Tricky Death Page 4

  “Just tell me everything you remember, and we'll take it from there.”

  Lucio stretched out his hand and touched Stefano's. “One more thing.”

  “Yes?”

  “Does Emma know I'm here?”

  “No.”

  “She must be frantic.”

  “I told her you didn't have an accident.” He preferred not to mention the other part of the message.

  Lucio's shoulders sagged. “Good. Thanks.”

  “Shall we start, then?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Stefano pressed the red recording button.

  “It was an evening like all the others. We went to the club, and I had to tag along.”

  “Can you start a bit earlier and give me some background information? I've hardly seen you these last weeks, so I'm not really up to date. Who is the ‘we’ you mention? And why did you have to tag along?”

  “It's because of my new job.” Lucio looked tired. “You do know I'm a construction engineer, don't you?”

  “Yes.”

  “And that I started a new job two months ago?”

  “Carlina mentioned it. What's the name of the company?”

  “Capomastro BB Top. It's a construction company. The BB is short for the owner's name, Bianco Brillo.” Lucio looked at his hands on the bedspread. “At the time, I felt honored and happy. Now I wish I'd never heard of them.”

  “How did you get that job?”

  “A headhunter called me. I'd never have thought of looking for a new job by myself. I was happy in my old one. I mean, it wasn't overly exciting, but it was all right, and the colleagues were friendly. But of course, when you're about to become a father, you take on more responsibility, and suddenly, you have to buy lots of stuff. I was very much aware of that, and it scared me somewhat. So when the headhunter called and told me he had an exciting opportunity, I was willing to listen. I went to the job interview, thinking it wouldn't hurt to see what they had to offer.”

  “And was it good?”

  Lucio nodded. “Yeah. It paid better than my old job, and –“

  “Much better?”

  “About twenty-five percent. Big enough to take the step.”

  “But not so big you'd smell a rat.”

  “No. Not quite. Not then.” Lucio sounded bitter.

  “And then?”

  “I discussed it with Emma. She said you had to take risks from time to time, and we couldn't see any disadvantages. Of course, it wasn't the best timing, with Zoe's birth coming up and everything. In my old job, I could have taken a vacation to enjoy her first weeks and help Emma. But with a new job, that was out of the question. I first had to establish myself. But Emma said it would be fine, so I did it.”

  “Did you try to postpone your start?”

  “Yeah, I did. But they were adamant. It was either start now or start never. So I took the job offer as it was.”

  “And then?”

  Lucio sighed so deep it rattled the bed. “The first three days were fine. They showed me the work I had to do and introduced me to all my colleagues, to some customers, and so on.”

  “What exactly do they do?”

  “They specialize in constructing commercial buildings, shopping malls, multi-level parking garages, things like that.”

  “And your job?”

  “Well, they told me they needed another construction engineer to create the technical drawings. But when it became time for me to work, the other construction engineer told me he didn't have any projects for me. He was busy himself, but he said it didn't make sense to share one project.”

  “Do you agree with that?”

  Lucio shrugged. “It makes sense, sure. If you're doing a technical drawing, it's best if you finish it from A to Z, instead of trying to do it with other people. So I believed him. But I wondered why there was no more work to do when they'd asked me to start urgently. I felt like I was sitting on an island, totally isolated. I became so desperate, I sent myself e-mails from time to time, just to see if the system still worked. Finally, I went to my boss and told him I didn't have enough to do.”

  “When was that?”

  “About three weeks after my start at the job.”

  “That was courageous.”

  Lucio snorted. “I was afraid that I'd somehow missed something. I thought maybe I hadn't picked up a cue, and that they would reproach me if I didn't react. I felt I had to tell someone.”

  “So what did your boss say?”

  “He told me to be patient. They were talking to some big customers and were on the point of receiving big projects. He said there'd been an unexpected hold-up, and if their plans had turned out right, I would have been up to my ears in work by now. That's when he proposed that I help with the sales.”

