Page 10 of Murder at the Ponte Vecchio

Marco leant against the side of the desk and looked across at me. ‘What did you think of the family? It’s quite clear there was no love lost between the old man and his kids, and who could blame them? Can you imagine going off and abandoning yourchildren – one of them a seven-year-old – and not bothering to contact them for decades? He must have been a very odd character.’

‘You can say that again. By the sound of it, his life was all about precious stones and precious metals. I have a feeling his death might have been all about that as well.’

Marco nodded. ‘Robbery does seem the most likely motive, but from what the housekeeper said, it sounds as though he kept the more valuable items here in his safe.’ I saw his eyes flick across to the bars on the window. ‘Although getting access to them would have been a real challenge for any thief. What about the family? Did you think any of them looked suspicious?’

I shook my head. ‘Not really. They all looked mystified. I wasn’t too struck by Emma Berg’s partner, Guido, but maybe that’s just me. With a name like that, I wonder if he has Italian roots although, if he spoke the language, I would have expected him to have been able to act as interpreter for them. Otherwise, the only one that stood out was Luuc. I didn’t immediately get any suspicious vibes from his brother and sister, but Luuc clearly had a serious grudge against his father.’

‘My feeling exactly, but serious enough to contemplate patricide? Luuc definitely had no love for his father and no discernible grief at his demise. I know what you mean about Guido. I didn’t like the look of him either, but that doesn’t make him a murderer. But whether the kids liked the father or not, from what we’ve heard, the idea of this family meeting was so that Berg could prepare or change his will – presumably in favour of his children – so I’m at a loss to see any possible motive they might have had for killing him before he did that.’ He looked up at me. ‘Right?’

I nodded. ‘Right. I don’t see it either. From what the housekeeper said, Berg had precious few friends, although it would be worth checking up on his former partner who died last year.Maybe there was a child – unknown to the housekeeper – who might have got wind of the old man’s plan to change his will, which, presumably, would have benefitted her or her relatives.’

He stood up. ‘Definitely, I’ll go and have another word with the housekeeper now to check if the lawyer turned up yesterday afternoon. As far as he’s concerned, I need to sit down and have a long talk to him. It sounds as though he knew the old man better than anybody, so maybe he can shed some light on what happened.’

I glanced at my watch. It was almost eleven. ‘Well, good luck with it. I’d better get home to Anna, but if you need any more help, you know where I am.’

‘Thanks, Dan, and you won’t forget what I said about the boss, will you? Something’s bugging him, and I’d dearly like to know what it is.’

‘He and Lina came around for dinner last night and Anna noticed it too. I tried to get him to tell me what was on his mind, but he wouldn’t say a word. I’ll definitely have another try and I’ll let you know if I discover anything.’

I had been thinking a lot about Virgilio’s obvious unhappiness, but without coming up with a satisfactory explanation. Was he experiencing personal or family problems or was it work-related? If so, maybe this case might offer a way of getting closer to him and, hopefully, helping him.

6

SUNDAY LATE MORNING

I left Marco and as I drove home, I thought back to the scene in the villa. Five people, six including the housekeeper, but none with any discernible motive to commit murder. Berg had had few friends and his former partner was also dead so, unless some member of her side of the family turned up, our original supposition that David Berg’s death had been aggravated robbery looked the most likely scenario. If we were lucky, the contents of the safe would provide the police with some useful leads. Thought of the police made me think of Virgilio again. We were all agreed that something was preying on his mind, but the question was how to get him to talk about it. As I crossed the bridge over the Arno and turned towards Montevolpone, I let my mind roam. What could be troubling him?

