IM10 August Heat (2008) by Andrea Camilleri Read Free Book Online Page A

get another without anyone’s having asked him.
    “You’re such a jerk!” Guido said angrily, following after his wife, who had run weeping into the bedroom.
    “But I did what I thought was best!” said Montalbano, trying to justify himself in Livia’s eyes.
    She only looked at him in disdain.
    “When Fazio phoned you last night, you had already arranged with him to provide you with an excuse to go out, hadn’t you?”
    “Yes.”
    “And did you come back here to have a better look at the corpse?”
    “Yes.”
    “And afterwards you made love to me! You are an animal! A brute!”
    “But I took a shower so that—”
    “You’re a repulsive creature!”
    She got up, leaving him standing there, and went into her friends’ bedroom. She returned about five minutes later, cold as ice.
    “They’re packing their bags.”
    “They’re leaving? What about the plane tickets?”
    “Guido decided not to wait any longer.They’re going to go by car.Take me back to Marinella. I need to pack, too, because I’m going with them.”
    “Oh, Livia, try to be reasonable!”
    “I don’t want to hear another word!”
    It was hopeless. On the drive back to Marinella, she didn’t open her mouth and Montalbano didn’t dare. As soon as they got there, Livia threw her things helter-skelter into her suitcase, then went out and sat on the veranda with a long face.
    “You want me to fix you something to eat?”
    “You only think of two things.”
    She didn’t say what those two things were, but Montalbano understood anyway.
    Around one o’clock, Guido arrived to pick up Livia. Also in the car was Ruggero, with whom Bruno had apparently refused to part. Guido handed the house keys over to Montalbano, but did not shake his hand. Laura kept her head turned away, Bruno gave him a Bronx cheer, and Livia wouldn’t even kiss him good-bye.
    Rejected and abandoned, Montalbano watched them leave with a heavy heart. But also, deep down, with a sense of relief.
     
     
     
    The first thing he did was phone Adelina.
    “Adelì, Livia had to go back to Genoa. Could you come tomorrow morning?”
    “Yes, signore. I can even come in a couple a hours.”
    “That’s all right, there’s no need.”
    “No, signore, Ima gonna come anyways. I can just imagina mess Miss Livia lefta house in!”
    There was a little bit of hard bread left in the kitchen. Montalbano ate it with a slice of tumazzo cheese that was in the fridge.Then he lay down in bed and fell asleep.
    When he woke up it was four o’clock. He could hear from the tinkle of plates and glasses in the kitchen that Adelina had already arrived.
    “Could you bring me a cup of coffee, Adelì?”
    “Right away, signore.”
    She brought the coffee with a scowl on her face.
    “ Madonna mia! The plates was all covered with grease an’ I even foun’ a pair a dirty unnerpants in the batroom!”
    Now, in reality, if there was a fanatically neat woman in the world, it was Livia. But in Adelina’s eyes, she had always seemed like someone whose ideal was to live in a pigsty.
    “But I told you, she had to leave in a hurry.”
    “You have a fight? You break up?”
    “No, we didn’t break up.”
    Adelina seemed disappointed and went back in the kitchen.
    Montalbano got up to make a phone call.
    “Aurora Agency? Inspector Montalbano here. I’d like to speak with Signor Callara.”
    “I’ll put him on right away,” replied a woman’s voice.
    “Inspector? Good afternoon, what can I do for you?”
    “Are you in the office for the day?”
    “Yes, I’ll be here till we close.Why?”
    “I’ll be by in half an hour to return the keys to the beach house.”
    “What? Weren’t they supposed to stay until—”
    “Yes, but my friends were forced to leave this morning. A sudden death. Unfortunately they couldn’t stay the whole time.”
    “Listen, Inspector, I don’t know if you read the contract.”
    “I glanced at it.Why?”
    “Because it states clearly that the client gets nothing back