Death and the Olive Grove (34 page)

‘Aw, just wait a bit longer, I've almost finished the sweater. Look how lovely … Want to try it on?' said Rosa, flourishing it in the air.

‘Another time,' said Bordelli, getting up.

‘Bah … There are a lot of women in this world, Mr Sourpuss.'

‘I'm just a bit tired.'

‘Bah!'

They said goodbye at the door, and Bordelli lazily descended the stairs. He felt strange. He felt pissed off. Not only because of Milena, but because of everything. He got into his car and drove off. It was past three, and there was nobody about.

Instead of going home, he went to the police station. Only after he was already back in his office did he realise that someone had greeted him on the stairs, and he hadn't replied. He leaned way back in the chair, whose springs were getting weaker by the day, and noticed that the wheels squeaked slightly. He would have to oil them. He lit a cigarette, knowing it wouldn't be the last.

One way or another, the two murders had been solved. Another Nazi had been executed, a child-killer was underground, forever buried with his madness. It was all over. Over … At least until the mental balance of someone else started to tip.

As he crushed the fag-end in the ashtray, a big, sluggish fly landed on his wrist. It was fat and black, with hairy legs. The inspector held his hand still, so it wouldn't fly away, and so he wouldn't feel alone.

Acknowledgements

I thank my father, again. When I was a child, he used to tell us war stories after dinner, some of them amusing, some of them horrifying. But he always had a twinkle in his eye that made me think that it must be wonderful to fight in a war. I was so convinced of this that, whenever anyone asked me as a child what I wanted to do when I grew up, I would say: ‘Make war.' I later understood that the gleam in my father's eye was only from the joy of storytelling, of being still alive to tell of things that would otherwise have died with him. And perhaps the desire to write is nothing more than this. Even Botta's recipe for pork chops with milk, fennel seeds and tomato sauce came from my father. Here it is:

Botta's Pork Chops

Put the pork chops (preferably not too thick) in a frying pan with a bit of water and cook them well on both sides until the water has almost entirely evaporated. Add a cup of chopped tomatoes and turn the chops several times. Then add a cup of milk and a handful of fennel seeds, and when the sauce begins to boil, turn the heat down and leave uncovered to reduce the liquid until the sauce has reached the proper point of density. Then remove the pan from the burner, cover it and leave it in peace for a couple of minutes.

Thanks also to Véronique for having invented Inspector Bordelli's name.

To Carlo Lucarelli for having saved me at the outline stage.

To Francesca and Enzo for their passionate medical advice.

To my editor Daniela, for having put up with me during proofs.

To Francesco for having pointed out to me a number of passages in need of revision and for having suggested the beautiful Sonia's surname to me.

NOTES

by Stephen Sartarelli

1
– The
Legge Merlin
, a law named after Socialist MP Lina Merlin, was passed in 1959, outlawing organised prostitution, including brothels, while keeping prostitution – that is, the exchange of sexual services for money – technically legal. The effective upshot was to drive most prostitutes into the streets.

2
– See page 33 of the text.

3
– The Torre di Arnolfo is the crenellated spire of the Palazzo Vecchio (also called Palazzo della Signoria) in the central square of Florence. Traditionally attributed to Arnolfo di Cambio
(c
. 1240–c. 1300–10), it was built in 1299.

4
– ‘Marshal' is a rank specific to the carabinieri in Italy.

5
– Rosolio is a cordial of spirits and sugar often flavoured with rose petals and/or orange blossoms and a variety of spices.

6
– Alkermes (also written
Alchermes
in Italian, from the Arabic
al–qirmiz
, for ‘cochineal') is a sweet red liqueur flavoured with herbs and spices and now used principally in the preparation of pastries and for other cooking purposes.

7
– On 8 September 1943, the Armistice was signed between Italy and the Allied forces after the latter had successfully captured the southern half of the peninsula. This was followed by a German invasion and occupation of the north and the resuscitation of Mussolini and his lapsed regime in the puppet government called the Republic of Salò, headquartered in the small northern town of the same name.

8
– Sweet fried ricecakes typical of Tuscany.

9
– A suburban district of Florence.

10
– Celentano:‘Stay away from me' (1962), a cover, with Italian lyrics, of the Gene McDaniels song ‘Tower of Strength'.

11
– A tributary of the Arno on the outskirts of Florence.

12
– Actually, the Normans did more than ‘pass through' Sicily. They ruled it from the late eleventh century through the twelfth, and settled there in considerable numbers. The Kingdom of Sicily founded by them lasted, in various forms and sizes, until the early nineteenth century and was the oldest kingdom in Italy before the Unification.

13
– The Viali are the broad, late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century boulevards that encircle the ancient centre of Florence.

14
– An Italian sweet flavoured with hazelnuts and almonds and other essences.

15
– Nuragic: Of or pertaining to the
nuraghe
, the conical megaliths in central Sardinia, which have come to symbolise the island. ‘Nuragic' thus can also mean, simply, ‘Sardinian'.

16
– A school of Italian painters active in Tuscany in the second half of the nineteenth century. Pre-dating the French Impressionists by a decade or two, they painted outdoors and broke up colour into little spots or
macchie
, hence the name
macchiaioli
.

17
– Cecco Angiolieri (1260–1312) was a medieval Italian poet from Siena.

18
–
Ribollita
is a classic Tuscan peasant soup consising, with some possibility of variation, of leftover bread, cannellini beans, carrots, onions, cabbage and chard.

19
– ‘
Tu vuo
'
fa
'
l'americano'
(‘You like to pretend you're American') is a popular song from 1956 by Neapolitan singer Renato Carosone (1920–2001). It was sung by Sophia Loren in the 1960 film
It Started in Naples
, with Clark Gable looking on, and was more recently featured in the film
The Talented Mr Ripley
, sung by Fiorello.

20
–
in zimino:
A Tuscan sauce for fish and seafood made of leafy green vegetables, such as spinach or chard, garlic, onion, tomato, white wine and aromatic herbs.

21
– Domenico Modugno (1928–94) was a popular Italian singer, best known for his international hit song
‘Volare.'

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 by Marco Vichi

Translation copyright © 2012 by Stephan Sartarelli

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