Andrea Camilleri - Excursion to Tindari

All right, Mimi, listen carefully to what I say, but dont let it distract you from your driving. Ive got a bum shoulder and cant afford any more damage. And, most important, dont interrupt me with questions, or Ill lose my train of thought. Save them all for the end, after Ive finished. Okay?

Okay.

And dont ask me how I found these things out.

Okay.

And no useless details, okay?

Okay. Before you begin, can I ask you one question?

Just one.

In addition to your arm, did you also hurt your head?

Whats that supposed to mean?

Youre busting my balls with all this asking if things are okay! Are you obsessed or something? Ill just say okay to everything you ask, even about things I dont know. Okay? You can begin.

Margherita Griffo had a brother and a sister, Giuliana, a schoolteacher, who lived in Trapani.

Is she dead?

You see? You see? the inspector burst out. You even promised! And still you come out with some dumb-ass question! Of course shes dead, if I say she had and she lived!

Augello didnt breathe.

Margherita hadnt spoken to her sister since they were young. An inheritance squabble. One day, however, the two sisters get back in touch. When Margherita learns that Giuliana is dying, she goes with her husband to see her. Theyre put up at Giulianas house. Also living with the dying woman, from time immemorial, is a friend of hers, Miss Baeri.The Griffos learn that Giuliana, in her will, has left her sister a former stable with a bit of land around it, in a district of Vigata called The Moor. Which is where were now going. Its only a token of affection, worth nothing. The day after the funeral, when the Griffos are still in Trapani, some guy calls up, saying hes interested in the former stable. He doesnt know that Giuliana is dead. Miss Baeri passes the phone to Alfonso Griffo. Which makes sense, since his wife now owns the property. The two men talk over the phone. As to the contents of their conversation, Alfonso seems evasive. All he tells his wife is that the guy who called lives in the same building as them.

Christ! Nen Sanfilippo! Mimi cried out, letting the car swerve.

Either you drive safely or Im not going to tell you anything else. The fact that the stables owners live on the floor above him seems to Sanfilippo a fantastic coincidence.

Wait. Are you sure its a coincidence?

Yes, its a coincidence. And, incidentally, if I have to put up with your questions, they have to be intelligent. Its a coincidence. Sanfilippo didnt know that Giuliana was dead, and he had no reason to pretend otherwise. He didnt know that the former stable had been bequeathed to Mrs. Griffo, because the will hadnt been made public yet.

Okay.

A few hours later, the two men meet.

In Vigta?

No, in Trapani. As far as Sanfilippos concerned, the less hes seen with the Griffos, the better. But I would bet my balls that Sanfilippo fed the old man some line about a stormy, dangerous love affair ... where, if theyre found out, there could be a massacre ... Anyway, he needs the stable, to turn it into a pied--terre. But there are rules that must be respected. The inheritance tax wont be declared; if this is discovered, Sanfilippo must pay; the Griffos are not to set foot on the property; from that day forward, if they should cross paths, theyre not even to say hello to each other; and they must not speak to the son about any of this. As fond as they are of money, the old couple accept the conditions and pocket the first two million lire.

But why did Sanfilippo need a place that was so isolated?

Certainly not to turn it into a slaughterhouse. Among other things, theres no water, theres not even a toilet. If nature calls, you have to do it outside.

And what then?

Youll figure it out for yourself. See that little chapel there? Just past it, theres a dirt road, on the left. Turn there, and go very slowly, cause its full of holes.

The door was still leaning against the jamb, exactly as he had left it the previous evening. Nobodyd been inside. Mimi moved it aside, they entered, and the room immediately looked smaller than it was.

Augello looked all around in silence.

Theyve cleaned it out, he said.

See all those outlets? said Montalbano. He had electricity and a phone put in, but not a toilet. This was his office, where he came to work each day for his employer.

Employer?

Of course. He worked for some third party.

And who would that be?

The same people who told him to find a secluded place, far from everyone and everything. Shall I venture a few guesses? First, drug traffickers. Second, pedophiles. Then you have the whole gamut of weirdos who use the Internet. From here Sanfilippo could connect with the whole world. He would surf the Web, make contact, communicate, and then report back to his bosses. The setup went on without a hitch for two years. Then something serious happened, and he had to clear out, cut all ties, and cover his tracks. On the instructions of his superiors, Sanfilippo convinces the Griffos to go on a nice excursion to Tindari.

But for what purpose?

He probably fed the poor old folks some bullshit, like maybe the dangerous husband had found out about their affair and was going to kill them too, for being accomplices ... So he had this great idea: Why dont they go on Malaspinas excursion to Tindari? It would never dawn on the enraged cuckold to look for them on the bus ... They need only stay away from home for a day, and in the meantime some friends would intervene and try to pacify the jealous husband ... And he, too, would make the same excursion, but in his car. Scared out of their wits, the old couple agree to do it. Sanfilippo says hell keep track of the situations developments by cell phone. But before getting back to Vigta, the old man must ask the bus driver to make an extra stop. That way Sanfilippo can bring them up-to-date on things. Everything unfolds as planned. Except that at the last stop before Vigta, Sanfilippo tells the two that nothings been resolved yet; theyd be better off spending the night away from home. So he takes them in his car and then turns them over to their executioner. At that moment he doesnt know yet that he, too, has been marked for death.

But you still havent told me why it was necessary to send the Griffos away. They probably didnt even know where their property was!

Somebody had to get into their apartment and remove all documents pertaining to that same property. Their copy of the will, for instance. Or some letter from Giuliana where she says she intends to remember her sister with this bequest. That sort of thing. And the guy who goes looking for this stuff also finds the postal passbook showing a sum that looks too high for two impoverished retirees. So he snatches that, too. But its a mistake, because thats what will arouse my suspicion.

To be honest, Salvo, I dont find this business of the excursion to Tindari very convincing, at least not the way you tell it. What need was there to do it? Those guys, with the slightest excuse, couldve marched into the Griffos apartment and done whatever they wanted!

Yes, but then they would have had to kill them right then and there in their apartment. Which would have alarmed Sanfilippo, to whom the killers would certainly have said they had no intention of killing the old folks, but only terrorizing them the right amount ... And bear in mind that it was in everybodys interest to make us believe there was no connection between the Griffos disappearance and Sanfilippos murder. In fact, how long did it take us to realize the two cases were interrelated?

Maybe youre right.

No maybe about it, Mimi. Then, after they clear this place out with Sanfilippos help, they take the kid off with them. Maybe with the excuse that they need to talk about setting up his office somewhere else. In the meantime they go into his apartment and do the same thing they did at the Griffos. They take the electricity and phone bills for this place, for example. Which we were unable to find, in fact. And Sanfilippo they send home late at night and