Murder in Verona (An Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mystery #9)

Chapter 24

24

FRIDAY EVENING

Ventura and I stood just inside the front door with Oscar pressed against my leg on one side of me and Anna clutching my arm on the other. We looked on as the body of Clarissa was zipped into a bag and transferred into an unmarked van belonging to the forensic team. I was buzzing with mixed emotions. On the one hand, I was pleased we had managed to solve the mystery of who had killed Rodolfo Argento and why but, at the same time, I wished I’d been able to figure it out earlier and prevent Clarissa’s death and the assault on Alessia. I felt that same bleak sensation in the pit of my stomach that had dogged me throughout my whole career at the sight of senseless deaths.

So close to the city of Romeo and Juliet – real or imaginary – Shakespeare would probably have appreciated this love story that had ended in tragedy, but to me, it all seemed such a terrible waste. An unprincipled man had ruined the life of a woman who had loved him dearly, and the result had been two deaths and a heartbroken wife and mother. Great opera singer he might have been but, as far as women were concerned, Rodolfo Argento had had the moral fibre of a sewer rat .

At that moment, I heard the lift doors behind us open and I turned to see two paramedics and a doctor emerge with a trolley and on it, propped up against a couple of pillows, was Alessia. The left side of her head was covered in surgical dressings but her eyes were open and she even managed to raise a little smile and a wave of the hand when she saw us – or more probably, when she saw Oscar.

As the paramedics took her out to the ambulance, the doctor stopped alongside us to report to the inspector.

‘She remembers very little of what happened. As far as we can tell, her assailant was waiting for her when she let herself into the apartment and struck her with one of the fire irons, rendering her unconscious. It was a nasty wound, but she will recover. It’s lucky you got there when you did.’

The inspector thanked him and turned to me. ‘I need to get back upstairs to tell the Forensics people they can get on with their job now that the casualty has been removed.’ He nodded towards the dining room and he gave me a wink. ‘It’ll be dinner time soon. Save me a seat. Ciao .’

After he’d left, I looked at my two companions. Oscar was already on his feet, nose pointing towards the dining room, while Anna was looking shellshocked at the rapidity and violence of the events that had unfolded here. I led her through to the bar and stopped to take a look around. There were probably a couple of dozen people here, milling about aimlessly, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Among them were the remnants of the Argento family group and the theatrical agent and his wife, still hovering in the background. As Violetta made eye contact with me, she immediately beckoned and I glanced back at Anna.

‘I need to go and talk to the family, but you don’t need to come unless you want to. ’

She grabbed my arm with her free hand. ‘I’ll come with you. I’m interested to see how they react to what’s happened.’

She wasn’t the only one. In particular, I was dying to see how Violetta was going to react now that she knew that Alessia, rather than being the culprit, had almost become Clarissa’s second victim.

We went across the room and I found that it was a reduced family group. There was no sign of Alfredo and Ingrid, so there were just three of them now: Violetta, Rosina and Tosca, standing in silence. The first to speak was Violetta, stating the obvious.

‘We’re all in shock.’ She was looking her age now, and the other two looked similarly affected.

Fortunately, Oscar broke the ice by wandering around, nuzzling the three women and even managing to bring a hint of a smile to Tosca’s face. Fair play to Violetta, she then had the guts to admit her mistake. ‘I feel terrible. I was so very wrong about Alessia and I need to make it up to her. Tell me, Mr Armstrong, why do you think Clarissa did what she did?’

‘It’s clear that she was involved with Rodolfo before he met Alessia. Even after the marriage, she never stopped loving him, hoping against hope that the marriage would fail and she could have him back.’ What I didn’t voice was my suspicion that he had probably still been carrying on with her after getting married. This wouldn’t help Clarissa now and it would only hurt Alessia.

‘But what prompted her to murder Rodolfo if she loved him?’ Rosina sounded as puzzled as they all looked.

‘It was a mistake. Her intention was to murder Alessia.’ I saw comprehension begin to dawn on the faces around me. ‘And, instead, she killed the love of her life.’

Tosca was the first to react. ‘But why now? Rodolfo and Alessia married almost a year ago. Why wait so long to try to kill Alessia?’

‘This is unconfirmed at this point.’ I paused, wondering whether to voice my suspicions before deciding to just go for it. ‘I may be wrong, but it’s my belief that what tipped Clarissa over the edge was when she discovered that Alessia was expecting Rodolfo’s child.’

All three faces in front of me looked stunned. I saw Violetta’s mouth open and close a couple of times as she searched for words, but Rosina was the first to react. ‘Alessia’s pregnant? Can that really be true?’

I nodded. ‘Like I say, it still needs to be confirmed, but that’s my supposition. When she gets to hospital, that’ll soon be checked.’

