The Potter's Field by Andrea Camilleri

edge for the rest of the evening. All in all, however, the fact that the bridge was in the hands of Professor Lomascolo was good news. The professor was a real authority and would surely be able to glean some information from that bridge. And the inspector, moreover, had always got on well with him. But it was clear by now that if by some stroke of luck this case ever managed to move ahead, it would move very slowly.

    Back in Marinella, he dawdled about the house for an hour or so. Before sitting down in front of the television he decided to call Livia and apologize for the quarrel of the previous night.
    â€œAh, at last the great Montalbano deigns to grant me an audience!” Livia said angrily.
    A joyous start is the best of guides , as Matteo Maria Boiardo famously said.
    If this was Livia’s tone starting out, how would the phone call end? With an exchange of nuclear missiles? And how should he proceed now? With a nasty retort? No, it was better to take the temperature down a few degrees and find out why she was so upset.
    â€œDarling, you’ve got to believe me, I wasn’t able to call you any sooner because—”
    â€œBut it was I who called you , and you refused to talk to me! God Almighty in heaven can’t find a minute to talk to me!”
    Montalbano balked.
    â€œYou called me? When?”
    â€œThis morning, at your office.”
    â€œMaybe they didn’t put the call through to me...”
    â€œBut they did! They most certainly did!”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    â€œI talked to Catarella and he told me you were busy and couldn’t pick up.”
    He suddenly remembered that Catarella had told him there was a “Signorina Zita” on the line...
    â€œLivia, it was a simple misunderstanding! Catarella didn’t make it clear to me that it was you. He only said there was a ‘Signorina Zita’— zita, you see, means ‘girlfriend’ to us, but it’s also a common surname around here! And since I didn’t know any young women by the name of Zita—”
    â€œJust forget about it.”
    â€œLivia, try to understand. It was a simple mistake, I tell you! On top of that, you never call me at the office. What did you want to tell me?”
    â€œI wanted you to call me tonight, because I had something important to talk to you about.”
    â€œWell, isn’t that what I did? I called you on my own initiative. What’s this important thing, then?”
    â€œThis morning, before leaving for work, I got a very long phone call from Beba. She’s mad at you.”
    â€œBeba? Mad at me? Why?”
    â€œShe says you’ve been treating Mimì very badly.”
    â€œAnd what on earth has Mr. Augello been telling Beba?”
    â€œAre you saying it’s not true?”
    â€œWell, it’s true that lately he’s become very irritable and we’ve had a few arguments, but nothing serious . . . Treating him badly! He’s the one who’s become impossible to deal with, and in fact I had planned to ask you if by any chance Beba had mentioned anything to you about all this irritability on Mimì’s part.”
    â€œSo you don’t know why he’s so irritable?”
    â€œI assure you I don’t.”
    â€œHave you forgotten all the times you’ve sent him on stakeouts in the middle of the night over the past month? And which you continue to do practically every other night?”
    Montalbano remained silent, mouth agape.
    What the hell was Livia talking about? Was she just babbling?
    Over the past month they had done only one nighttime stakeout, and Fazio had handled it alone.
    â€œAren’t you going to say anything?”
    â€œWell, it’s just that...”
    â€œThen I’ll go on. The other evening, for example, Mimì came home with a touch of fever after having spent the whole day in the rain to recover a dead body in a bag . . . Is that true or not?”
    â€œYes,