The Night Watchman by Richard Zimler Read Free Book Online Page B

foyer?’
    She showed me an astonished look.
    ‘You left your watering can there,’ I explained.
    ‘My goodness, I completely forgot!’ In a slow, deliberate voice – reviewing her morning as it appeared in her memory – she said, ‘After I called 112, I thought that if I went through my usual routine I might calm myself down. I mean, if I could pretend that nothing had happened for a few minutes. But after I got the watering can, I broke down again.’ She let out a frustrated sigh. ‘Inspector, this seems like a dream . . . like something absolutely impossible.’
    ‘Given what happened, that might be a good thing,’ I observed, but she shook her head as though she would have preferred to be stronger. To my next question, she told me that Coutinho bought nearly all his neckties at the Hermès shop on the Avenue George V in Paris. She told me he would never have shopped at Zara.
    ‘Now I’m going to ask you something indelicate,’ I warned her. ‘Were you aware of any extramarital affairs that he may have been having?’
    She drew in her head, hen-like, and said tautly, ‘I wouldn’t know anything about that.’
    ‘Other lives may be at risk,’ I emphasized. At the time, I didn’t believe that, but I wanted to apply a bit of pressure.
    When I nodded insistently, Senhora Grimault confessed in a reticent voice that on maybe a dozen occasions she’d noticed creases on Susana’s side of the bed when Dr Coutinho was supposed to be on his own. Once, she’d also discovered a towel stained with an unfamiliar shade of lipstick. ‘And no, I don’t have any idea who the woman was,’ she rushed to add. Continuing to sense the direction of my thoughts, she told me, ‘Dr Coutinho and Susana are good people – respectful to each other. I can’t believe someone would want to hurt him. He was kind and generous. And so good at nearly everything he did – so talented.’
    ‘Talented?’ I asked.
    ‘Take a look at the watercolours in his library. And the one in Sandi’s room.’
    ‘The ones of the little girl?’
    The pleasure of astonishing me lit her eyes. ‘They were done when Sandi was little,’ Senhora Grimault continued, ‘but he still took out his brushes on occasion.’ She executed two quick strokes in the air and gave a little laugh. ‘He painted like Zorro!’
    ‘He seemed to have been particularly interested in Asian cultures.’
    ‘More than interested, Inspector. Just after he got his engineering degree, he worked in Tokyo for two years. He could speak Japanese!’ The old lady’s eyes opened wide, as if to take in the grand dimension of all the adventures he must have had. Undone by her delight, she began to tear up badly. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she whispered.
    Luci spoke for the first time. ‘You’re doing great,’ she said, and she gave the senhora’s hand a firm squeeze.
    After some more kind words from Luci, Senhora Grimault went on to tell us that Coutinho had had two cell phones. I tried both numbers but automatic messages indicated they weren’t in use. I asked Luci to find out if any calls had been made from them over the last twenty-four hours. ‘And while you’re at it, get me a list of all the calls the victim made and received over the last two weeks,’ I added.
    I’d saved the most important detail for last: ‘This morning, senhora, did you have to turn the key several times in the lock or did it just click open?’
    She considered that. ‘I had to turn it several times. I remember, because twisting it around gave me the idea that no one was at home. Now I realize that Dr Coutinho must have locked himself in for some reason.’
    ‘No, the killer re-locked the door on leaving,’ I told her. ‘Which was a mistake.’
    ‘Why is that?’
    ‘Because now we can be certain he had the key.’
    ‘Not necessarily, sir,’ Luci rushed to say. ‘He could have taken it off Dr Coutinho.’
    I reached into my pocket to retrieve the Alfa Romeo keychain. I shook it in the air.