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  He shrugged. “It's always a thin line. On the one range of the spectrum, you've got clear lying to get what you want, and on the other, you've got shattering honesty that kills everything. In between, there's politics, diplomacy, strategic thinking. And everyone draws the line somewhere else. The important thing is that you'll be able to look into the mirror at night so you can live with your own decisions.” Stefano leaned against the desk. “I've often said things that were detrimental to my relationship with Cervi and my career, but I knew I couldn't act in any other way if I wanted to keep on respecting myself. That's why I take precious good care to leave him his self-esteem whenever possible. I don't want to shoot myself in the foot if I can avoid it.”

  Carlina nodded. “I see what you mean. Do you think this kind of strategic thinking is also part of the way people act here?”

  “Absolutely. In a company rigidly controlled by someone who's power-hungry and tough, you've got to be on your toes all the time. I doubt a single employee here is truly relaxed and happy at their work. They are always watching their steps, always wondering how to react in the everlasting fight of positioning themselves. They have to make sure to please the boss while at the same time making sure nobody else pushes them into the limelight when a scapegoat has to be found.”

  Carlina shuddered. “It's sounds horrible. I love my little universe in comparison. Thank God I've got my own job and only one employee. Is it as bad as that at the police?”

  “No. It's a bit like that with Cervi, but otherwise, we're quite a good team. We help each other a lot. For example, if Sergio feels it might help the case, I'm sure he'll find a way to share his information with me.”

  Carlina lifted her eyebrows. “Won't that compromise him?”

  “Yes, it would. That's why I won't ask for it.” He pushed his hand through his hair. “You know, that information about the financial fraud came just in the nick of time. Cervi will not dare to leave it out of consideration, and that means we've got a bit more time. Once Enzo had been arrested, he would have opposed with every ounce of his strength to re-open the case.”

  “Yes. We were lucky. And now he can do the part we weren't able to cover – check the alibis in depth.” Carlina looked at her watch. “I can't believe where the morning went! I'll run and try to get Liza to have lunch with me.”

  “Good luck.” Stefano bent forward and gave her a quick kiss. “I'll stay here and arrange our information more systematically. Maybe I'll have a bright idea.”

  A bright idea. His words reverberated in Carlina's mind as she hurried down the office corridor. The problem was rather the opposite. They had so many bright ideas of who could have killed Dorotea they might easily miss the obvious. Well, she was all set for a gossipy lunch. Maybe that would help her.

  Liza seemed happy to go to lunch with her, and together, they got in line at the canteen on the ground floor.

  “The food here is excellent.” Liza picked a tray and cutlery from the stand at the beginning of the line. “That's something signora Di Silva paid a lot of attention to. She couldn't stand bad quality, no matter what it was.”

  “Great. I'm really hungry and can't wait.”

  “You've got a choice of two different menus each day, one vegetarian, one with meat. And the salad bar, of course. Signora Di Silva mainly ate salad, so she organized a really good salad bar.”

  Maybe talking about food will give me more background information. “So she actually came down here for lunch every day?”

  “Oh, no. Most days, I prepared a plate for her from the salad buffet and brought it up to her. She used to eat at her desk.”

  “Not a healthy lifestyle.”

  “No. But to be frank, we were relieved when she wasn't here. Things were always a bit strained when she was around.”

  “I can imagine. Did she talk shop while eating?”

  “All the time.” Liza shuddered. “We once had a working lunch, as she called it, and I couldn't swallow a bite. It felt as if I had a stone in my stomach.”

  “Well, we'll have a better time today.” Carlina smiled at her.

  “Oh, yes.” Liza pointed at the board overhead. “The dish of the day is risotto alla milanese, a specialty of Milan. Do you know it? It's done with saffron.”

  “Yes, I do, and I love it. My husband had it the day before, and he really liked it. I have to say I'm impressed. It's quite an expensive dish for an office canteen.”