  Stefano blinked. “Is that normal?”

  “Not at all.” Lucio lifted both shoulders. “I'm an engineer, not a salesman. I prefer to calculate things, do the technical concepts. I'm not the kind of man who's great at small talk.”

  Stefano nodded. He knew Lucio kept in the background and didn't talk much, unless he felt he had to protect Emma. Of course, it was difficult to manage to squeeze in a word when the Mantonis were in full swing, but even when Lucio had had a chance during the many family reunions, he hadn't chosen a place in the limelight. “So what did you say?”

  “I agreed. After all, if we didn't get the job, I might be out on my ear. I was still in my probation period. But then I didn't know that …” His voice trailed out.

  “Didn't know what?”

  Lucio sighed and wiped his hand across his face with a gesture that was full of regret and resignation. “That the sales activities concentrated on wining and dining the prospective customers. And it didn't stop there.”

  “No?” Stefano didn't turn his gaze from Lucio.

  Lucio held it. “No. They always ended at the nightclub.”

  “Always the same one?”

  “Almost. Once or twice, we went to another place, but most of the time, after dinner, the whole group moved to the Inferno d'Oro.”

  Stefano didn't let on that he knew quite a bit about that particular nightclub. “Golden Hell? What a name.”

  Lucio sighed. “The name says it all.”

  “Care to tell me more?”

  Lucio cleared his throat. It seemed to hurt him. “Well, there were girls. Of course. And hard drinks.”

  “You've not shocked me so far. That's pretty much standard fare for a nightclub.”

  “And drugs.” Lucio spread his hands. “I tried to keep out of it as much as I could. I can't tell you how terrible I felt. Emma at home alone with little Zoe, and I was out half the night in this terrible place. It ate me alive. I didn't dare to confide in Emma, not in detail. I only told her we had to entertain the prospective customers. But after some weeks, I didn't see the sense of it all. We never talked business, not even in passing. There was not the slightest mention of possible buildings, steel constructions, anything that had to do with my job. I didn't matter. I don't know what was worse – the boring days or the terrible nights. I was exhausted, and about a million times, I was on the point of handing in my resignation. But then I thought of Emma and Zoe. I couldn't let them down.” He swallowed hard.

  “Did you ever … consume anything yourself?”

  “Of course I had to drink with them! I tried to get the barkeeper to add more water than whiskey to my drink, but he never seemed to get it. Sometimes, I just dribbled it on the floor when nobody was looking.”

  “And the other stuff?”

  Lucio drew himself up. In spite of his stubble, in spite of the hospital shirt, he had a sort of dignity about him. “You mean the drugs?”

  “And the girls.” Stefano kept his voice neutral.

  “Never.” Lucio was fervent. “I'm scared of drugs. And the girls …”

  “You're not scared of girls.”

  That drew a faint smile. “No. Not that.”

  “But?”

  �
��I'm a young father. And they … they weren't attractive. I mean, they were beautiful enough, but … I find it hard to describe.”

  “Give it a try.”

  Lucio moved his hands on the bedspread. “Well. If you looked into their eyes, they were sort of … dead. They smiled all the time, but those smiles never reached their eyes. They went through all the right motions, petted you, whispered into your ears, but it was just – fake, you know.” He shook himself. “In fact, I found it scary. Some of them were way too young.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I pointed my customers out to them, told them to try their luck there. Because as soon as every single one of them had been paired off, I was free to sidle out of the place and go home, go to sleep.”

  “Would you recognize any of the girls outside of the club?”

  He laughed without being amused. It sounded strange in the bare hospital room. “Without makeup and those provocative clothes? Not a chance.”

  “Did you ever get to know one or the other by name?”

  Lucio frowned. “They always told us their names. That was pretty much the standard opening line.” He lifted his voice and said in a high falsetto, “’Hi, there, big boy.’” He dropped his voice about an octave on the last two words, then continued with the high voice. “’I'm Angela. What's your name, handsome?’”

