Free The Veils of Venice by Edward Sklepowich Page B

murder lay under the roof of the Palazzo Pindar and among its occupants – or, at the very most, not much further afield in some person or persons closely connected to the house and them, some friend or business contact of Olimpia or of another family member.
    As Urbino gazed out at the slowly changing scene, he ran through the classic motives for murder, one by one, as a mental exercise, trying to imagine scenarios for each of them, and trying to connect them with the House of Pindar. Motivation was what interested him the most in his investigations. His interest in it was related to his biography writing, where so much was interpretation and where truth was not always directly related to cold facts.
    He speculated about each possible motive as far as he could, but there were great gaps that were related to the gaps in his knowledge about Olimpia and the other members of the household.
    The motives that seemed to make the most sense, at least at this early stage, were greed, jealousy, and revenge.
    Could Olimpia have fallen victim to someone’s greed? With her out of the picture, the murderer might have money from an inheritance or an insurance policy.
    All three siblings had owned the Palazzo Pindar and its collection, and now, according to what the contessa had told him about the agreement among them, it belonged to Gaby and Ercule. Olimpia’s business had not been very lucrative, from what Urbino knew. He needed to put it into the equation. She had recently signed a contract to design costumes for the Goldoni production. Had anyone else been competing for the commission?
    As for jealousy, someone could have been furious about her preference for Mina; so jealous that the person had been driven to murder. It was even possible that someone had seen her as a prisoner who had to be freed from what was believed to be Olimpia’s malign influence.
    The unstoppable flood of questions and speculations continued to surge through Urbino’s mind as the boat throbbed past the cemetery island where the cypresses twisted in the wind, and entered the canals of Murano with their deserted embankments and closed glass factories.
    Urbino pursued a different tack. Had Olimpia been in possession of a dangerous piece of knowledge, something she could never have imagined would lead to her death? Had her exploitation of someone’s dark secret driven her victim to murder?
    Or might someone have been blackmailing her? Had all the money scattered on the floor of the atelier been Olimpia’s payment to her blackmailer – or someone’s payment to her – in a transaction that had gone deadly wrong?
    As the boat started its return journey across the dark lagoon, Urbino hoped that he could reestablish himself at the Palazzo Pindar as soon as possible. He also needed to speak with the contessa’s staff.
    Urbino had no sooner returned to the Palazzo Uccello than the telephone rang. His ex-brother-in-law Eugene’s voice boomed over the line from Rome.
    â€˜I’ve been tryin’ to get hold of you all this mornin’ and ever since eight-thirty tonight. Thought you had slipped out of town to escape me.’
    â€˜I’m waiting with open arms.’
    â€˜That’s what I like to hear. Don’t want to think you’ve lost your Southern hospitality. You’ve lost plenty else. I have every intention of gettin’ you back into Southern shape when you come back with me.’
    Anxiety stabbed Urbino when Eugene mentioned their departure. Would he be able to do what he needed to do?
    â€˜Everything’s on schedule. I’m almost ready for Venice,’ Eugene was saying. ‘Seen the Vatican, poked around the ruins, and thrown enough coins in the fountains. Nothing much has changed from ten years ago. Guess that’s why they call it the Eternal City. Eternally the same! Now it’s see Venice and die. Isn’t that what they say?’
    â€˜See Naples and