "Bonito works as cashier in the branch that Tenacra has in the harbor." "They all say that he's an honest man." "The other two?" "Zirretta has worked for thirty years at the prison." "The manager said he is a model employee and also organizes programs for the benefit of the prisoners." " The last?" " Now things get interesting." "Three months ago, Di Gregorio rented the villa to a certain..." "Hold on." "Arena Giacomo, fifty years old." "Arena calls himself a haulier." " He has a van with which he does small deliveries." " So?" "Arena is not clean, two years ago he was arrested for possessing a gun without a firearms license." " Is that all?" " He's the son of Arena Romualdo, known as "Rorro`"." "Rorro used to belong to the Sinagra family." "So three months ago Giacomo Arena, a virtual pauper rented a villa that costs ..." " A million a month." "He signed a one-year contract and bought a nice car." "Salvo, I think he works for Don Balduccio like his father before him." "I think so too, but we have no evidence." "Let's follow him discreetly and try to get a good photograph of his face." "The gate is opening." " Now!" "Now!" " I didn't get it in time." " Now." " Nothing." " The tree's in the way." " Shit!" " I can't see his face, just his back." " Wait." "Where the fuck are you going?" "Where is he going?" "I've got him, but only his shoulders." "Excuse me!" "Excuse me." " I see that you do removals." "I..." " Not anymore!" " Fuck off!" " Thanks anyway." "The next time you do something like that I'll kick your ass!" " Did you get the picture?" " I think so, but I'm not sure." "Do you know who Arena works for?" "For Infantino, the unsuspected wholesaler of electrical appliances." "Don Cuffaro's daughter's husband." "One of the Cuffaros gives a job to the son of a Sinagra family boss." "The two great enemies have become allies." "Why?" "The war between the families gets in the way of business." "So Don Balduccio offered the Cuffaros a kind of Mafia peace." "When Don Balduccio wanted to expand into the fish market he found an obstacle, Fernando Belli." "Fernando is an honest man and doesn't want to do business with him." "Balduccio identifies the company's weakest link, Mongiardino." "He explains the advantages he could get if Balduccio joins the company." " Exactly." "Gerlando talks to Fernando about the proposal, but Fernando sends him packing." "But how does Mongiardino benefit by dealing with Balduccio?" "Maybe he thinks that this way he'll have more freedom to pocket money from the company." "When Don Balduccio understands that Gerlando has failed to convince Fernando to sell Vigamare he decides to kidnap his daughter." "He asks Gerlando about the places that the Bellis frequent." "Maybe he says it'll be a fake kidnapping, that the girl won't get hurt." "To carry out the kidnapping, he calls Giacomo Arena." "It's plausible." "But what proof do we have?" "Words!" "Maybe now we have proof." "Coming!" " Good afternoon." " Good afternoon." "I wanted to thank you for what you did for my son." " I made these just now." " Is this what I think it is?" "Please sit down." "Is this what I think?" "How can I thank you!" " Holy Mother!" "May I?" " I made them specially for you." " Dottore, forgive me." " What is it?" "." " Do you do the cleaning yourself?" "What cleaning?" "I never have time." "Of course, in a house you need a female hand." "Right!" "Excuse me, weren't you working part-time for some family?" "Could you also come to me to do some cleaning and cooking?" " What do you think?" " Dottore, I'd be happy to." " I'm happy too." "We have a deal." " Done!" " Good morning." " Inspector, to what do I owe the pleasure?" "It's just a formality." " Who is this gentleman?" " Don't you recognize him?" "Could it be the person you saw with the girl?" "Now that I think of it there is a certain similarity." "However I do not feel..." "You see, inspector?" " It all happened so quickly." " Show one to your wife." "There's no point, my wife is short-sighted and wasn't wearing glasses." " Inspector, I'm sorry." " Okay." "Goodbye." "Goodbye." " Sorry I'm late." " It doesn't matter." "What's wrong?" " I'm at a dead end." "I have a photo of the man who might have kidnapped the girl but witnesses say they didn't see him clearly" "The questore will not authorize me to search the garage because he says that I have nothing concrete." " What do you hope to find?" "That's the same question the questore asked." "I don't know." "So why do you persist?" "You think you might find something that Laura lost while she was there." "But when Laura came back she was wearing the same things as when she was kidnapped." " Bracelets, necklaces, rings." " No." " Clips in the head, ribbons." " No." "Dead end." "It's strange." "Tomorrow I go back to work, but I'm sad." "It's the first time I've felt this way." "Usually when I'm so far away from home, I want to go back." "Not this time." "I'm sorry that you are leaving too." "The time that we've spent together..." "I don't want you to think that I'm trying..." " OK" " I..." " You?" "What the h..." " Sorry." " Careful!" "I said that I..." " What is it?" " The ball." " The ball?" "When Laura was