Read Online Black Run by Antonio Manzini - Free Book Online Page B

he approached Luisa, who was sitting waiting on a bench.
    â€œHuh?” asked Italo.
    â€œShe looks like Greta Scacchi. The actress. You know the one?”
    â€œNo.”
    The deputy police chief extended his hand to the woman, who had risen to her feet and was holding out hers.
    â€œDeputy Police Chief Rocco Schiavone.”
    â€œLuisa Pec.”
    The woman’s hand was hard and callused, in sharp contrast with the softness of her face and the curves of her body. On her cheeks, a faint blush made her look hale and healthy.
    â€œPlease follow me to my office, Signora Pec.”
    Luisa and Rocco walked off down the hallway. “So last night your husband didn’t come home?”
    â€œNo. He didn’t come home last night.”
    â€œPrego , take a seat,” and Rocco opened the door.

    He immediately noticed a whiff of cannabis and hurried to throw open the window. He gestured to Luisa Pec, who took a seat in front of the desk. Now Rocco could take a closer look at her. Her eyes were dull, marked by circles as deep as trenches. Luisa was the very picture of anxiety, but she still managed to be pretty.
    Rocco sat down in his high-backed leather chair. “Tell me all about it,” he said, and placed both elbows on his desk.
    â€œLast night my husband didn’t come home.”
    â€œWell, that’s a concept I think we’ve thoroughly examined. What is your husband’s name?”
    â€œLeone. Leone Miccichè.”
    â€œMiccichè. Not a native of these mountains, unless I’m guessing wrong?”
    â€œQuite right. He’s from Catania.”
    â€œWhere do you live?”
    â€œLeone and I have a chalet in Cuneaz.”
    â€œWhere?”
    â€œOn the pistes, about three hundred yards past the end of the cableway. There are a few houses up there, practically a village, I guess, and it’s called Cuneaz. Well, that’s where we have our hut. Last night Leone went down to town. He always goes down on foot. Then he comes back by the cableway.”
    â€œAnd you haven’t seen him since last night?”
    â€œSince last night.”
    Schiavone opened the desk drawer. He had a sudden urge to smoke another joint, maybe just a couple of quick puffs, but instead he opted for a more official Camel. “Mind if I smoke?”
    â€œNo. I don’t smoke myself, but Leone does and I’ve gotten used to it.”
    â€œWhat was your husband going to do in town?”

    â€œHe generally went down every other day. He’d just head down, see some people, drop by the bookstore, pick up a novel. That kind of thing.”
    Rocco lit his cigarette. “But last night he didn’t come home . . .”
    â€œNo. I heard about what happened and I couldn’t sleep all night long. The person you found, did he have any ID?”
    Rocco halted her with a wave of his hand. “Signora Pec, unfortunately we don’t know the identity of the person we found last night.”
    Luisa gulped and swallowed a bundle of anxiety. Then tears welled up in her eyes.
    â€œMaybe your husband slept in town last night, don’t you think? He might have had too much to drink and . . .”
    â€œHe’d have called me this morning!”
    Schiavone smiled. “Signora, when a guy’s had way too much to drink, the next morning he won’t even know where he is, take it from me.”
    â€œYou see, Dottor . . .”
    â€œSchiavone.”
    â€œSchiavone. Before coming here today, I went to all the places Leone usually goes. Last night, nobody saw him.”
    A tear slid down Luisa’s cheek. Rocco sat there looking at her face. He was attracted by the slightly downturned lips, which gave her an expression that was at once surprised and sensual. Tears and sadness looked out of place on that healthy, vital complexion. And that odd counterpoint, so unmistakable, aroused the deputy police chief to a surprising degree. Luisa wiped the tears from