The Patience of the Spider Read Online Free PDF

that state,
    your daughter got so worn out from all the sleepless nights and
study that she ran away of her own free will from what had become
an unbearable situation?
    The reply didnt come immediately.
    Thats out of the question. Susanna is strong and generous.
She would never do that to me. Never. And anyway, where
would she hide?
    Did she have any money on her?
I dunno, maybe thirty euros, at the most.
Doesnt she have any relatives or friends shes particularly
    fond of?
    Theres only my brother, whom she would go visit at his
house, but not very often. And she would meet with that boy
who helped me in my search. Theyd often go to the movies
together or out for pizza. But theres nobody else she was
close to.
    What about the girl she was studying with?
Shes just a study companion, I think.
Now they came to the difficult part, and the inspector had
    to be careful not to further offend this wounded man with his
questions. He took a deep breath. The morning air was, in
spite of everything, sweet and fragrant.
    Listen, your daughters boyfriend ...whats his name?
Francesco. Francesco Lipari.
Did Susan get along well with Francesco?
As far as I could tell, yes, basically.
What do you mean by basically?
I mean that, sometimes, I would hear her arguing with
    him over the telephone ...But just silly stuff, the kind of
things young lovers quarrel about.
You dont think that Susanna perhaps met someone who
secretly lured her, persuading her to
    To go with him, you mean? Inspector, Susanna has always
been a sincere, forthright girl. If shed started up a relationship
with someone else, she would certainly have told
Francesco and broken off with him.
    So youre sure were dealing with a kidnapping.
    Unfortunately, yes.
Fazio suddenly appeared in the doorway of the villa.
What is it? asked the geologist.
I heard the bell ring upstairs.
Mistretta rushed inside. Montalbano followed slowly be
    hind him, lost in thought. He went back into the living room
and sat down in the empty armchair in front of the telephone.
Poor guy, said Fazio. I feel sorry for this Mistretta, I really
do.
Doesnt it seem strange to you that the kidnappers
    havent called yet? Its almost ten oclock.
I dont know much about kidnappings, said Fazio.
Me neither. And Mimoesnt either.
Speak of the devil. At that very moment Mimugello
    walked in.
We didnt find anything. What do we do now?
Inform everyone were supposed to inform about the
    kidnapping. Give me Susannas boyfriends address, and the
address of the girl she was studying with.
What are you going to do? asked Mims he was writing
these things down on a piece of paper.
As soon as he returns, Im going to say goodbye to Mr.
Mistretta and go to the office.
But arent you convalescing? asked MimI only had
you come here to give advice, not to
And do you feel confident leaving the station in
    Catarellas hands?
There was no answer, only a troubled silence.
If the kidnappers get in touch soon, as Im hoping theyll
    do, let me know at once, the inspector said in a decisive tone.
    Why are you hoping the kidnappers get in touch soon?
asked Fazio.
Before answering, the inspector read the piece of paper
Augello had handed to him, then put it in his pocket.
    Because that way well know that they kidnapped her for
money. Lets be frank. A girl like Susanna gets kidnapped for
one of two reasons: for money or for rape. Gallo told me shes
a very attractive girl. In the latter case, the chances shed be
killed after being raped are very high.
    A chill. In the silence they could hear the geologists shuffling
footsteps as he approached. He looked at Augello.
    Did you find any...?
    Mimhook his head.
    Mistretta staggered as though dizzy, but Mimuickly
steadied him.
But why did they do it? Why?! he said, burying his face
in his hands.
    Why? said Augello, hoping to console him with words.
Youll see, theyll probably demand a ransom, the