Somehow, I felt convinced that it had something to do with police work – although it was strange that Marco hadn’t been able to shine any light on it. Considering that they both worked closely together, this was bizarre. If not work, then what? From everything Virgilio had said to me over the years that I’d known him, I felt sure that this wasn’t a sign that there was discordbetween him and his wife. They had always struck me as a very happy couple and, as far as I knew, their two children were both doing well in their chosen careers. Of course it could be a health matter, but surely he would have spoken to Lina about it if he’d discovered he had a medical problem. It was unlikely to be financial trouble because he’d recently received promotion tocommissarioand that would have come with a corresponding increase in pay. I’d never known him to gamble and I thought it highly unlikely that he would have done anything illegal, so what could it be?

I called Anna back at my place to see what she thought I should do. Her answer was very simple.

‘Go and talk to him. It’s only eleven now, so he won’t be having lunch yet. Why not drop round to his house and take him out for anaperitivoor a walk with Oscar? Go on, do it.’

She was right. We did need to talk, so I did a U-turn and headed back towards Florence. Virgilio’s house is in Scandicci, which is roughly halfway between my house and the city centre, so it only took me ten minutes driving to get there. I was pleased to see his car parked outside the house, which boded well for my chances of finding him in. I parked behind it and Oscar and I went up to the front door. I pressed the bell and a few seconds later, it was opened by Lina. When she saw me, an expression of relief appeared on her face.

‘Ciao, Dan, am I pleased to see you! He’s spent half the night at his computer and he’s back in his study now with the door closed. I wish he would tell me what’s going on, but he just shakes his head and says he’s fine.’ She caught my eye and I could see the hurt and the worry in hers. ‘But it’s patently clear he’s anything but fine. Would you like to have a try? He might talk to you.’

I gave her a reassuring hug. ‘That’s why I’ve come. I tried lastnight, but he wouldn’t tell me a thing, so I thought I’d come here now to try again.’

She pointed up the stairs. ‘You know where his study is, don’t you?’

I left her there and set off up the stairs with Oscar. When I got to the door of his office, I stopped and tapped on it. ‘Virgilio, it’s me, Dan. Can I come in?’ Just to add impetus to the request, Oscar stretched out a paw and scratched the bottom of the door. There was silence for a few moments before I heard footsteps approaching and then the key turned in the lock. I was still digesting the fact that he had locked himself in when the door opened and I was confronted by my friend. He looked awful. By the look of his crumpled T-shirt, he had probably slept in it, and his eyes were bloodshot. He blinked a few times and bent down to stroke Oscar’s head.

‘Ciao, Oscar.Ciao, Dan.’ He sounded as weary as he looked.

I decided to take the bull by the horns. ‘We need to talk. Can I come in?’

He stepped back and I entered the room, stopping to close the door behind me. I went over to the window, deliberately distancing myself from whatever he’d been doing on the computer, and turned towards him.

‘We’re all worried about you, Virgilio. I think it’s time you talked to somebody, don’t you?’ Before he could retort, I carried on. ‘You know me well enough by now. You can tell me anything and I promise I won’t judge, I won’t be shocked and, unless you agree, I won’t tell a soul, and that includes Lina and Anna. Nobody, all right? Whatever it is that’s bugging you, you need to talk about it. Please.’

I saw him slump down in his chair, but he gave no immediate reply. Oscar, working out that his good friend was struggling, wandered over and leant against his leg in a show of caninesupport. I had to wait almost a minute before Virgilio finally raised his eyes and spoke.

‘Thanks, Dan. It was good of you to come. You’re right, I do need to speak to somebody and, the more I think about it, you’re just about the only person who can understand the complexity of the problem and who might be able to help. Most important of all, you’re above suspicion.’ His voice lapsed as he started to collect his thoughts but I remained silent, letting him take his time, wondering what his ‘above suspicion’ comment might presage. Finally, keeping his voice low, although we were alone in the room with the door closed, he started.

‘There’s something bad going on at work, something very bad.’ I tried to keep my face as expressionless as possible while he went on. ‘I’ve been suspicious for several months now, but it’s becoming more and more evident that there’s somebody on the force who’s working for the other side.’

‘When you say, “working for the other side”, who is the other side and what’s happening?’

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