Violetta finally managed to regain the power of speech. ‘You’re telling us that Alessia might be bearing my grandchild?’ She sounded overawed, but the bewildered expression slowly softened. ‘You think she might be expecting Rodolfo’s child? That’s amazing and, if it’s true, it’s the most wonderful news.’ A more serious expression appeared on her face. ‘Let’s just hope that tonight’s events don’t cause complications.’

I did my best to offer reassurance. ‘She’s in good hands, I’m sure.’

Violetta tapped me on the arm. ‘I do so need to see her. Do you think if I went to the hospital now, I’d be able to talk to her?’

‘I really don’t know, but when they took her out to the ambulance, her eyes were open and she gave a little wave, so it’s probably worth a try. Would you like me to call you a taxi?’

To my further surprise, it was Tosca who spoke up. ‘I’d like to see her as well. I’ve got my car outside. I’ll give you a lift if you like, Mamma.’

Violetta transferred her attention to her daughter and there was a pause before a little smile appeared on her face. ‘Thank you, my dear. That’s very kind.’

Anna and I exchanged glances. ‘Mamma’ and ‘my dear’ were unexpectedly affectionate. Might this represent a thawing in relations between mother and daughter after so long?

Violetta transferred her attention to me once more. ‘Thank you, Signor Armstrong, for all your help and for saving the life of my daughter-in-law. I’ll be forever in your debt.’

‘I only helped the police. Inspector Ventura is a good detective.’

We shook hands and then Tosca came across and, to my surprise, gave me a hug. ‘Thank you, Mr Armstrong. Thank you for everything.’

The two of them headed for the door and that just left Rosina. She gave me a beaming smile and held out her hand towards me. ‘And sincere thanks from me as well. My brother asked me to say the same, but he and Ingrid had to get away.’ She gave me a little wink. ‘An event at the golf club, I believe.’

‘You aren’t staying for dinner?’

She shook her head. ‘After everything that’s happened, I’ve lost my appetite completely. No, I just need to go home, sit down and relax. Thank you again.’ She shook hands with Anna, ruffled Oscar’s ears and turned for the door.

A waiter came past with a tray and I had no hesitation in helping myself to two glasses of Champagne. I handed one to Anna and had just taken a big mouthful when Paolo Ruggieri approached.

‘Good evening, Signor Armstrong. So it’s true that Rodolfo was murdered and his poor wife nearly met the same fate tonight. Will she survive?’

I assured the two of them that the prognosis from the medics was positive and they went off, still looking shocked. He would have been even more shocked if I had told him that until very recently, his name had been near the top of our list of suspects.

A few seconds later, the gong sounded and Oscar set off towards the dining room door at pace. The events of this evening certainly hadn’t harmed his appetite.

There were a lot of free seats tonight and I wasn’t surprised. Proximity of violent death can have a very sobering effect on people. Anna and I sat down at a table and a few minutes later, I had an unexpected visitor.

‘Signor Armstrong…?’

I looked up to see Romeo, an expression of awe on his face. ‘Is it true that Clarissa murdered Rodolfo?’ I nodded and he continued, his tone still one of disbelief. ‘And tonight, she almost killed Alessia?’

I nodded. ‘I’m afraid so. We only just stopped her in time, but we weren’t quick enough to stop her jumping from the roof.’

He looked far from the self-confident – or should that be over-confident? – young man I had first met. ‘But… why? What would make her do something as crazy and barbaric as that?’

I looked back up at him and gave a little smile. ‘Love, Romeo, that’s what. The word clearly meant a different thing to Rodolfo than it did to Clarissa, and this tragic ending is every bit as much his fault as hers.’ I held out my hand towards him. ‘Go and enjoy your dinner, and good luck with your career. I was most impressed with your singing. Keep charming the ladies, but never let yourself follow Rodolfo’s example.’

No sooner had Romeo disappeared off to a table containing three women than the inspector returned, clapping me on the shoulder before sitting down. ‘I’m sorry, I haven’t thanked you yet. Without your help and insight, I have a feeling Rodolfo Argento’s murder might have ended up being dismissed as an accident.’ He pulled up a chair and sat down. ‘My people have been searching Clarissa Delbosco’s apartment. They’ve been checking her laptop and they tell me her browsing history is very interesting: brake failure, brake lines and a Jaguar E-type owners’ club chat page. ’

Anna shook her head sadly. ‘Poor woman. Rodolfo really did treat her awfully.’

I let the inspector answer. ‘You’re quite right, but there’s still no excuse for what she did, even though he ruined her life.’ Keen to raise the mood, he called across to a passing waitress. ‘Could I have a look at the wine list? I owe my friends here a bottle of the best wine in the house.’ There was a movement at his feet and Oscar’s head appeared alongside him. ‘And ask the chef if he has a nice bit of steak for our four-legged friend. He deserves it.’