The Potter's Field

Catarella was so engrossed at the computer that he didn’t even notice when Montalbano came in. In the corridor the inspector nearly collided with Fazio.

“Come into my office and close the door,” he said. “So?”

“I was right, Chief. Filippo Alfano’s murder was reported by the Giornale dell’Isola. He was killed on February the second, twenty-three years ago, at least that’s the date the records office gives for his death.”

“And the upshot?”

“The upshot, for now, is that Catarella has accessed the magazine’s archives.”

“Let’s hope for the best. Any news of Mimì?”

“He’s not back yet.”

“All right, thanks.”

But Fazio didn’t budge.

“Chief, what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?”

“First you turn the investigation over to Augello and now you’re conducting a parallel investigation on your own.”

“But I’m not conducting any parallel investigation! I just got an idea that I thought might be useful. Or should I forbid myself to think just because I turned the investigation over to Mimì?”

Fazio seemed unconvinced.

“Chief, I still can’t get it through my head that it was just a coincidence that you asked me about Dolores Alfano before the woman came here to tell us about her husband . . . And I can’t stop thinking about the fact that you asked me about Pecorini before we knew he was involved with Dolores. Don’t you think it’s time you told me how things really stand?”

What a damn good cop Fazio was! Montalbano weighed his options and arrived at the conclusion that the best course was to tell Fazio part of the truth.

“If I asked you about Dolores and Pecorini, it wasn’t because of the murder of Giovanni Alfano, but for another reason.”

“What’s the reason?”

“I’d found out that Mimì has been carrying on, for over two months, with another woman.”

Fazio chuckled.

“Well, knowing him, it’s a surprise it didn’t happen sooner.”

“Yes, but I discovered that Mimì’s lover is Dolores Alfano and that they meet in a house owned by Pecorini.”

“Holy shit! And are they still lovers now?”

“Yes.”

Fazio was speechless.

“And you . . . you . . . knowing this . . . you assigned him the investigation anyway?”

“Well, what’s so strange about that? It was the Mafia that killed Alfano, wasn’t it? Don’t you agree?”

“So it seems.”

“If we suspected Dolores of having anything to do with her husband’s murder, then that would change everything, and Mimì would find himself in a difficult position, to say the least.”

“Wait a minute, Chief. Does Inspector Augello know that you know?”

“That he has a lover and that this lover is Dolores? No, he doesn’t.”

“I don’t get it,” said Fazio. “The woman seemed so in love with her husband! Was she with Augello even before she began to worry that her husband had disappeared?”

“Yes.”

“So it was all an act she put on with us!”

“Yes, and she’s still reciting it.”

“I’m sorry, but I think I’m losing my mind. Why was Inspector Augello so keen on leading this investigation? To do his girlfriend a favor? But at the time we didn’t even know who the dead man was! Unless...”

“Very good! Unless Mimì himself already knew, because Dolores had told him who she thought the dead man might be.”

“But that means—”

“Wait. Somebody’s scratching at the door,” Montalbano interrupted him. “Go see who it is.”

Fazio got up and opened the door. It was Catarella.

“I’s knockin’ wit’ my fingernails and din’t crash the door!” he said, chortling with satisfaction.

He laid a sheet of paper on the desk.

“Iss a copy o’ the arcticle.”

As Catarella left, Montalbano started reading the article aloud.

HORRIFIC CRIME IN PUTUMAYO

Vigatese businessman murdered and dismembered

A fifty-two-year-old Vigatese businessman, Filippo Alfano, was murdered yesterday in his office at 28 Amatriz. The body was found by Señora Rosa Almú, who went there every evening around 8 pm to clean the premises. Upon entering the bathroom and seeing the contents of the bathtub, Mrs. Almú fainted. After regaining consciousness, she called the police. Although Filippo Alfano was clearly murdered, it is not known how, since the body was hacked to pieces with extraordinary ferocity. Authorities hope to establish the cause of death after the autopsy. Mr. Alfano, who left Sicily for Colombia about two years ago, leaves a wife and young son.

“Shall we bet he was hacked into thirty pieces?” asked Montalbano.