kidnapped, she had a ball." "When we found her at Riguccio's house, she didn't have it anymore." "True." "Livia, sorry." "I have to get back to the police station in a hurry." "I'll call you tomorrow so I'll tell you..." "We'll talk tomorrow!" " Are you still awake?" " What happened?" "I think I know how to catch Arena." " But I need everyone's cooperation." " Now?" " No." "Now I have to explain the plan." "Tomorrow take Paterno and a car and go to Infantino." "Ask about of all Arena's deliveries for the day." "Infantino will see the police car and get nervous!" "That's what I want." "Let me finish." "After you get this information you follow Arena." "When you are in a secure and isolated place, you stop him." " For what reason?" " Any." "A broken taillight." "I don't know." "However you have to take your time." "He needs to lose his patience." "Then you arrest him for causing a disturbance and bring him here." " And what will you be doing?" "I'm going to talk to a gentleman whose only crime is having a useless child." "You have been right from the beginning." "I could not believe that he would stoop that low." "You think you can make him pay for it?" "I am not asking it for me, but for those two terrible hours that he inflicted on an innocent child." "I can do it if you will help me." " What do you want me to do?" " Give me this." " Is it the same as the one you made for your niece." " Identical." "However I can only lend it to you." "I want to send it to Laura in Genoa." "Okay." " Catarella, what is this mess?" " Dottore, a mess!" " What happened?" " It's OK, he only punched me four times." " All in his face!" " Arena is in the security cell." " What was the problem?" " When we stopped him, he recognized me." "He said: "You're the guy who asked about removals!"" ""You're following me, fucking cop!" He tried to punch me." "But I was quicker and hit him on the nose." "Then he attacked Paterno`." " Did he hurt you?" " No!" " Why are you pissed with me?" "I want you to take Gallo, turn on the sirens, go to Vigamare and bring me Gerlando Mongiardino." " Should I arrest him?" " No, but go hard on him." " Then?" " Then comes the complicated part." "We have to be careful and get our timing right." " We're taking a shortcut." " What?" "Come in." " Inspector, I do not understand." " What?" "If you wanted to see me, you only had to call and I'd have come." " I've been treated like a crook!" " Mimi, are you crazy?" "Did I order you to treat Mr. Mongiardino like a criminal?" " No." " No!" "You always do whatever you want!" "Go now, we'll talk about it later." "I apologise, we did not want to treat you like a criminal." "Please be seated." "Inspector, I do not have much time." "It is not an excuse." " I have an appointment in half an hour." " A business appointment?" "No, of another kind." " A woman?" " Every so often a little distraction." " You're a man, you understand." " I understand well." "However I won't take more than ten minutes, I promise." "Please take a seat." "What do you want to talk about?" "I have some news about the alleged abduction of your niece." "I wanted to ask if you know a certain Giacomo Arena." "Arena..." " No, I don't think so." " No?" "No." "What's that?" "This?" "Yes." "It's the ball your niece was playing with when she was kidnapped." " We found it." " Where?" "Come in!" "Leave me alone!" "What the fuck you want from me?" " I was drinking..." " Shut up!" " Dickhead!" "You need to shut up!" "You've been shouting since this morning." " Are you done with him?" " For now I'm done with him." " Back in the cell." " Dickhead!" "Excuse me." "That was Mr. Giacomo Arena." "We found your niece's ball in his garage" "This proves that there has been a kidnapping." "The two witnesses I spoke of last time recognized Arena from a couple of photographs." "What has this Mr. Arena to do with me?" "The problem is that this gentleman has begun to name a few names." " For instance?" " For instance" "Balduccio Sinagra, Calogero Infantino and..." " And?" " You, great piece of shit." "Inspector, I didn't want to do it." "I didn't want to." "It was Balduccio Sinagra, he organized everything." " I assure you that it was not my intention ..." " Shh." "No need, you can tell the whole story to the District Attorney." "In your own time, there's no hurry." "Don't worry." " At Interpol, didn't they teach you the shortcut?" " No." " But you could teach them a thing or two." " Yes." "It's late." "Did you notice?" "While we were doing the shortcut with Mongiardino you called me Mimi twice." " Maybe you earned it." "It's late, I have some urgent business." "Montalbano, you work too hard!" "Can you come out for a minute?" " What have you done?" " I ran." " I wanted to tell you the case is closed." " What happened?" "Gerlando confessed." "He gave the names of Infantino, whom we arrested, and Sinagra." " Sinagra?" " Not yet, he wasn't at home." "He'll have escaped." " So he's on the run again." " I'm sorry for Giovanna." "However I never liked the brother." "I'm glad." " But I have to go now." " I could give you a ride to the airport." "What time is your flight?" "Maybe I can take one more day of vacation." "Will you kiss me?"