A Noble Radiance (3 page)

But by then the
forces of order, though making no evident signs of progress in finding the men
responsible, had responded as was standard in cases of kidnapping and had
effectively blocked all attempts on the part of the family to borrow money or
bring it in from foreign sources, and so the second demand also went unmet.
Count Ludovico, the father of the kidnapped boy, went on national television
and begged those responsible to free his son. He said he was willing to give
himself up to them in his son's place, though he was too upset to explain how
this could be done.

There was no response
to his appeal; there was no third ransom demand.

That was two years
ago, and since then there had been no sign of the boy, Roberto, and no further
progress, at least not public progress, on the case. Though the family's assets
had been unblocked after a period of six months, they remained for another year
under the control of a government administrator, who had to consent to the withdrawal
or liquidation of any sum in excess of a hundred million lire. Many such sums
passed out of the Lorenzoni family businesses during that period, but all of
them were legitimate, and so permission was given for them to be paid out.
After the administrator's powers lapsed, a gentle governmental eye, as
discreet as it was invisible, continued to observe the Lorenzoni business and
spending, but no outlay was indicated beyond the normal course of business
expenditure.

The boy, though
another three years would have to pass before he could be declared legally
dead, was believed by his family to be so in the real sense. His parents
mourned in their fashion: Count Ludovico redoubled the energy he devoted to his
business concerns, while the Contessa withdrew into private devotion and acts
of piety and charity. Roberto was an only child, so the family was now
perceived as having no heir, and thus a nephew, the son of Ludovico's younger
brother, was brought into the business and groomed to take over the direction
of the Lorenzoni affairs, which included vast and diverse holdings in Italy and
abroad.

The news that the
skeleton of a young man wearing a ring with the Lorenzoni family crest had
been found was telephoned to the Venice police from the phone in one of the
Carabinieri
vehicles
and received by Sergeant Lorenzo Vianello, who took careful notes of the
location, the name of the owner of the property, and of the man who had discovered
the body.

After replacing the
phone, Vianello went upstairs and knocked on the door of his immediate superior,
Comrnissario Guido Brunetti. When he heard the shouted
'Avanti',
Vianello
pushed open the door and went into Brunetti's office.

'Buon di,
Comrnissario’ he said and, not having to be invited, took
his usual place in the chair opposite Brunetti, who sat behind his desk, a
thick folder opened in front of him. Vianello noticed that his superior was
wearing glasses; he didn't remember ever seeing them before.

'Since when do you
wear glasses, sir?' he asked.

Brunetti looked up
then, his eyes strangely magnified by the lenses. 'Just for reading,' he said,
taking them off and tossing them down on to the papers in front of him.
I
don't
really need them. It’s just that it makes the fine print on these papers from
Brussels easier to read’ With thumb and forefinger, he grabbed at the bridge
of his nose and rubbed it, as if to remove the impression of the glasses as
well as that left by what he had been reading.

He looked up at the
sergeant. 'What is it?'

'We've had a call
from the
Carabinieri
in a place called
...'
he began, then looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. 'Col di Cugnan.'
Vianello paused but Brunetti said nothing. 'It's in the province of Belluno,'
as if giving Brunetti a clear idea of the geography would be helpful. When
Brunetti still said nothing, Vianello continued. 'A farmer up there has dug up
a body in a field. It appears to be a young man in his early twenties’

'According to whom?'
Brunetti interrupted.

'I think it was the
medico legale,
sir’

'When did this
happen?' Brunetti asked.

'Yesterday’

'Why did they call
us?'

'A ring with the
Lorenzoni crest was found with the body’

Brunetti again put
his fingers to the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. 'Ah, the poor boy,'
Brunetti sighed. He took his hand away and looked across at Vianello. 'Are they
sure?'

'I don't know, sir’
Vianello said, answering the unspoken part of Brunetti's question. "The man
I spoke to said only that they had identified the ring’

"That doesn't
mean that it was his, doesn't even mean that the ring belonged to . . ‘ here
Brunetti paused and tried to recall the boy's name. 'Roberto.'

'Would someone not in
the family wear a ring like that, sir?'

'I don't know,
Vianello. But if whoever put the body there didn't want it to be identified,
they certainly would have taken the ring. It was on his hand, wasn't it?'

'I don't know, sir.
All he said was that the ring was found with him.'

'Who's in charge up
there?'

'The man I spoke to
said he was told to call us by the
medico
legale.
I've got his name
here somewhere.' He consulted the paper in his hand and said, 'Bortot. That's
all he gave me, didn't tell me his first name’

Brunetti shook his
head. 'Tell me the name of the place again’

'Col di Cugnan.'
Seeing Brunetti's inquisitive look, Vianello shrugged to show that he had never
heard of it, either. 'It's up near Belluno. You know how strange the names of
places are up there: Roncan, Nevegal, Polpet.'