  Liza nodded. They came to the end of the line and now looked at the desserts. “The tiramisu in a glass is awesome,” Liza said. “You've got to try it. I think the chef here once won a prize for it.”

  “All right.” Carlina picked a glass. The company logo was dusted in cocoa powder onto the top of the glass. “Wow, this looks so pretty.” I should try to get something like that for Temptation.

  Liza nodded again. “This is what we offer to all the important visitors when they came. Signora Di Silva always said details made the difference.”

  “I agree with her.” That's probably the only point where I can agree with her at all.

  They slipped into their white plastic designer chairs. Carlina was glad Liza had chosen a spot where they could see the people lining up without turning their heads. She saw the director of Production, Silvio Orlando, coming up. What had Enzo said? He was devoted to his wife. Well, you never knew. “I really like signor Orlando,” she said by way of starting her gossipy program. “That's him over there, isn't it?”

  Liza glanced up. “Yeah. He's quite friendly, but I've already seen him throw a fit when something went wrong.” She shuddered. “I really don't like emotional people.”

  So it wasn't him. “Oh, there's Lorenzo Vitali.” Carlina nodded across the room to him. “He's the eldest employee here, isn't he? I believe he previously worked for Dorotea's father.”

  “Dorotea?” Liza's eyes widened. “It sounds awfully personal. Did you ever meet her?”

  Darn. Carlina forced a laugh. “No. I'm afraid signora Di Silva is such a mouthful that I fell into the habit of speaking of Dorotea. You won't tell anyone, will you?”

  Liza smiled. “Don't worry. We called her the Snow Queen half the time.”

  “Did she know that?”

  “Gosh, I hope not!” Liza's hands trembled at the thought. “She would have killed us for being disrespectful.”

  She probably knew it and delighted in it. Carlina tried to get back on track. It didn't seem as if Lorenzo was The One, either. Where were her two main suspects, Franco di Rosa and Marco Riva? If they didn't show up, she'd have to introduce them in some other way into the conversation. Maybe she could come up with some creative truths. She looked across the room and whistled underneath her breath. “Wow, he's good-looking.”

  Liza looked up. “Who?”

  “Darn, he just left. I'll point him out to you if he should come back.” Carlina gave Liza a dazzling smile. “Tell me, are there many office affairs going on here?”

  Liza sat bolt upright. “Why do you think so?”

  Carlina shrugged. “My mother always said the workplace is the best marriage mart.”

  The soft brown eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Well, it stands to reason, doesn't it? With so many people in close proximity. I mean, I'm lucky because I work with my husband, but usually, you spend a lot more time with your colleagues than with the guy you married.”

  She swallowed hard. “Yes.”

  “What did the Snow Queen have to say about it? Is there a company rule?”

  Now Liza looked like a terrified rabbit. “I . . . she . . . I think she once said she didn't like it.”

  “Really? Why?”

  “Because it wasn't efficient. People were distracted, and they started to carry their private problems into the workplace.”

  “Do you agree?”

  Liza jumped. “Who, me?” Apparently nobody had ever asked her opinion before.

  “Yes.”

  “I . . . I think it's difficult.” She was beetroot re
d now, and her hands shook.

  Carlina looked at her and felt a twinge of pity. Was it really necessary to ride Liza this hard? After all, what did it matter if she'd had an affair? She wouldn't have killed Dorotea because of it … or would she, together with her lover? It all depended on Dorotea's reaction. She might have decided to fire them both, and she might even have told them her plans. But in that case, wouldn't she have informed the personnel department? Carlina wasn't very clear about the details, but she knew there were laws making sure you couldn't simply fire people on a whim. You had to give good reasons, and you certainly couldn't fire someone for having fallen in love with a colleague. She had to talk to the personnel department, had to find out if other people were on notice. She hadn't noticed how the silence between them lengthened and was startled when Liza broke it.

  “The police were here this morning.” Liza spoke in a whisper.

  Carlina managed to look surprised. “Really?”

