Free Cosi Fan Tutti - 5 by Michael Dibdin Page B

disappeared. Abate was reputed to be one of the wealthiest men in the city, the owner of a company which had won substantial government contracts for the supply of military uniforms, bed linen and such items. At first a kidnap was suspected, although no ransom note was received.
    Then, ten days later, the second man went missing.
    Luca Delia Ragione had been a prominent member of the centre-right coalition which ruled the Campania region until the recent upheavals. Following the earthquake which devastated the inland region of Irpinia in 1980, money poured in from national and international sources, but for one reason or another a substantial proportion of this largesse not only failed to reach the tens of thousands shivering in their makeshift tent cities, but also vanished from the government’s accounts. It had since been alleged that Luca Delia Ragione was responsible for facilitating this financial conjuring trick, and that he also knew the whereabouts of the missing funds. The facts concerning these matters were likely to remain obscure, since he had also gone missing. Early one morning he had left the modern apartment block on Via Greco where he lived for a briefing with his lawyer before a court appearance, and had never been seen again. His car was found in
    the street, the alarm defused and the doors unlocked, but despite an extensive search and investigation there had been no further sign of Delia Ragione. And now a third
    name had joined this select list…
    “I suppose we’d better get out and circulate/ said one of the men, an aggressive-looking individual with a shock of jet-black hair and the build of a middle-weight boxer.
    ‘I’ve already put out a few feelers/ replied the other. He was shorter and slighter, wiry and slightly feral in appearance, with a scar on his left cheekbone and an incipient
    bald spot nestling amid his curly, light-brown hair.
    ‘And?’
    ‘Nothing. No one’s heard anything, or if they have they’re not talking. But to be honest they seemed as mystified about it as everyone else. Only more worried, of course.’
    Neither officer was in uniform, and their style of dress was completely different. The shorter one wore jeans, running shoes and an open-neck denim shirt. His companion was in a very expensive suit, a silk shirt and tie and black oxfords with a flawless mirror finish.
    ‘Somebody must know something/ he said.
    ‘Unless Ermanno had a hand in his own disappearance …’
    ‘Even then, somebody must be hiding him out.’
    ‘But not necessarily anyone known to us. He was under judicial advisement, just like Abate and Delia Ragione.
    Like them, he has an interest in lying low until…’
    He broke off, glancing at the wall. The two men exchanged a glance.
    ‘Until the situation stabilizes/ the elegant one suggested.
    ‘And there are plenty of other people who have an interest in postponing judicial enquiries into their cases until…’
    ‘Until the situation stabilizes/ his companion concluded with a nod. ‘Exactly. In which case there isn’t a chance of us finding out anything useful. You can’t play both sides against the middle if they are the middle.’
    There was silence for a while.
     
     
    ‘Marotta seems to have disappeared too/ the man in the Lacoste shirt said casually. ‘Do you think there could be a link?’
    The other looked sceptical.
    “I don’t see it. Marotta’s just a gofer, when all’s said and done. The other three are in the upper echelons of the Gaetano clan, the command and supply level. I could see why they might want to take them out of circulation, but Marotta? He doesn’t know enough to be a danger to anyone but himself. They’d just hand him over and let him sweat it out/
    Another silence.
    ‘Vallifuoco used to frequent prostitutes/ the man in the suit murmured as though to himself.
    ‘So?’
    ‘Maybe that’s where he went last night, under cover of that business meeting.’
    His companion considered this a