Page 24 of Murder in Verona

She then told me pretty much the same as the others had about him having been a womaniser in the past but she, like her brother, indicated that she felt sure he had calmed down since last autumn. ‘Marrying Alessia was the very best thing that could have happened to him. She finally managed to get him to settle down and we were all very relieved about that.’

‘Tell me about Alessia. Do you and she get on well together?’

She nodded. ‘Yes, I have a lot of time for her. She works hard, she’s very talented and she’s done well for herself. I also believe she genuinely loved Rodolfo. I know Violetta and Ingrid didn’t approve of her, but I think that’s more a reflection on their lack of tolerance than on Alessia.’

‘So you can’t imagine her having been involved in her husband’s death?’

‘Good Lord above, no. Absolutely not. Like I told you, she genuinely loved him and he loved her. I’m quite sure of that.’ Yet another person contradicting what Violetta had told me. It certainly sounded as if it had been a match made in heaven – to all but the mother-in-law. ‘You mentioned your sister-in-law, Ingrid, and that relations between her and Alessia might not have been that close. Can you tell me a bit more?’

‘Ingrid made no secret of the fact that she believed Alessia hadonly got together with Rodolfo for his money. This is patently ridiculous because Alessia is very well off in her own right and, besides, it was perfectly clear to me and to most people that it was a love match between them.’

‘So why do you think Ingrid was so hard on her?’

Rosina’s answer raised my eyebrows.

‘Can I tell you something in confidence, Mr Armstrong?’ I nodded and she continued. ‘Strictly between the two of us, and I mean just the two of us, I think it takes one to know one.’

‘You’re saying that you think Ingrid married your brother for his money?’ Could it be that Rodolfo’s success had made Ingrid begin to think she might have married the wrong cousin? The ramifications of this were fascinating and I listened attentively to what Rosina had to say about her sister-in-law.

‘I’ve always thought that. All right, they’ve been married now for ten years and I suppose if she had just been into Alfredo for his money, she could have divorced him by now, but I have little doubt that his wealth was the main stimulus driving her when she first met and then married him. Have you met her?’

‘Not yet.’

‘Well, you’ll see that she’s a very beautiful woman, and she’s always known it. Ten years ago, she played the field until she found herself her very own millionaire.’

My mind was racing. Might the beautiful Ingrid have developed an illicit relationship with her husband’s womanising cousin? Had that ended with the arrival of Alessia and might this have stirred her into an outburst of jealous rage? I tried to dig a bit deeper into Ingrid’s relationship with her husband. ‘Would you say that she and your brother have a happy marriage?’

She shrugged. ‘I suppose so, although I know he would have wanted children.’

‘And Ingrid doesn’t?’

Rosina’s expression became more disapproving. ‘The way she put it to me once was that she had no intention of ruining her body for the sake of producing a little leech. Ingrid has a very clear sense of priorities, and number one on the list is herself.’

I sat in silence for a few seconds while I considered what I’d just been told. Could it be that Ingrid’s interest in money had stimulated her to commit murder in the hope of seeing her husband take over Rodolfo’s share of the business? Alternatively, had the ‘very beautiful woman’ fallen for the charms of her husband’s cousin, only to be dumped when he met and married Alessia? Desertion can be a powerful motivator for murder. Something was for sure: I knew I wanted to sit down and talk to Ingrid sooner rather than later.

My conversation with Rosina continued and she told me more about her role in the business. From what she said, it was clear thatshehad been running the company, not her brother, and I felt sure she was a very capable woman. I also tended to believe what she said and I certainly came away from the meeting less likely to include her in a list of potential murder suspects.

But the same could not be said about Ingrid.

13

THURSDAY MORNING

The main police station in Verona is a modern concrete building on the banks of the river. I managed to find a parking space on the opposite pavement and as I walked over to the entrance with the precious plastic bag of evidence in my hands, I was amazed to see crowds of people queuing outside the security fence surrounding the station. From the languages I heard as I walked past them, it seemed likely that the majority if not all of these were asylum seekers. Luckily, I found a police constable by the main gate and I was able to explain that I had potentially important evidence relating to the death of Rodolfo Argento and he allowed me to jump the queue. He made a quick call and two minutes later, a female police officer emerged from the building and beckoned to me to accompany her. She led me inside and up two flights of stairs to a scene familiar to me after my years at Scotland Yard.

I found myself in a large open-plan office with desks either side of a central corridor and glazed offices every now and then to provide an element of privacy. She led me to one of these and I read the nameIspettore Massimo Venturaon the door.

‘The inspector’s in charge of the Argento enquiry. You can show him your evidence.’

Massimo Ventura looked up as I came in and waved towards a seat on the opposite side of a desk almost concealed beneath heaps of paperwork and I felt an immediate sense of camaraderie. It had been a standing joke in my office that nobody had ever seen the surface of my desk beneath its permanent covering of files. Ventura was probably ten years younger than me and he was completely bald. In an attempt to compensate, he had grown a beard, which covered his face and ended weirdly at ear level. I sat down and passed him across one of my cards. He took it from me and studied it for a few seconds before looking up.

‘An English private investigator? That’s unusual. I assume you’re looking into the death of Rodolfo Argento. Is that correct?’ I hastened to explain how a chance meeting with Violetta had got me involved with the case and he nodded. ‘I had a feeling the old lady might want to go private. She was convinced that it was murder and she seemed to hold me personally responsible for not being able to prove it.’

I gave him a smile in return. ‘Signora Violetta is a redoubtable character. She certainly knows her own mind. Anyway, what I’ve come to show you might be of interest.’ I set the plastic bag on his desk and explained where I had found it while he listened intently before taking it from me.

‘You’re right, this could be very interesting. Can I take it that we aren’t going to find your fingerprints on it?’

‘Apart from possibly a print or two at the top when I first touched it in the bin, but I immediately used a tissue from then on and I can give you my prints for exclusion.’

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