Chapter 10

10

MONDAY MORNING

As it turned out, I didn't need to sleep on the floor after all, although when I broke the news to Anna that I felt I needed to go back in the morning to help with the investigation, I had a feeling she was thinking of turfing me out of, not only the bed and the room, but maybe also her life as well. Luckily, she was appreciative of the way I was helping the maiden in distress so she swallowed her exasperation and agreed to return to Portofino with me next day. I knew I was breaking my promise to try to concentrate on her and our holiday, but something deep down inside me wouldn't let me turn my back on a murder case – even if, as she was quick to point out, I wasn't being paid for my efforts.

Anna had been able to convince the receptionist to find a small single room for Heather, and the receptionist even very kindly managed to provide her with a comb and a little tube of toothpaste with a disposable toothbrush, although all her other stuff was still on board La Fortunata at Portofino. Heather thanked us most warmly, but her voice was weary and I told her she would feel better after a good night's sleep.

Anna was still asleep when I woke up early next morning, so I crept out of bed and took Oscar for a walk before breakfast. When I got back to the room, the atmosphere was a bit strained but Anna appeared to have accepted the fait accompli and she no longer tried to object to my ‘playing detectives'. Of course, in spite of her choice of vocabulary, she knows as well as I do that murder isn't a game.

When we met up with Heather in the breakfast room at eight, she was looking much brighter than the previous night. Over breakfast, I told her about the death of one of the group from the Regal Princess and she sounded interested when she heard who was on board the yacht.

‘Susie Upton and Martin Grey: they did that sitcom about the magician and his assistant, didn't they? My mum used to love that one. As for their huge yacht, I saw it yesterday morning. It was anchored only a couple of hundred metres further out than us overnight and it came past around half past seven in the morning, heading for Portofino. I asked Mario why we weren't going ashore as well, because I was getting fed up with just bobbing up and down with the shore half a mile away, but he said he wanted to wait. Like I told you last night, he changed completely the previous night when that other boat appeared and he was in a foul mood all day yesterday. He really snapped at me. My phone wasn't working and I had nothing to read, so I had a really boring day. It was late afternoon before he finally decided it was time to go into the harbour and that was a tremendous relief.'

This confirmed what I had thought. The rendezvous with the unknown boat had been pre-arranged and presumably Mario had wanted to keep whatever was in those boxes safely out of the way of prying eyes until the last minute. Knowing that he was scheduled to meet and pick up the two Arabs that evening, he had just hung around out at sea and wasted time. Little wonder Heather had been bored and getting more and more disenchanted with him.

I found Officer Solaro waiting for us when we got down to the jetty and he gave us another exhilarating trip across the bay. Oscar clearly loved it and he stood on the foredeck, firmly braced with his legs splayed, his nose pointing into the wind and his tail wagging, while I kept hold of the end of his lead in case he might decide to jump over the side. Fortunately, Anna also found the trip exciting and she was looking and sounding more cheerful when we got to Portofino. After dropping us off on the quayside, Officer Solaro stayed on board the boat, telling me he was going off to do his ‘rounds'. I presumed this to mean checking up on the multitude of different boats moored up in the bay and beyond. Anna and I had already agreed that she and Oscar would go for a walking tour of the town while Heather and I went up to the Carabinieri station. The good news was that there were far fewer people around first thing on a Monday morning and it didn't take us long to get there.

When we got to the barracks I found Maresciallo Veronese standing outside once more, this time without a cigarette in his hand, and he gave me a smart salute.

‘Buongiorno, Commissario.' Word of my former rank must have spread.

I smiled back at him. ‘Good morning, Maresciallo , but it's ex- commissario these days. How did it go with the three men you have in custody?'

‘The two Arabs claim they only speak a few words of Italian, no English, not even French. We couldn't get a word out of them although they'd been sitting with Mario Fortunato when we picked them up, so how did they talk to each other – hand signals?' He gave a dismissive snort. ‘The lieutenant's trying to get an interpreter, but whether that will start them talking is another matter. As for Fortunato, he's barely said a word except for bleating that he wants to see his lawyer. That's the way it is for these pros: say nothing, get an expensive lawyer and try to wriggle out of all charges.'

‘You say he's a pro – what sort of pro? A pro smuggler?'

