The Snack Thief Read Online Free PDF Page B

balconies therefore
witnessed a scene that could only have been a disappointment:
Mrs. Lapra walking between Mr. and Mrs. Cosentino
and speaking calmly. She was explaining in great detail
the operation that her sister had just undergone in Fiacca.
    In the dark as to these developments, Officer Gallo, upon
hearing the elevator stop at his floor at seven thirty-five, stood
up from the stair on which hed been sitting, reviewing what
he was supposed to say to the unhappy woman, and took a
step forward. The elevator door opened and a man got out.
    Giuseppe Cosentinos the name. Seeing as how Mrs.
Lapra is going to have to wait, Im putting her up at my
place. Please inform the inspector. I live on the sixth floor.
    The Lapra apartment was in perfect order. Livingdining
room, bedroom, study, kitchen, and bath, nothing out of
place. On the desk in the study lay the wallet of the de
    ceased, with all his documents and one hundred thousand
lire. ThereforeMontalbano said to himselfAurelio Lapra
had got dressed to go somewhere he wouldnt need
identification, credit, or money. He sat down in the chair behind
the desk and opened the drawers, one after the other. In
the first drawer on the left he found stamps, old envelopes
with aurelio lapra inc. / importazione-esportazione
printed on the back, pencils, ballpoint pens, erasers, outdated
stamps, and two sets of keys. The widow explained that one
set was for the house and the other for the office. In the
drawer below this one, there were only some yellowed letters
bound together with string. The first drawer on the right
held a surprise: a brand-new Beretta with two reserve cartridge
clips and five boxes of ammunition. Mr. Lapra, if
hed wanted to, could have carried out a massacre. The last
drawer contained lightbulbs, razor blades, rolls of string, and
rubber bands.
    The inspector told Galluzzo, who had replaced Gallo, to
bring the weapon and ammunition to headquarters.
    Then check to see if the pistol was registered.
    A smell of stale perfume, burnt straw in color, hung aggressively
in the air of the study, even though the inspector,
upon entering, had thrown the window wide open.
    The widow had gone and sat in an armchair in the living
room. She seemed utterly indifferent, as if sitting in a railway
station waiting room, awaiting her train.
    Montalbano also sat down in an armchair, and at that
moment the doorbell rang. Signora Antonietta instinctively
started to get up, but the inspector stopped her with a gesture.
    Galluzzo, go see who it is.
    The door was opened, they heard some whispering, and
the policeman returned.
    Theres somebody who lives on the sixth floor says he
wants to talk to you. Says hes a security guard.
    Cosentino had put on his uniform; he was on his way
to work.
    Sorry to disturb you, but seeing as how something just
occurred to me
    What is it?
    You see, after she got off the bus, Signora Antonietta,
when she found out her husband was dead, asked us if hed
been murdered. Now, if somebody came to me and told me
my wife was dead, I might think of the different ways she
could have died, but I would never imagine shed been murdered.
Unless Id considered the possibility beforehand. Im
not sure if thats clear...
    Its perfectly clear. Thank you, said Montalbano.
    He went back in the living room. Mrs. Lapra looked
as if shed been embalmed.
    Do you have any children, signora?
    Yes.
    How many?
    One son.
    Does he live here?
    No.
    What does he do?
    Hes a doctor.
    How old is he?
    Thirty-two.
He should be informed.
Ill tell him.
Gong. End of the first round. When they resumed, the
    widow took the initiative.
Was he shot?
No.
Strangled?
No.
Then how did they manage to kill him in an elevator?
With a knife.
A kitchen knife?
Probably.
The woman got up and went into the kitchen. The in
    spector heard her open and close a drawer. She returned and
    sat back down.
Nothing