Andrea Camilleri - The Patience of the Spider

Is this some kind of joke?

Not in the least. What I mean is that we, too, could force the Mistrettas to take the necessary steps in the right direction, the one that leads to the possible ransom money. And those steps might clear up a whole lot of things for us.

I dont understand.

Let me sum it up for you. The kidnappers knew right from the start that the Mistrettas were not in any position to pay a ransom, and yet they kidnapped the girl anyway. Why? Because they also knew that the Mistrettas could, if necessary, get their hands on a large sum of money. Do you agree so far?

Yes.

Mind you, the kidnappers are not the only ones who know that the Mistrettas can do this.

Theyre not? No. And how do you know? Fazio reported two strange phone calls to me. Have him

repeat them to you. And why didnt he report them to me? It must have slipped his mind, Montalbano lied. Concretely speaking, what should I do? Have you informed the judge of this last message? Not yet. Ill do it right now. He made as if to lift the receiver. Wait. You should suggest to him that, since the kidnap

pers have now made a specific request, he should put a restraining order on the assets of Mr. and Mrs. Mistretta, and then report this measure to the press.

What would we gain from that? The Mistrettas dont have a cent, and everybody knows it. It would be a pure formality.

Of course. It would be a pure formality if it remained between you, me, the judge, and the Mistrettas. But I said the measure should be made known to the public. Public opinion may be full of shit, as some maintain, but it matters. And the public will begin to wonder if its true that the Mistrettas know where to find the money, and if so, theyll ask themselves why they dont do what they need to do to get their hands on it. Its possible the kidnappers themselves will have to tell the Mistrettas what they need to do. And something will finally come out in the open. Because, on the face of it, my friend, this doesnt look to me like a simple kidnapping.

What is it, then?

I dont know. It gives me the impression of a billiards game, where one banks a shot off the cushion in front so that the ball will end up on the opposite side.

You know what I say? As soon as he recovers a little, Im going to put the squeeze on Susannas father.

Go ahead. But keep one thing in mind. Even if, five minutes from now, we learn the truth from the Mistrettas, the judge must still proceed the way we said. With your permission, Ill speak with the doctor as soon as he comes downstairs. I was at his house when Fazio called. He was telling me some interesting things, and I think the conversation is worth continuing.

At that moment Carlo Mistretta entered the room. Is it true they asked for six billion lire? Yes, said Minutolo. My poor niece! the doctor exclaimed. Come, lets go have a breath of air, Montalbano invited

him.

The doctor followed him outside as though sleepwalking. They sat down on a bench. Montalbano saw Fazio hurry back into the living room. He was about to open his mouth when the doctor again beat him to it.

The phone call my brother just described to me relates directly to what I was telling you at my place. Im sure it does, said the inspector. I think, therefore,

that if you feel up to it, you need to I feel up to it. Where were we? Your brother and his wife had just moved to Uruguay. Oh, yes. Less than a year later, Giulia wrote a long letter

to Antonio, suggesting he come join them in Uruguay. The

work prospects were excellent, the country was growing fast, and Salvatore had won the esteem of many important people and was in a position to help him ...I forgot to mention that Antonio had got a degree in civil engineeringyou know, bridges, viaducts, roads ...Well, he accepted and came. In the early going, my sister-in-law supported him unstintingly. He remained in Uruguay for five years. Just think, theyd bought two apartments in the same building in Montevideo so they could be close to one another. Among other things, Salvatore sometimes had to leave home for months at a time for work, and he felt reassured to know that he wasnt leaving his young wife alone. Anyway, to make a long story short, during those five years, Antonio made a fortune. Not so much as an engineer, the way my brother tells it, but through his skill in manipulating the various free zones that were so numerous over there...which was a more or less legal way of evading taxes.

Why did he leave?

He said he was terribly homesick for Sicily. And he couldnt stand being away any longer. And that, with all the money he now had, he could start up his own business over here. My brother later suspected, though not at the time, that there was a more serious reason.

What was that?

That maybe hed made a wrong move and feared for his life. In the two months prior to his departure, his moods had become impossible, though Giulia and Salvatore attributed this to the fact that he was leaving soon. They were like a single family. And Giulia, in fact, suffered a great deal when her brother left. So much, in fact, that Salvatore accepted an offer

to go work in Brazil just so that she could live in a new and

different environment.

And they didnt see each other again until

Are you kidding? Aside from the fact that they continually called and wrote to each other, Giulia and Salvatore came to Italy at least once every two years and spent their vacations with Antonio. Just think, when Susanna was born... At the mention of her name, the doctors voice cracked.... When Susanna was born rather late in their marriagetheyd given up hope of having childrenthey brought the baby here so she could be baptized by Antonio, who was too busy to travel. Eight years ago, my brother and Giulia finally moved back. They were tired. Theyd been all over South America and they wanted Susanna to grow up in Italy. On top of this, Salvatore had managed to put aside a good deal of money.

Could you say he was a rich man?

Frankly, yes. And it was I who took care of everything. I invested his savings in stocks, land, real estate... As soon as they arrived, Antonio announced that he was engaged and would soon be married. The news took Giulia entirely by surprise. Why hadnt her brother ever mentioned having a girlfriend he intended to marry? She had her answer when Antonio introduced Valeria, his future wife, to her. A beautiful child, barely twenty years old. Antonio, by this point, was pushing fifty, and he went head over heels for the girl.

Are they still married? Montalbano asked with involuntary malice.

Yes. But Antonio quickly discovered that to hold on to her, he had to cover her in gifts and fulfill her every desire.

Did he ruin himself?

No, thats not what happened. Operation Clean Hands happened.

Wait a minute, Montalbano interrupted. Operation Clean Hands started in Milan over ten years ago, when your brother and his wife were still abroad. And before Antonio got married.

True. But you know how things go in Italy, dont you? Everything that happens up northFascism, liberation, industrializationtakes a long time to reach us. Like a long, lazy wave. Anyway, a few magistrates finally woke up down here as well. And Antonio had won quite a few government contracts. Dont ask me how, because I dont know and I dont want to know, though its not hard to imagine.

Was he investigated?

He made the first move himself. Hes a very clever man. To save himself from an eventual investigation that would surely have led to his arrest and conviction, he needed to make some papers disappear. He confessed this, in tears, to his sister, one evening six years ago. And he added that the operation would cost him two billion lire, which he needed to find in a months time, because he didnt have the cash at that moment and didnt want to borrow from the banks. Those were days when anything he did could be interpreted the wrong way. He said the whole thing almost made him laughor cry because two billion lire was a trifle compared to the huge sums that often passed through his hands. And yet those two billion lire represented his salvation. And they would, of course, be only a loan. He pledged to repay the entire sum within three months, supplemented by any losses incurred by the hasty sell-off. Giulia and my brother stayed up an entire