‘He's an arms dealer, a middleman between factories in places like Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Austria on the one hand and a variety of clients all around the globe, some of them decidedly suspicious, on the other. The lieutenant will tell you more, but we've had our eye on this bunch for months now.'

‘I see.' This confirmed my feeling that the speed with which the Carabinieri had impounded the yacht and arrested its occupants had to mean that the authorities had already had them in their sights. ‘Well, I hope you manage to break down their wall of silence.'

He shrugged his shoulders. ‘I'm not holding my breath.' He checked his watch. ‘I expect the lieutenant's back in his office now. He spent the night here at the barracks and the last I heard of him, he was having a quick coffee. Come on, let me show you through to his office. If he hasn't come back yet, you can wait for him.'

In fact, Lieutenant Bertoletti was already at his desk when we were ushered into his office. He stood up to shake my hand and looked across at the maresciallo . ‘Veronese, I'd like you to take this young lady to an interview room, please. I'll be with her shortly.'

I gave Heather a little wave and mouthed to her not to worry. In response to the lieutenant's gesture, I sat down opposite him and gave him a sympathetic grin. ‘Tired?'

‘Exhausted. I didn't get to bed until 4a.m. and I was up again at six-thirty. I've had so many cups of coffee this morning that I feel light-headed, but at least I'm awake.'

‘I gather from the maresciallo that your other guests aren't talking.'

He shook his head helplessly. ‘Hopefully, in the next hour or so, the Arabic interpreter should be here, although we're perfectly sure that these two already speak Italian, if not English, so that means I'm not expecting any instant confessions. As for Mario Fortunato, he refuses to say anything until his lawyer gets here from Pisa, and that won't be until mid-morning at the earliest.'

‘The maresciallo told me that they were involved with arms smuggling. Did you manage to get any clues off those boxes that were transferred from the other boat? Don't worry, I don't want to know what was in them.'

‘The Forensic team are still studying them. What I can tell you is that our ballistics specialists say they should have no trouble identifying the origin of the highly sophisticated weapons in the boxes and, you never know, we might be able to get some prints off them and match them with some of the other suspects in this case. They were no doubt destined for some very unpleasant people – Veronese may have told you that this is a Europewide, if not worldwide, operation.'

‘I gathered as much. I wish you luck.'

He smiled. ‘Thanks, we need it.'

‘Did you get any kind of reaction from any of the three when you mentioned Jerome Van der Groot? I presume if they weren't talking, you didn't get much.'

‘The two Arabs looked completely blank but, as far as we're aware, they weren't on either boat the other night. As for Fortunato, he did at least say something when I put it to him. It wasn't much, but he just said, quite firmly, "I am not a murderer."'

I caught his eye for a moment. ‘He would say that, wouldn't he?'

He smiled grimly. ‘Indeed, although I have to confess that I almost felt inclined to believe him. Tell me, how long are you staying in Rapallo?'

‘We're heading home tomorrow. Anna has a meeting at the university in the afternoon.'

‘But you're here all day today? Would it be too much of an imposition on you if we were to put off our visit to the Regal Princess until this afternoon? That'll give me time to talk to Heather Greensleeves, our two Arabic speakers, and hopefully before lunch, Mario Fortunato's lawyer will have arrived and the guy might finally start talking.' He looked up and gave me a weary smile. ‘To sweeten the pill, could I at least offer you and your girlfriend dinner tonight? A close friend of mine has a restaurant here with a good reputation, and it's the least I can do after you've given your time so freely. You do like fish, don't you?'

‘That's remarkably kind of you and, yes, we both love fish, but wouldn't you prefer to go home and get yourself a good night's sleep?'

He laughed. ‘A good meal and a couple of glasses of wine and I'll be fine. And, by the way, I haven't forgotten your dog. I'll make sure they give us a table outside on the terrace. The restaurant's less than a hundred metres from here and it's called La Conchiglia. Just turn left outside the door and walk up the road.'

‘Wonderful, thanks. What are you planning on doing with Heather Greensleeves? From what she's told me, I'm convinced she had nothing to do with what happened the other night.'