  “You say the name was Angela?”

  Lucio made a weak move with his hand. “Angela, Aurora, whatever. I can't recall. Not a single one of them told us her real name, I'm quite sure of that.”

  Stefano regarded him for a moment. He hadn't mentioned Ambrosia Amore, the name of the prostitute-turned-police-informant, but if Lucio had not been interested in the girl, he might well have misremembered the name as Aurora or Angela instead of Ambrosia. “Now tell me about last night.” His voice was calm.

  Lucio shrugged. “I don't remember much.”

  “Tell me everything you do recall.”

  “In the afternoon, I was so exhausted, and I felt so dirty that I wanted to hand in my resignation. I asked the secretary if I could get a time slot with Bianco Brillo, my boss, but she said I would have to wait until the next day. For a moment, I wondered if I could tell them I was sick and just return home, but …”

  “But?”

  Lucio made a rueful face. “This is a bit hard to admit. I'm not proud of myself.”

  Stefano suppressed the reflex to switch off the recording machine. His heart sank. “Do you wish to have a lawyer present before you continue?”

  “A lawyer? What for?”

  “Well, this is a homicide investigation, and you're a suspect.”

  Lucio stared at him. “You’re serious, aren’t you? I’m suspected of killing someone.”

  “Yes, I’m afraid so.”

  Lucio blinked. “It feels like a bad joke. But I don't need a lawyer. I trust you.”

  This felt bad. Stefano shook his head. “I can't make any exceptions for you. You know that. Really, it would be wiser to have someone here who represents your interests.”

  “I don't want one. I know you're fair, and that's enough. I'm sure I didn't kill anyone.” He hesitated. “I would remember that, wouldn’t I?”

  Stefano winced, hoping the recorder had had a weak moment. “I hope so. But what is it you're not proud of?”

  Lucio gave him a sheepish grin. “Well, I remembered that Zoe starts to cry every day around five and goes on until nine. Besides, Emma has been very much on edge these last days. So I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep when I got home. I couldn't even go to a park somewhere and sleep on a bench. It was still too cold in the night. So I thought I might just as well return one more time to the nightclub before I handed in my resignation.”

  Stefano drew a sigh of relief. “I see.”

  “First, we went out for dinner, as usual.”

  “Where did you go?”

  “To the Cinque Stelle Rosse.”

  Stefano nodded. The Five Red Stars Restaurant was one of the most expensive digs in town, well known as a place where businessmen met to soften up their partners before signing important deals.

  “I think it was around half past nine when we finished. Usually, we arrived later at the club.”

  “Who exactly was with you during the dinner, and later at the nightclub?”

  “Well, my boss Bianco Brillo, of course.”

  “Was he always with you, on every single evening?”

  “Not all the time, but usually, yes. Then the two key account managers, Giorgio and Domenico.”

  “What's a key account manager?”

  “That's a fancy name for sales manager. They have to make sure that the key accounts – the most important customers – have everything they need. Giorgio is responsible for the south, Domenico for the north.”

  “But they were both there?”

  “Yes. They've been in Florence for the last two weeks. I know they didn't like that at all, as they preferred to be out on the road, seeing their customers, but Bianco Brillo had been adamant. We all had to be there to soften up the customer.”

  “Just one?”

  “Well, it was one company, but they have four key people, who were always invited. Yesterday, there were only two with us, though.”

  “So you've wined and dined and generally courted four people for several weeks? Must be a hell of a business.”

  “It's a chain of shopping malls called Super A2Z.”

  “Which means we're talking a multi-million Euro business.”

  “Yes.” Lucio sounded morose.

  Stefano frowned. It wasn't unheard of that companies spent a lot of money on bribing business partners in order to reach a deal. That in itself didn't bother him much. But why had they insisted on dragging Lucio into this? “Tell me about the rest of the night.”

