And Then You Die Read Online Free PDF

not to negotiate with the Red Brigades to secure the release of Aldo Moro. And over there, at the back of the main room, rumour had it that a groupie had crawled under the table and brought a certain pop star to orgasm in her mouth on a bet from another member of the band, who wanted to see if she could make the star in question bring the events in progress to the attention of the staff and customers. She had reputedly succeeded.
    Zen was greeted by a functionary who managed to combine the glacial serenity of the traditional English butler with the menacing directness of a Mafia thug. His first glance at Zen amply revealed the extent to which he was unimpressed by this new arrival.
    ‘My name is Pier Giorgio Butani,’ Zen told him in a tone suggesting that he was even less impressed. ‘I am dining with Dottor Rutelli.’
    For a moment, the functionary’s composure deserted him completely .
    ‘Dottor Rutelli?’ he whispered. ‘But he’s …’
    Already here, thought Zen glumly. Damn. The doorman was staring at Zen with something approaching desperation.
    ‘Massimo Rutelli?’ he queried at length.
    Zen shook his head tetchily.
    ‘What? No! His brother, Girolamo.’
    The man laughed almost hysterically. He grabbed a leather-bound menu.
    ‘Ah, yes, of course! Right! This way, please. Just over here. Be so good as to take a seat. May I take your coat? Thank you, thank you.’
    Zen sat down, took out his mobile phone and loudly faked a call.
    ‘Girolamo?’ he shouted, glancing idly at the menu. ‘Oh, where the hell are you? I’m starving. Me? At Augusto’s, of course.What? What? Why? Really? Oh, too bad! Well, so be it. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? All right. Fine, fine.’
    Just as he replaced the phone, a stunningly beautiful woman walked into the restaurant and stood looking around quizzically. It took Zen a moment to recognize her. He’d almost never seen her fully clothed before, he realized, pushing back his chair and hurrying over.
    ‘Gemma, my dear! What a surprise! And what a great pleasure. Now you haven’t eaten, have you? And what were your plans?’
    He turned her away towards the wall and pretended to listen, nodding sympathetically while she explained her plans. In reality , Gemma was staring at him with an expression which mingled amusement and alarm.
    ‘Oh no you’re not!’ Zen declared decisively, taking her arm and steering her into the room. ‘Wasting your time with those boring little people? Out of the question! You’re dining with me, my dear, and that’s that.’
    He paused to confront the doorman.
    ‘I just phoned Dottor Rutelli. Unfortunately he’s been forced to cancel our dinner engagement due to urgent personal problems, but he was kind enough to invite me to use the booking on my own behalf. He specially recommended the lasagnette con pesce cappone . We’ll have that as a starter.’
    He ushered Gemma, who was by now almost giggling, over to the table.
    ‘What on earth was that all about?’ she demanded, taking off her cream linen jacket and hanging it on the back of the chair.
    ‘Don’t complain. I told you I’d get us a reservation, and I have.’
    ‘So you know the Rutelli brothers. Of course, I should have realized, that’s who normally has that tavolo where you are now.’
    ‘I don’t really know them. Girolamo is the friend of a friend. But I knew he had a house here which he wouldn’t be using until August, so I arranged to borrow it for a few weeks. The friend owes me a favour and Rutelli owes him one. The old story.’
    ‘I only know them by sight myself. We nod and greet each other, of course, but to tell the truth I’ve never really managed to tell them apart. Rather ordinary little men, I always thought.’
    ‘Well, they have their uses. Apparently the staff here don’t know that at the moment Girolamo’s in Rome, so I used his nameto get a booking. After that it was just a matter of faking a previous engagement for our supposed host and the