Page 45 of The Tuscan Child
“This man can watch for you,” he said, waving dismissively at Renzo.
“This man is an important customer. He was buying vegetables for the festival tomorrow,” I said, feeling my face turning bright red with embarrassment. “I could not ask him to spend more time.” I was stumbling over the Italian words now, flustered. “I do not know how to answer your questions,” I added. “I speak only a little Italian. I am a visitor from England.”
“But you were speaking with this man. I saw you.” The inspector wagged an accusing finger. He certainly used his hands a lot in his speech.
“That was because we were speaking in English,” I said. “This man worked in London.”
“Then he shall come with you to be your translator,” the inspector said.
“I have business that needs to be taken care of,” Renzo said coldly. “I don’t have time.”
“I am not requesting,” the inspector said. “This is a command from the police. It should not take long.” He looked up. “Ah, here comes the lady now, returning to her vegetables. Good. Come with me.”
Paola was rushing toward us, her face ready to do battle. “What is this? What is going on?” she demanded.
“The inspector from Lucca,” I said, nodding at him. “He wishes to ask me questions.”
“We have told the Carabinieri all that we know,” Paola said. “This young lady is a stranger here. She cannot help you and I do not wish her to be upset.”
“She will not be upset if she answers my questions and tells me the truth. Come, follow me now. It is Saturday, and I wish to get this matter sorted out as quickly as you do.”
With that he put a hand on my elbow and literally steered me across the piazza to the municipal building. I glanced back at Renzo. He was speaking with Paola, presumably reserving the items that he wanted. He was still giving her instructions as he followed us toward the dark doorway. The young Carabinieri agent was turned out of his desk with a mere wave of the hand. The inspector took his place.
“You will stay and take notes,” the inspector said to the agent who was about to sneak from the room. “Bring a chair for the young lady and you may sit at the desk beside me.”
The young man returned with a chair and then took his place beside the inspector, looking extremely uncomfortable. There was no chair for Renzo. He stood behind me. I was not only embarrassed now, I was scared. I had seen the contempt for me in Renzo’s face. What if he mistranslated my answers to make me seem guilty of Gianni’s murder? My heart was thudding in my chest.
“Now,” the inspector said. “Your name, your address, and your reason for your visit.”
I looked up at Renzo, wanting to give the impression that I didn’t even understand these simple commands. I slowly gave my name and address. “I came here because my father was a British pilot. His plane was shot down near here in the war and I wanted to see the spot for myself.”
Renzo translated this. The inspector nodded.
“You arrived in this town when?”
“Only two days ago.” It felt much longer.
“And you were the one who found the body of Gianni Martinelli?”
“Signora Rossini and I found the body together,” I said. “I sleep in the little house at the bottom of her garden. The water comes from the well behind my room. I wanted to take a shower but there was no water. I went to find the signora and told her. Together we lifted the heavy lid from the well and saw the body. We both screamed and were very upset.”
The inspector listened to the translation, then watched the young policeman writing down notes. He looked up at me. “What did you do then?”
“We sent the signora’s daughter to fetch the Carabinieri. They came and removed the body from the well. It wasn’t easy. Someone had stuffed him in head first so that his head was in the water. It was horrible.”
“Did you recognise the man when they brought him out?”
“I did,” I said. “I had seen him the night before.”
“Ah. So you knew him?”
“I didn’t know him. He was one of the men who were sitting around the table in the piazza. I asked them if they remembered my father, but none of them did.”
“That is all?”
“Yes,” I said. “That was the only time I ever saw this man.”
There was an unpleasant smirk on the inspector’s face now. “This is not what I hear,” he said. “I heard that Gianni was most interested in you. He flirted with you. He offered to show you his farm.”
