quickly.
"My
servant. Or rather, he used to be. The marchese made me dismiss him
yesterday."
"Why?"
Donati
recounted how Orfeo and Tonio fought in the wine cellars under the
caves, and how the marchese came upon them after the fight, lost his
temper, and quarrelled with Orfeo. Of course Raversi wanted to know
what Orfeo and Tonio were fighting about. Donati answered that he
did not know.
"Where
is Tonio now?" Raversi asked.
"I
don't know, Signor Conte. But he can't have gone far. I promised
I'd give him a month's wages and help him find another post. So he's
probably in Solaggio waiting for a chance to come back and see me
after the marchese leaves " Donati stopped short, remembering
that Lodovico would never go anywhere of his own accord again. "He
wouldn't have wanted to come back while the marchese was here,"
he finished. "He was afraid of him."
"Angry
with him, too, probably," said Lucia shortly.
"What
are you trying to suggest?" Raversi asked her sternly.
"It's
not my place to make suggestions, Excellency. I was just wondering,
that's all."
"You're
thinking Tonio might have killed the marchese?" said Matteo.
"How could he have got into the garden? I left the gate locked
last night, and he didn't have a key."
"It
wasn't locked this morning, Papa. I forgot to tell you."
"Are
you sure?" asked Raversi.
"Yes,
Your Excellency. When Papa and I came down from the
castle
this morning, he gave me the key to unlock the gate, because he had
to go to the village. But I didn't need to use it, because the gate
was already unlocked."
"How
many keys are there?" asked Raversi.
"Two,
Excellency," said Matteo. "One I took with me to the
castle last night, and the other's kept in a shed in the garden."
"Well,
there you are," said Raversi. "Orfeo took the key from the
shed and let himself out of the garden after he killed Lodovico."
Donati
was only half listening. Something of the greatest importance had
dawned on him. There might be dozens of brown-haired young men
wandering about the mountainous countryside or trying to cross the
borders into Piedmont or Switzerland. But not many of them would
have a split lip.
Raversi
seemed uncannily to read his mind. "Was Orfeo hurt in this
fight with Tonio?"
Somebody
has to tell him, Donati thought. Lucia won't, and Matteo is taking
his cue from her. So it's up to me. Orfeo may be a murderer. He
mustn't escape.
"I
don't know," he heard himself mumble. "As you know, I
can't see."
He
heard Lucia's quick release of breath. Now we're all guilty, he
thought. Heaven help us if this young man isn't worth lying for!
His
keen ears caught voices in the distance. "Someone is coming."
Matteo's
heavy tread moved toward the door. "It's Comandante Von Krauss
and some soldiers," he reported. "And I can see Don
Cristoforo and Signor Ruga oh, and Dr. Curioni. They're all coming
from the direction of the village."
"The
devil!" muttered Raversi. "I didn't want such a great
group all at once. Tell me: does anyone know of this crime except
ourselves?"
"We
told no one else," said Donati. "But I expect that, now
you've sent for the most important people in the neighbourhood, the
news will be all over Solaggio, and boatmen will be carrying it to
all the villages round the lake."
"No,"
said Raversi. "I had notes delivered to Von Krauss and the
others, telling them about the murder but urging them not to reveal
it to anyone yet. Even the servant who delivered the notes wasn't
privy to what they said."
"But
Signor Conte," said Donati, "people will have to know about
the murder soon enough."
"I'm
afraid I've kept you talking too long, Maestro," Raversi said
solicitously.
"You must be exhausted after such a terrible shock. Matteo,
Lucia, will you take Maestro Donati back to the villa? Remain there,
all of you, until I come to join you. And speak to no one no one, do
you understand? about what you've seen and heard here today."
Of
course the first thing Lucia did on their
"My
servant. Or rather, he used to be. The marchese made me dismiss him
yesterday."
"Why?"
Donati
recounted how Orfeo and Tonio fought in the wine cellars under the
caves, and how the marchese came upon them after the fight, lost his
temper, and quarrelled with Orfeo. Of course Raversi wanted to know
what Orfeo and Tonio were fighting about. Donati answered that he
did not know.
"Where
is Tonio now?" Raversi asked.
"I
don't know, Signor Conte. But he can't have gone far. I promised
I'd give him a month's wages and help him find another post. So he's
probably in Solaggio waiting for a chance to come back and see me
after the marchese leaves " Donati stopped short, remembering
that Lodovico would never go anywhere of his own accord again. "He
wouldn't have wanted to come back while the marchese was here,"
he finished. "He was afraid of him."
"Angry
with him, too, probably," said Lucia shortly.
"What
are you trying to suggest?" Raversi asked her sternly.
"It's
not my place to make suggestions, Excellency. I was just wondering,
that's all."
"You're
thinking Tonio might have killed the marchese?" said Matteo.
"How could he have got into the garden? I left the gate locked
last night, and he didn't have a key."
"It
wasn't locked this morning, Papa. I forgot to tell you."
"Are
you sure?" asked Raversi.
"Yes,
Your Excellency. When Papa and I came down from the
castle
this morning, he gave me the key to unlock the gate, because he had
to go to the village. But I didn't need to use it, because the gate
was already unlocked."
"How
many keys are there?" asked Raversi.
"Two,
Excellency," said Matteo. "One I took with me to the
castle last night, and the other's kept in a shed in the garden."
"Well,
there you are," said Raversi. "Orfeo took the key from the
shed and let himself out of the garden after he killed Lodovico."
Donati
was only half listening. Something of the greatest importance had
dawned on him. There might be dozens of brown-haired young men
wandering about the mountainous countryside or trying to cross the
borders into Piedmont or Switzerland. But not many of them would
have a split lip.
Raversi
seemed uncannily to read his mind. "Was Orfeo hurt in this
fight with Tonio?"
Somebody
has to tell him, Donati thought. Lucia won't, and Matteo is taking
his cue from her. So it's up to me. Orfeo may be a murderer. He
mustn't escape.
"I
don't know," he heard himself mumble. "As you know, I
can't see."
He
heard Lucia's quick release of breath. Now we're all guilty, he
thought. Heaven help us if this young man isn't worth lying for!
His
keen ears caught voices in the distance. "Someone is coming."
Matteo's
heavy tread moved toward the door. "It's Comandante Von Krauss
and some soldiers," he reported. "And I can see Don
Cristoforo and Signor Ruga oh, and Dr. Curioni. They're all coming
from the direction of the village."
"The
devil!" muttered Raversi. "I didn't want such a great
group all at once. Tell me: does anyone know of this crime except
ourselves?"
"We
told no one else," said Donati. "But I expect that, now
you've sent for the most important people in the neighbourhood, the
news will be all over Solaggio, and boatmen will be carrying it to
all the villages round the lake."
"No,"
said Raversi. "I had notes delivered to Von Krauss and the
others, telling them about the murder but urging them not to reveal
it to anyone yet. Even the servant who delivered the notes wasn't
privy to what they said."
"But
Signor Conte," said Donati, "people will have to know about
the murder soon enough."
"I'm
afraid I've kept you talking too long, Maestro," Raversi said
solicitously.
"You must be exhausted after such a terrible shock. Matteo,
Lucia, will you take Maestro Donati back to the villa? Remain there,
all of you, until I come to join you. And speak to no one no one, do
you understand? about what you've seen and heard here today."
Of
course the first thing Lucia did on their
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