‘I'm sure you're right. I just want to get as much background as I can on Fortunato and every single detail she can remember about the other boat and the people on it. The Coastguard have been tracking several boats that might have rendezvoused with them, but if we can get a positive ID, that would be excellent. I imagine when we've finished with her, she'll want to go back home to Lucca, rather than hang around waiting to be reunited with Signor Fortunato.' He ran a weary hand over his stubbly cheeks. ‘I think I'd better go and have a shave. Why don't you go and tell her what's happening and check that she'll be able to make her own way home. And you can give her a bit of good news: I got my people to pack up her stuff, and her bag's in the corner of my office, so she doesn't need to worry about trying to get it back from the yacht. Thanks for all your help and I'll see you this afternoon.'

I got up and the two of us went out into the corridor. He opened a door partway along and I saw Heather in there sitting at a table, looking nervous. The lieutenant left me with her and went off to have his shave. I explained what was happening and gave her the good news about her belongings, stressing that she wasn't a suspect but that the lieutenant was hoping she might be able to provide a few extra snippets of information that could help their inquiry, and she looked reassured. I said she would probably be out in the next hour or so and asked if she was happy making her own way back to Lucca. She assured me that it would be no problem at all for her to get the ferry and the train, and then jumped to her feet to come over and give me another hug.

‘Thank you, Dan, and please give my thanks to Anna. You've both been super kind to me. Any time you're in Lucca, please give me a call and come and have something to eat. I'm quite a good cook, honest.'

I thanked her and told her I would be sure to call. After that, I went out looking for Anna and Oscar, deciding to walk down to the seafront and, if I didn't see her, to text her. In fact, I almost bumped into her halfway down the road as she was staring at a handbag in a shop window. I went over and was about to suggest I buy it for her as a peace offering for leaving her to her own devices when I saw the price and decided to leave that one for the oligarchs. Oblivious to my fleeting moment of almost generosity, she turned around when Oscar spotted me and dragged her in my direction.

‘That was quick, Dan.' Her face lit up, but only until I broke the news to her that I would be going out to the yacht full of TV people this afternoon rather than this morning. She muttered a typical Italian expression of annoyance, which translates literally as, ‘Pig misery!' Don't ask me why. I hastened to apologise and was seriously considering revisiting the idea of the handbag, even though it would probably have involved taking out a mortgage, when I was saved by the bell. Anna's phone started ringing. She answered and it was immediately clear that she'd been expecting the call.

‘ Ciao , Tamsin, that would be great. And you're sure you don't mind if I bring the dog?' She glanced across at me. ‘Although I can happily leave my boyfriend behind – just say the word. Well, if that's okay, I'd love to. Hang on and I'll see what Dan says.' She looked down at me as I was scratching Oscar's ears. ‘I bumped into an old friend a few minutes ago and she's invited us for lunch with her. She was just checking to see if it's okay. Are you going to be tied up with your Carabinieri friends or might you be able to spare me an hour or two of your precious time?'

I hastily assured her that I would be only too delighted and I heard her relay the information to her friend. Her last words were intriguing.

‘You'll come and collect us? Twelve-thirty. Perfect. We'll be waiting at the jetty.'

She dropped the phone back into her bag and turned towards me.

‘That was a woman called Tamsin Taylor. She used to work for a company making historical TV documentaries and she and I worked together four years ago when she was making a programme about the Palio in Siena. I was advising on the historical side of things and acting as interpreter. It was quite fun, certainly a lot more fun than my time on the movie last year where I met you. No murders in her programmes, I'm pleased to say. She's now working for a new TV company and she's here with a bunch of other TV people holidaying on a yacht and that's where we've been invited for lunch.'

‘Tamsin Taylor…?' I recognised that name and I must have looked completely gormless because she actually burst out laughing.

‘That's right, Sherlock, we've just been invited for lunch on board the Regal Princess .'

My head was spinning. On the one hand, this would be an excellent way of mingling with the people on the boat in an informal manner, but the complication was that they had already seen me in the company of the Carabinieri . At the very least, people were going to be suspicious of me, maybe hostile. I did my best to explain the problem to Anna but, ever pragmatic, she just shrugged her shoulders.

‘So what? Did you do any interrogating or questioning or whatever you call it when you were on the boat yesterday? In fact, did you say anything to anybody?' Seeing me shake my head, she continued. ‘You're English and you speak Italian. We'll just tell them you were helping out with translating. That doesn't mean you're connected with the police. It'll be fine, you'll see.'

I hoped she was right. Certainly, the idea of going back aboard the Regal Princess appealed to my investigative instincts, but whether it would further the murder investigation remained to be seen.