Page 5 of Murder in Portofino

‘That’s what we’re trying to find out. I don’t suppose you know where she might have gone? Have you seen her recently?’

She paused for a few moments’ reflection. ‘Not for a few days. I think the last time I saw her was, let me think, Friday night. Yes, last Friday night. She and one of her paramours came home at two o’clock in the morning and woke me up. I looked out of the window and saw them canoodling in the street before going indoors. She can be quite inconsiderate sometimes, although she’s pleasant enough if you meet her and chat to her in the street.’

I relayed the information to Diana that her sister had been seen as recently as just five days ago and I saw her nod a couple of times.

‘I told Mum and Dad not to worry. Anyway, that’s very good news.’

I checked with the observant neighbour but she was unable to offer any suggestions about where Heather might have gone except for repeating what the director of studies had said. ‘She’s probably gone off for a few days’ holiday. It gets so manic here during festival time, I don’t blame her.’

Diana and I thanked her for her help and set off along the street until we came to a gelateria with tables outside in the shade. We sat down and both ordered mineral water and ice creams and I put in a plea for some water for Oscar as well. After the waiter had gone off, I turned towards Diana.

‘What do you think? That all sounded very positive. Do you think your mum and dad will still be worried after they’ve heard this?’

She shook her head. ‘As far as I’m concerned, this means everything’s okay and I’m sure Mum and Dad will agree. It sounds as if Heather’s got a boyfriend – and that comes as no surprise, knowing her – so I bet they’ve just gone off somewhere together and she couldn’t be bothered to tell any of us. I certainly don’t think we need to involve the police now, do we?’

‘I think I’ll just give this Rose woman a call. You never know, Heather may have said something to her about where she was going.’

I waited until the waiter had brought me a mixture of peach, apricot and vanilla ice cream and what had been described on the menu as a ‘Chocolate Mountain’ for Diana. This was a pyramid of white and dark chocolate ice cream liberally smothered in Chantilly cream. I caught her eye and grinned. ‘That should keep you out of trouble for a while.’

She grinned back and that grin was repeated by Oscar when he saw that the waiter had very kindly brought him, not only a bowl of cool water, but also a handful of those fan-shaped biscuits you find on an ice-cream sundae. Needless to say, these were consumed before we even had time to pick up our spoons. Oscar likes his food but he doesn’t exactly linger over it and savour it.

The ice cream was predictably excellent and from the speed with which Diana started devouring hers – not quite in the same league as Oscar but pretty fast all the same – it looked as though she shared my opinion. After a few delicious mouthfuls, I picked up my phone and called Heather’s fellow teacher. It was answered almost immediately.

‘Pronto.’

I spoke to her in English. ‘Is that Rose Alighieri?’

‘Yes, who’s speaking?’ In spite of her surname, she sounded distinctly Scottish.

‘Sorry to disturb you, my name’s Dan Armstrong. I’m here in Lucca with Diana Greensleeves, Heather’s sister, and we’re looking for her. Mr Smith at the English school gave us your number. We were wondering if you might know where she’s gone.’

After a momentary pause for thought, Rose answered. ‘She’s on holiday. She told me last week she was going off on a cruise, but I’m not sure where.’

‘Thanks for that. We wondered if she’d maybe gone off on holiday. Any idea if she’s on her own?’

I heard a little laugh. ‘Knowing Heather, I think the answer to that one is almost certainly no. You can be sure she’s gone off with one of her men and I bet I know which one.’

‘And he might be…?’

‘Mario, or maybe it’s Mauro, I forget. He’s the one with the Ferrari and the yacht. I bet she’s with him.’

‘A Ferrari and a yacht? Who is this guy: a professional football player?’

‘Search me. I didn’t know there were such rich men here in Lucca. Me, I ended up with a pharmacist as a husband.’

I tried pushing her to discover the surname or address of Heather’s holiday companion but it became clear that Heather’s love life consisted of a panoply of men and Rose was unable to produce any more details. As for the cruise, she had no idea except that it was almost certainly here in local waters. I heard a little child begin to cry in the background and hastily thanked Rose for her help and rang off. I recounted what she had said and Diana gave me a long-suffering look.

‘That’s our Heather! I would have laid money on her having gone off somewhere with some random man – mind you, a Ferrari and a yacht is a bit OTT even for her.’ Before resuming her ice cream, she confirmed that she was feeling the same way as I was. ‘I think on the basis of what we’ve heard, we can take it that Heather’s alive and well, don’t you?’

I nodded in agreement. ‘Definitely, and I certainly don’t think there’s any need to involve the police.’

She picked up her spoon again. ‘Thank you for all your help. I’m sorry to have troubled you. I told Mum and Dad they were worrying about nothing, but they insisted.’

‘No problem. I’ll give you my phone number just in case you need me, but I think you should be able to relax now.’ It occurred to me that this had to be one of the easiest cases I’d ever handled. Presumably, Heather Greensleeves was away sunning herself with her well-heeled boyfriend and this was the last I would hear of her. As for her sister, she had at least had a few hours in a beautiful city. ‘What are your plans? Are you staying on to see Bob Dylan on Friday?’

She shuddered. ‘Not if you paid me. I sing better in the bath than he does. Besides, I’m flying home tomorrow.’ She shot me an enquiring look. ‘Are you going to the concert?’ Seeing me nod, she asked the obvious question. ‘Are you a Dylan fan?’

I gave her a wink. ‘I’ll know better after I’ve seen him.’

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