Chianti Classico Read Online Free PDF Page B

me Ricco because I was raised here at the orphanage—before it was just for girls.”
    Everyone sat down.
    “I don’t know what you’ve been told, Sister Angela, so I’ll start at the beginning. Detective Sergeant Elmo Sacco and I arrived at seven-thirty yesterday morning. I believe Mother Faustine called the station at six-thirty.”
    “What time do the children usually rise?” asked Sister Angela.
    “At five-thirty,” explained Sister Carmela. “It may sound early, but it takes a lot of work to get them all fed before they start school.”
    “The program’s awful,” said Pagano. “I couldn’t wait to graduate out of here. In the first year of freedom, I had to teach myself how to sleep in. Now my wife has to get me up because I sleep through the alarm.”
    Sister Angela smiled. “Who roused the children that morning?” she asked.
    “There’s a bell that goes off,” said Sister Carmela. “It isn’t that loud, but loud enough to awaken some of them. The roommates urge the rest of the girls out of bed.”
    “So by six yesterday morning, you all knew she was missing?”
    “Yes. We didn’t go looking for Pia right away, but Mother Faustine called from the house in Siena so I told her we were busy searching for Pia.”
    “Excuse me,” said the nun detective. “Does the mother superior usually call so early?”
    Sister Carmela appeared confused, but she looked that way only a few seconds. “No. She called because she wanted to tell me something before I retired. I go off duty by seven. I’d tell you what she told me, but I don’t remember. I was so befuddled with the problem here that I guess I didn’t really listen to her. Anyway, she called the police, and Ricco and Elmo showed up a half an hour later. That was important because we needed the help. With all the children up and about, it was hard to look for her and take care of the other girls’ needs.”
    “What did you find out, Chief Detective?”
    “We inspected the attic chamber where she slept. We interviewed her roommates. Then we examined the other rooms and questioned all the girls. Elmo dusted the doors for fingerprints. We checked the windows and everything else in all the rooms.”
    “And the garage?”
    “Yes. I informed Mother Faustine that the garage was a fire hazard. We had to move a lot of supplies in order to uncover possible hiding places.”
    “What about footprints or tire tracks?”
    “We made casts of any larger footprints. The child’s footprints matched half the other orphans in the house. We formed casts of tire tracks in the area and recorded the tire marks from cars and trucks that regularly visit.”
    Sister Angela sat up. “What about the people who don’t come here regularly?”
    “What do you mean?” asked Sister Natalia. “The girls would be familiar with people like the handyman or food delivery men. We aren’t sure they recognized the culprit in this case.”
    “They witnessed the kidnapping?”
    “Sister Daniela didn’t tell you?” asked Sister Carmela.
    “We always feel it’s best if I learn the facts on my own.”
    “A few of the girls believe they saw someone enter the room and walk out with the child,” said Pagano. “We don’t see their stories as credible.”
    “I had them draw pictures of what they saw,” said Sister Daniela. “I’ll show you the sketches after dinner.”
    A young girl entered the room and served each guest a cup of espresso.
    “How do you do?” said Sister Angela. “You are...”
    “This is Grazia,” said Sister Natalia.
    “How old are you?” asked Sister Angela.
    “I’m nine.”
    “Did you see Pia leave the orphanage?”
    “I saw a shadow pass under the bathroom door when I was using the toilet.”
    “Going what direction?”
    “Toward the stairs.”
    “Who did you think it was?”
    “I didn’t know,” said Grazia. “I guess I thought it was one of the girls.”
    “I don’t think you mentioned that,” said Sister Carmela. “Did you tell