Rage

Rage by Sergio Bizzio Read Free Book Online Page B

Book: Rage by Sergio Bizzio Read Free Book Online
Authors: Sergio Bizzio
creature comforts: deep-pile carpets,
a chimney nook, a little trolley loaded with alcoholic
drinks, a shelf laden with books, a phone, a television
set... The beds were not made up, they were bare of
sheets and covered justwith a bedspread, and the atmosphere in these rooms was dry and fresh, as if someone
came in and gave them a daily airing. Here and there
on the walls there were portraits of serious-looking men
andwomen done in oils, eachwith agiltframe. The main
staircase descended almost to the main chimney breast.
Maria proceeded in the opposite direction, following
a corridor leading to the service wing, along which he
passed a number of empty rooms of much smaller size:
these belonged to the house staff, who years ago must
have been a full complement of servants, from butler to
housekeeper. Why, then, did Rosa sleep on the ground
floor and not upstairs here?

    As he descended further, he realized the entire house
had been reorganized as a result of the reduction in the
number of its inhabitants. The room occupied by Rosa
must, for example, have originally been used by the
housekeeper or head butler. The facilities on the second
floor were very similar to those on the third, although
the decoration was much heavier, almost baroque in
style. The living room contained a remarkable number
of tables, side tables, settles, sofas and easy chairs.
    He approached a table covered with framed photographs, and leaned over each one in turn to study
it more closely. Each one was a portrait of a blonde
woman, aged around forty, always wearing the same
smile, although the hairstyle kept altering. At times she
appeared alone, and at others she was accompanied by a man of about the same age: presumably either
her husband or her brother. The were other men of
around thirty-five to forty-five years old and lots of
small, blond, smiling or serious children of various
ages and in various places - anywhere from in a church
to on a beach. One of the men appeared in just one
photograph and by himself: even his photo frame
seemed to occupy the least important place on the
table. In the last photograph Maria examined, everyone
appeared together (with the exception of the man of
whom only one portrait was exhibited), one linked to
the other behind a gentleman and lady seated on cane
chairs, both dressed up to the nines... At that moment
he overheard a rasping voice up on the first floor. He
went over to the staircase.

    Senora Blinder had just learned of the visit from
the police. Israel had stopped her on the street a few
minutes earlier and, maliciously, had expressed his
concern about "the case of Rosa's boyfriend". Alarmed,
Senora Blinder raised a hand to her mouth.
    "My God, Rosa, it looks as if your lover killed someone!"
    Rosa's knees collapsed under her. Her head was
spinning.
    "They say he killed the foreman on the site where
he worked! How long is it since you last saw him? Why
didn't you tell me the police had been round here?
Rosa, are you listening to me?"
    "It can't be..."
    Rosa began to cry.
    "Now what are we going to do? Everyone in this district
is already gossiping about it. How long is it since you saw
him?"
    "Three or four days," answered Rosa.

    "Why didn't you inform me the police had been
round?"
    "I got scared, Senora..."
    "The police come round to my house to see me, and
you don't tell me anything about it?"
    "I was afraid, Senora..."
    "Unbelievable. What am I going to do with you?"
    "Forgive me Senora, please. I didn't know anything."
    "You didn't know anything about what?"
    "Anything about anything, Senora."
    "What a shock, you going out with a murderer! He
would come to see you and you'd open the door to
him..." she went on. "I saw him on two or three occasions, at least in the distance, and didn't like the look
of him. That's how he looked to me at least. So now
what?"
    "Now, I don't know, Senora. I think it's impossible,
there must have been some

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