  “Yes.” Liza picked up a piece of bread and reduced it to crumbs between trembling fingers. “They looked angry.”

  Yes, because they'd just realized they couldn't arrest Enzo.

  Liza lifted her gaze. “I'm so afraid.”

  “Afraid? What are you afraid of?”

  Liza's eyes widened until the white showed all around. “They're looking for the murderer, aren't they?”

  “Yes.”

  “But why did they come here? She was killed in Florence!”

  “Nobody knew her there, so it's not likely the murderer came from Florence.”

  Liza flinched. “Are they . . . are they likely to make mistakes?”

  “The police?”

  “Yes.”

  Carlina hesitated. “It depends, I would say.”

  “Depends on what?”

  “On the person who's responsible for the inquiries. Like in any job, you've got people who are happy with the easy solution, and some who aren't.”

  “Happy with the easy solution . . .” Liza sounded as if she would faint any minute now.

  Carlina bent forward. “Won't you tell me what's troubling you, Liza? I can see you're terrified. What happened? Do you think it looks as if you had good reason to kill Dorotea?”

  Liza reared back. “Me? I didn't kill Dorotea.”

  “But you're afraid someone else did?”

  “No, oh, no.” She shook her head hard.

  Carlina had the impression she was trying to convince herself. “But you're not sure.”

  Liza bit her lip. “I'm sure it wasn't him. But it looks bad.”

  “What does?”

  “He … he said he would like to wring her neck.”

  “Why?”

  “Because . . . because she'd kicked me out.”

  If that's all, my whole lovely case falls through the floor. “I wouldn't put too much importance on that. After all, one often says things like that without meaning to. It's only natural that he should feel protective about you.” Who is he?

  “Yes, but he sounded so fierce. As if he really wanted to do it. And if it should become known how we've been going out with each other, and that I told him only on Saturday about being fired, the police will draw the most awful conclusions!”

  Carlina blinked. “You only told him on Saturday? When did she fire you?”

  The glossy head bent down. “On Friday, right before the director's meeting.” Her words were a whisper.

  Gosh, Dorotea had had an incredible day on Friday. Confrontation with the auditing company, lunch with the angry boy-friend, firing the secretary, director's meeting while feelings of hate swirled through the room . . . What a life.

  “That's why I made such a muddle of the report. I had to choke back my tears most of the time.”

  Carlina patted her hand. “It must have been terrible. When she fired you, did she mention your affair?”

  “No.” Liza shuddered. “She only said I wasn't competent enough.”

  “And do you think she knew about it?”

  “I don't think so. She would have made allusions. She was like that, you know. When she knew something, she used it to keep people in check.”

  “How about your partner? Did she never make any allusions to him?”

  “No. He said she seemed just like always on Friday afternoon.” Liza sniffed. “Firing me didn't ruffle her at all.”

  On Friday afternoon. So he had been part of the director's meeting! Desperately, Carlina tried to stay on the topic without frightening Liza into silence. “It must be awfully difficult to hide your feelings when you're in love. I couldn't do it.”

  Liza pulled out something that looked like an old-fashioned man's handkerchief and dried her eyes with it. A whiff of aftershave, Uomo 12 of Umberto Uno, reached Carlina's nose. She stiffened. One of the directors used that aftershave. Who was it? She tried to remember the scene. They'd talked to so many of them. She remembered how she'd gagged when he'd come into the room. But who had come into the room?

  Oblivious to Carlina's distraction, Liza continued talking. “It wasn't difficult for him to hide his feelings. He flirts with all the women. That's why at first, I didn't take him seriously.”

  Then it can't be Marco Riva. He knows as much about flirting as a watering hose. And suddenly she remembered. “You're in love with Franco di Rosa!” Carlina blurted out.

  Liza jumped. “How did you guess? Does anybody else know?”

  “No.” Carlina swallowed.

  “But how did you guess?”

  “It's his aftershave. You're using his handkerchief, and it smells of his aftershave.”