'And a lot of the
family names, too, if I remember it right’

Vianello waved the
paper. 'like the
medico legale’
'Did the
Carabinieri
say
anything else?' Brunetti asked.

'No, but I thought
you should know about it, sir’

'Yes, good’ Brunetti said,
only half attentive. 'Has anyone contacted the family?'

'I don't know. The
man I spoke to didn't say anything about it’

Brunetti reached for
the phone. When the operator responded, he asked to be connected with the
Carabinieri
station
in Belluno. When they answered, he identified himself and said he wanted to
speak to the person in charge of the investigation of the body they had found
the day before. Within moments, he was speaking to Maresciallo Bernardi, who
said he was in charge of the investigation there. No, he didn't know whether
the ring had been on the hand of the man in the trench or not. If the
commissario
had
been there, he would have seen how difficult that would be to determine.
Perhaps the
medico legale
would be better able to answer his question. In fact, the
Maresciallo couldn't provide much information at all, save what was already
contained on the piece of paper in Vianello's hand. The body had been taken to
the civil hospital in Belluno, where it was being held until the autopsy could
be performed. Yes, he did have Doctor Bortot's number, which he gave to
Brunetti, who had nothing else to ask.

He depressed the
receiver, then immediately dialled the number the
Carabiniere
had
given him.

'Bortot’ the doctor
answered.

'Good morning, Doctor,
this is Commissario Guido Brunetti of the Venice police.' He paused there,
accustomed as he was to having people interrupt to ask him why he was calling.
Bortot said nothing, so Brunetti continued. ‘I’m calling about the body of the
young man that was found yesterday. And about the ring that was found with him’

‘Yes, Commissario?'

‘I’d like to know
where the ring was’

It wasn't on the
bones of the hand if that’s what you mean. But I'm not sure that means it
wasn't on the hand to begin with’

'Could you explain,
Doctor?'

If s difficult to say
just what's happened here, Commissario. There is some evidence that the body
has been disturbed. By animals. That's, normal enough if it's been in the
ground for any length of time. Some of the bones and organs are missing, and it
seems that the others have been shifted around a good deal. And so ifs
difficult to say where the ring might have been when he was put into the ground’

'Put?' Brunetti
asked.

'There's reason to
believe he was shot’

'What reason?'

There is a small
hole, about two centimetres in diameter, at the base of his skull’ 'Only one
hole?' 'Yes.'

'And the bullet?'

'My men were using an
ordinary mesh screen when they searched the site for bones, so if it was there,
something as small as bullet fragments might have fallen through’

'Are the
Carabinieri
continuing
the search?'

‘I can't answer that,
Commissario’

'Will you do the
autopsy?' ‘Yes. This evening.' 'And the results?'

'I'm not sure what
sort of results you're looking for, Commissario’

' Age, sex, cause of
death.'

'I can give you the
age already: in his early twenties, and I don't think anything I find during
the autopsy will either contradict that or give a closer idea of the exact age.
Sex is almost certainly male, given the length of the bones in the arms and
legs. And I'd guess the cause of death was the bullet.'

'Will you be able to
confirm that?'

'It depends on what I
find.'

'What condition was
the body in?'

'Does that mean how
much of it was left?'

'Yes.'

'Enough to get tissue
and blood samples. Much of the body tissue was gone - animals, I told you -but
some of the larger ligaments and muscles, especially those on the thigh and
leg, are in good condition.'

'When will you have
the results, Dottore?'

'Is there need for
haste, Commissario? After all, he's been in the ground for more than a year.'

'I'm thinking of his
family, Dottore, not of police business.'

'You mean the ring?'

'Yes. If it's the
missing Lorenzoni boy, I think they should be told as soon as possible.'

'Commissario, I'm not
in possession of enough information to be able to identify him as anyone in
particular, beyond what I've already told you. Until " I have the dental
and medical records of the

Lorenzoni boy, I
can't be sure of anything except age and sex and perhaps cause of death. And
how long ago it happened.'

'Do you have an
estimate of that?'

'How long ago did the
boy disappear?'

'About two years.'

There was a long
pause. ‘It’s possible, then. From what I saw. But I'll still need those records
to make any sort of positive identification.'

‘I’ll contact the
family, then, and ask for them. As soon as I get them, I’ll fax them to you.'

'Thank you,
Commissario. For both things. I don't like having to speak to the families.'

Brunetti couldn't
conceive of a person who would like it, but he said nothing to the doctor more
than that he would call that evening to see if the autopsy had indeed confirmed
the doctor's speculations.

When he replaced the
phone, Brunetti turned to Vianello. 'You heard?'

'Enough. If you want
to call the family, I'll call Belluno and see if the
Carabinieri
have
found the bullet. If not, I'll tell them to get back to the field where they
found him and look until they do.'