  “After dinner, we went straight to the Inferno d'Oro.”

  “So you must have gotten there around a quarter to ten.”

  “I guess. I didn't check the time.”

  “How did you get in?”

  Lucio blinked. “There's only one entrance, a small door.”

  “Yes, but there's a code, isn't there?”

  “Not sure. I was usually in conversation, and the others organized the entry.”

  “There's a special knocking code,” Stefano said.

  “No, really? I never noticed.”

  Stefano sighed. If Lucio hadn't even noticed that much, he was not going to be much help with the other aspects of the case. “Go on.”

  “Well, we went to the bar, got our drinks, sat down, waited for the girls to come. The usual stuff.”

  “And then?”

  “I took a sip of my drink, and the room started to turn.”

  “Right after the first sip?”

  “Yeah. I wondered if maybe I was coming down with a fever. The body reacts if the soul can't take it anymore, you know. If anything, I was glad. I had a reason to go home now. So I got up, but Domenico challenged me at that moment.”

  “He challenged you to do what?”

  “To down our drinks.”

  “Were you in the habit of doing that?”

  Lucio pulled a grimace. “Unfortunately, yes. And he said it was to our success, so I couldn't very well refuse.”

  Stefano frowned. It sounded very much like a teenagers’ gathering, but he knew enough about peer pressure to understand Lucio's reaction.

  “Did it taste strange?”

  “Not really.”

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Well, I had a severe cold some weeks ago, and my sense of taste hasn't really come back. So I tasted very little. I could tell that it burned, though.”

  “And then?”

  “I felt woozy and sort of sick, so I rushed to the bathroom, to splash some cold water on my face.” Lucio fell silent and stared into space with a frown.

  “Go on.”

  “It didn't help much. When I came out again, I felt odd, sort of floating. And then I barreled
into her. Or rather, she shot out of one of the rooms and ran straight at me.”

  “Who?”

  “One of the girls.”

  “Do you know her name?”

  “No.”

  “Had you seen her before?”

  Lucio shrugged. “I guess so. They all looked pretty similar to me – with their makeup and hairdos.” His hands moved on the covers, restless, smoothing out a wrinkle that wasn't there. “She was in a panic, said she'd seen a rat.”

  “A rat?”

  “Yeah.” Lucio shook himself. “She was babbling, saying she'd never seen a rat in the place before, and she was scared of them, and would I take a look?”

  “Did you think she was making this up to … well, to get you to go with her to that room?”

  Lucio frowned. “At the time, I had no suspicion at all. Her panic seemed real. She was really white in spite of all that makeup, and I'm not sure if you can create that effect at will.”

  “It's difficult. Can you remember the time when this happened?”

  Lucio shrugged. “Not very late. Half an hour after our arrival?”

  “That would make it ten-fifteen.”

  “Possibly. I followed her. Actually, I'd never noticed the door to that room before. There was a big bed and a mirror inside. Nothing else. She pointed underneath the bed, said the rat had hidden there.” Lucio cocked his head to the side.

  “So?”

  “So I stretched out on the floor and tried to see the rat.”

  Garini frowned. “What did she think you could do?”

  Lucio gave him a crooked smile. “No idea. I guess she expected me to do the manly thing, catch the animal, and get it out. Or even worse, kill it with a shovel or something.” He shuddered. “I hadn't thought it through. It was just a natural reaction to go have a look, calm her down.”

  Garini lifted an eyebrow. “Chivalrous.”

  “Chivalrous be damned. Any excuse to delay the return to the table with my business associates sounded good to me. Besides, by then, the room had started to turn around me.”

  “So you stretched out on the floor?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And then?”

  “Then nothing.”

  “You remember nothing?”

  “No. There's a complete blank, until I woke up this morning in this …” He looked around. “… in this room. Which doesn't look much like a hospital, I have to say. A bit austere, even for a hospital.”