  The brown eyes widened, then Liza stared at the bunched up handkerchief in her hands. “You're kidding me.”

  “No.” Carlina's mouth twisted. “My ex-fiancé used the same aftershave. I recognized it immediately.”

  “Gosh. This is like a detective story. How clever of you!”

  “Em. Not really.” Carlina hastened to change the topic. “Are you sure Dorotea didn't talk to him about your relationship?”

  “Absolutely.” Liza nodded. “You should have seen him when I told him about it. I've never seen him like that, ever!” She shuddered.

  “When was it?”

  “Round about two in the afternoon. He –“ She broke off and sat up straight. “Why are you asking me that? Do you want to know if he had enough time to travel to Florence to shoot her?”

  Exactly. Carlina gave a nervous laugh. “It would have been tight timing, wouldn't it?”

  Liza glared at her. “That's totally ridiculous! He was with me, the whole day.” She lifted her chin. “And night.”

  If only I could believe you. She had to finish this conversation before Liza asked more questions. With a nervous gesture, Carlina swept her glass off the table. Once she'd mopped up the water and had collected the shards of glass, she jumped up with her tray. “I'm so sorry, Liza, but I've got another meeting coming up. It was nice having lunch with you.” She hurried from the canteen and ran to the office she shared with Stefano.

  He had several sheets of paper spread all around him and seemed completely immersed, so much so that he barely glanced up when she exploded into the room.

  “Liza is having an affair with Franco di Rosa,” she said as soon as she'd shut the door behind her.

  “Interesting.” He pulled a sheet toward him and scribbled something onto it.

  “What are you doing there?”

  “I'm noting everything we know about the suspects onto different sheets on paper, so I can shuffle them around.”

  “Does that help?”

  “Sometimes. Usually, I do Excel tables.”

  “Excel tables?”

  “Yes, but when I tried to do one, I realized I don't know enough. So I've started to note everything I know on separate sheets of paper. I hate to be so limited, and it really hampers our progress.” He sighed. “If I were in Cervi's shoes, I know exactly what I would do.”

  Carlina dropped into a chair. “What would you do?”

/>   “I'd check out the alibis of all the directors first. Then I'd try to find out when Dorotea came home that Friday night, if she went out again, and I'd check on her movements on Saturday morning, before she left for Florence. I just hope Cervi will do all of this.”

  Carlina took the sheets and placed them all around her while reading the names out loud. Then she stared at them for a full minute before flinging herself back into her chair. “I'm disgusted. This is way too slow for me, and I have a feeling we're not going anywhere.”

  Stefano leaned back in his leather chair. It had a swivel function, so it tilted back. He put his feet onto the desk and crossed his hands behind his head. “Sometimes, you're too close. I have a feeling we're staring at a fraction of the case while the real murderer is slowly creeping out of the picture behind our back. So let's take a step back and relax.”

  “Okay.” Carlina smiled at him. “Do I put up my feet, as well?”

  “If you want.”

  “I don't. In fact, I feel like walking around.”

  He smiled. “Don't let me stop you.”

  Carlina jumped up and started to pace in a wide circle. “All right. Now what?”

  “Now we'll try to look at it from a distance.”

  “How?”

  “Let's start with a general question. Why are people murdered?”

  “Money, love, hate, fear, blackmail, war, bad luck.”

  “Bad luck? What do you mean by that?”

  “I mean if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time and innocently get between the cogs of a crime machine.”

  “Do you think that's likely here?”

  “No.”

  “I agree. You also mentioned war. We can cross that out.”

  “Yes.”

  “So we're left with money, love, hate, fear, and blackmail.”

  “I guess.”

  “Which of these would have been the most likely motive to kill Dorotea?”

  Carlina didn't hesitate. “Fear.”

  “Fear of what?”

  “Fear of losing your job. Fear of being ridiculed.”

  “You're only thinking in the context of the company.”

  “Yes. Because the company was her life.”