Free The Scent of the Night by Andrea Camilleri

do what?'
    'Sent there on assignment by Gargano . For a stay of at least one month. To take care of some business.' 'And who told you that?'
    'Giacomo's uncle. The one looking after the construction of the house.'
    'What house?' asked Michela, completely confused.
    'You didn't know Giacomo was building a house just off the road between Vigata and Montelusa?'
    Michela put her head in her hands.
    'What are you saying? Giacomo scraped by on his salary of two million two hundred thousand lire. That much I know for certain!'
    ‘ Maybe his parents—'
    'His parents are from Vizzini and get by on the chicory in their garden. Listen, Inspector, this whole story you've just told me doesn't make any sense. It's true that every now and then Gargano used to send Giacomo off to clear up certain problems, but it was always unimportant stuff, and it always involved our own affiliates. I seriously doubt he would ever send him to Germany on important business. As I said, Giacomo knew more than the rest of us, but there was no way he could operate on an international leveL He's not old enough, and secondly—'
    'How old is he?' Montalbano interrupted.
    'Twenty-five. And, secondly, he has no experience. No, I'm convinced he pulled out that excuse with his uncle because he wanted to disappear for a while. He knew he couldn't handle all the infuriated clients.'
    'So he goes into hiding for a whole month?'
    'Bah. I don't know what to think,' said Michela. 'Give me a cigarette.'
    Montalbano gave her one and lit it. The girl smoked it in short drags, without opening her mouth, visibly agitated. The inspector didn't feel like talking either, so he put his brain on automatic pilot.
    When she'd finished smoking, Michela said in her Marlene voice (or was it Garbo dubbed?):
    ‘ Now I have a headache.'
    She tried to open the window but couldn't.
    'Allow me. Now and then it gets stuck.'
    He leaned over the girl and realized too late that he'd made a mistake.
    Michela's arms were suddenly wrapped around his shoulders. Montalbano's mouth opened in astonishment, and that was his second mistake. Michela's mouth overwhelmed his half-open one and began a sort of meticulous exploration thereof with her tongue. Montalbano momentarily succumbed, then got hold of himself and executed a painful unsticking manoeuvre.
    'Behave.'
    'Yes, Daddy,' she said with a glint of amusement deep in her violet eyes. He turned on the ignition, put the car in gear, and drove off.
    But that 'behave' had not been addressed to the girl. It was addressed to that part of his body which, upon solicitation, had not only promptly responded but actually intoned in a ringing voice the patriotic anthem that goes: The tombs shall open, the dead shall rise...
     
    'Maria santissima, Chief! What a scare I got! I'm still shaking all over, Chief! Look at my hand. See it trembling, see it?' ‘I see it. What happened?'
    'The c'mishner called poissonally in poisson and axed for you. I tole 'im you's monetarily absint an' as soon as you got back I’ d a tell you he wants a talk t'you. But then he axed, the c'mishner did, to talk to the rankling officer.'
    'The ranking officer, Cat.'
    'Whatever is, is, Chief, All 'at matters is we unnastand each other. So I was saying as how Inspector Augello's matrimoniously engaged to be married soon an' so he's on leavings, an' you know what the c'mishner says to me then? He says: "I don't give a damn." Just like that, Chief! So I says, since Fazio ain't here neither, there ain't no rankling nobody. And then he axed me what my name is an' so I says Catarella. So then he says, "Listen, Santarella," and I wanna make a point and put 'im right, so I says, "My name's Catarella." And yknow what the c'mishner said then? He said: "I don't give a damn what your name is." Just like that. He was outside himself, the c'mishner was!'
    'Cat, we're gonna be here all night at this rate. What'd he want? ’
    'He tole me to tell you you got twenty-four hours to give 'im the answer