Page 21 of Murder at the Ponte Vecchio

She nodded. ‘They all are. They just do it for the love of the theatre. You’re right, Monica is very talented. She’s playing Linda, the wife of the main protagonist, and she really brings something to every role she plays.’

I did my best to sound only casually interested. ‘What does she do when she’s not performing?’

‘She’s a student. She’s doing drama and I’m hoping very much to get a friend of mine to come along to the first night to see her in action. He’s retired now, but he used to be a theatrical agent and if he likes her, he might be able to put her onto an agent of her own. Like I say, she’s very talented and I could see her going far.’

‘What about the other actors?’

‘They’re all good but they’re not quite in her league apart from Tiberio, who has the male lead. He’s a very talented actor as well, and the others do a great job apart from Paolo – he’s the one in the overalls and the white T-shirt. He keeps forgetting his lines and it’s not as if he has many of them to learn.’ There was frustration in her voice. ‘I’m afraid he isn’t as dedicated as the others. It’s pretty clear he hasn’t been giving time to learning his lines properly, but I don’t have much choice. The fact is that we’ve been struggling to find actors willing to give up their time in return for very little – well, nothing, really. We can’t afford to pay them – noteven expenses – and our audiences are never huge. It’s this area, I’m afraid. The council has earmarked it for redevelopment and it’s been going steadily downhill for ages.’ She met my eye and shrugged. ‘I have to make do with the actors I can find and I’m just lucky to have some excellent ones among them.’

I was pleased that my impression of Paolo with the scruffy overalls as being distracted had been confirmed by the director. Maybe I knew more about this business than I had thought. ‘Shame he’s not so motivated. He’s a good-looking guy. Are he and Monica an item?’ I tried to sound as casual as possible.

She shook her head and smiled. ‘No, she’s already taken. Besides, Paolo is more interested in members of his own sex.’

‘Is Monica’s partner an actor as well?’

‘Yes, Tiberio, the male lead, and like I say, he’s an excellent actor. He really owns the stage; you must have noticed.’

‘I definitely did. I wonder how he’ll react if Monica gets snapped up by an agent and shipped off to Hollywood one of these days.’

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if he followed her to Hollywood. Besides, if he doesn’t make it as an actor, he can always work as a doctor. I’m sure he could find a good job over there.’

‘He’s a doctor? Wow, it must be hard for him to find the time to rehearse.’

‘He’s in his final year of medicine at university here and he keeps telling me it’s getting more and more difficult for him to balance the two.’

I sat back and reflected on what I’d just heard, hoping that this information would satisfy the mayor that his daughter’s boyfriend wasn’t a waste of space. Tall, good-looking, and training to be a doctor, as well as being a talented actor, surely made him quite a catch – not least as he shared his name with the Roman Emperor Tiberius. I wondered yet again why Monica wasinsisting on keeping him away from her parents. Anyway, the good news as far as I was concerned was that I had quite fortuitously concluded my mission and I wouldn’t need to waste hours wandering around the university next morning.

Zebra told me that she had to get back to observe the second act so I finished my coffee, persuaded my dog to relinquish the new love of his life and went back outside. The van was still there with all four wheels still attached, which was a relief. I looked at my watch. It was barely three o’clock so I called Lina to check that there was nothing urgent waiting for me back at the office and decided that, as I was on the right side of town, I’d take a trip out to Vincenzo Grande’s duck shoot, just in case I might be able to find out a bit more about the man. This would also give me the opportunity to go for a good walk with Oscar.

My satnav guided me to the Zona Sportiva dei Laghi – the lakes sporting area. This was about twenty minutes to the west of Florence in the valley of the River Arno. The terrain was pan flat and almost deserted. Apart from a handful of houses along the narrow, winding access road through reed beds and fields, I hardly saw any signs of civilisation until I reached a turn-off to the right onto a rough track. A series of wooden arrows attached to a post indicated that this was home to a number of different sports clubs. I saw signs to a fishing lake, the wildfowl lake, an off-road driving club, a clay-pigeon shoot and, unexpectedly, a castle. Considering that castles were normally built on hills, finding one down here was unexpected. I left the van just off the road and decided to recce on foot with Oscar.

It was another warm day and I wished I’d changed into my shorts. There wasn’t a breath of wind and I was perspiring by the time I reached the wildfowl lake. At the lakeside was a long, low, wooden building with an open terrace at the front and a sign pinned to the wall indicating that this was a bar as well as ashooting club. I saw two elderly men sitting at a table on the terrace, drinking wine. The idea of a cold beer had considerable attraction, so I made my way across to them. One of the men gave me a lazy wave and pointed at Oscar.

‘Does he work?’

To the best of my knowledge, Oscar has never done a day’s work in his life but, given my surroundings, I realised what the man was asking, so I shook my head and assumed an expression of exaggerated disappointment.

‘No, he’s just a house dog, I’m afraid. He belongs to my sister and he’s never had any gun-dog training. I’m just walking him. Are you looking for a retriever?’

‘Yes, indeed. It’s the close season now, but when September comes along, we’re going to need another one. Zorro is getting too old.’ He pointed with his thumb towards what I had taken for a pile of old sacks against the wall of the building and realised that it was, in fact, a sleeping dog – from the look of it, a Labrador crossed with a haystack. As I spotted the dog, so did Oscar, and his tail started wagging. He wandered over, and Zorro managed to summon the energy to raise his head and thump his tail on the ground a couple of times before subsiding into sleep once more. Oscar gave him a good sniff before deciding to let sleeping dogs lie and he returned to my side. I indicated a table near the two men.

‘Is this place members only or can I get a drink? I’m dying for a cold beer.’

The other man stood up and headed for the door. ‘You take a seat. I’ll bring it to you.’

A cold bottle of beer duly arrived and I took a refreshing mouthful before striking up a conversation with the two elderly gentlemen. It transpired that the club also offered clay-pigeon shooting outside the official hunting season and I was delightedto hear one of the men mention the name of the club champion.

‘Vincenzo wins all the competitions. He has reactions like a cat.’

Oscar opened one eye when he heard the C word – although in Italian, it begins with a G – checked the vicinity for any of his sworn enemies and then stretched out again.

I was wondering how to find out whether the Vincenzo in question was Superintendent Grande when the answer was provided for me. ‘But it’s not fair; after all, he’s a police officer, so he gets far more practice than the rest of us.’

I seriously doubted whether the Florence police shooting range included the use of shotguns but I kept silent on that and asked them about the facilities of the club, hoping to get confirmation of what the barista in Florence had told me. After telling me how good the chef was and how the pool table had a serious slope to the left, the smaller of the two men gave me a lascivious wink and dropped an unambiguous hint. ‘And, for those who want it, there are other benefits.’ Like the barista back in Florence, he tapped the side of his nose and indicated the far end of the building. ‘At the weekends, there are a couple of rooms down there if you’re looking for female company, if you know what I mean.’

I jumped at the opportunity he’d given me. ‘Maybe the ladies down there are the secret of why your friend Vincenzo has such good reactions.’

Both men chuckled and the taller one replied. ‘I hadn’t thought of that. We’ll have to see that he’s banned from those rooms in future.’

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