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it was unusual."
    "Fat chance."
    Gloria hesitated. "As it's quiet today, and as he seemed so excited, I said I would send someone over. Paolo is ill, so I wondered if you . . .?"
    Stefano groaned. "I have a pile of work on my desk. What about Sergio?"
    "Sergio is working on the Bellini case."
    "All right." Stefano sighed. "Where do I have to go?"
    "Via delle Pinzochere 10. Do you know it?"
    "I do." Stefano said without hesitation. "It's a tiny street in the historical part of town, right next to Santa Croce."
    "Nice area." Gloria looked out of the dusty window. "At least you'll get some fresh air in the sun."
    "Hmm." Stefano didn't sound convinced.
    Gloria heard a keyboard clicking. "What are you doing?"
    "I just got the background check," Stefano said. "It shows a few speeding fines. Nothing else. But it seems to be a huge family."
    "If you're lucky, it'll be over in ten minutes." Gloria made her voice upbeat. "Who do you want with you?"
    "Roberto. Maybe for once, he'll be able to say it was a natural death without an autopsy." Stefano sounded resigned.
    "Roberto has some days off and is out of town. He won't be back before Tuesday."
    "Great. What am I supposed to do? Look at the guy's socks and give a verdict as if I am God Almighty?" He broke off. "Sorry, Gloria. I guess I'll just listen to what they have to say. I hope it won't take the whole day."
    "Who's coming with you?"
    "I'll ask Piedro, but you don't need to call him. I'll tell him myself."
    "Fine. Good luck." Gloria disconnected the line with a sigh. She wished she had the courage to ask him for an evening out, but every time she mentioned something in that direction, Stefano became icy. A shame, really.

II
    "I have to come up with a strategy. What is my best course of action?" Carlina held her face to the hot water coming from the shower. She owed the best ideas in her life to her shower, so when Uncle Teo had finished his conversation with the police, she had bolted for her bathroom as a fox bolts for his hole. Besides, she couldn't welcome the police dressed in a silk bathrobe.
    But today, the shower didn't help. Her brain felt blocked as if all the intelligent fibers were frozen by fear. “First, I have to relax." Carlina concentrated on the steady stream of water, on the patter of warm drops on her shoulders, on the soothing steam swirling around her, and waited for relaxation to kick in.
    It didn't. Her nerves were as taut as a thong two sizes too small. It hurt.
    She switched off the water and leaned forward to pull a soft towel from the rail. As she toweled herself off, she wondered what was going on downstairs. If she knew her family well, Benedetta would refresh her lipstick and start to cook a gigantic meal to feed everyone. Not a hope that anybody would return home while the prospect of sharing a murder investigation kept them entertained.
    Damn Emma. I shouldn't have listened to her . Now her cousin was far away in Africa, out of reach of the police, while she was sitting in the soup. Damn Uncle Teo, too. Did he have to make a scene? Did he have to call the police?
    Carlina pulled her favorite bra and slip out of the drawer and put them on. For once, the imitation leopard fur on the straps and cups failed to give her pleasure. She picked a blue cotton blouse and a pair of jeans at random and dressed without noticing what she was doing. Just before she left her apartment, her glance fell on her cell phone. She stopped dead. An idea flashed through her mind. I could call the police and explain it was all a mistake.
    Carlina grabbed her phone and started to punch in the number, then hesitated. What could she say? "I'm sorry, but please forget about that call you got some minutes ago? My grandfather died a natural death, but the timing didn't fit, so I stuffed him into his bed to hide him, only, I forgot to take off his socks?" How did that sound?
    Her heart sank. I can't tell them on the phone. She pressed her lips together. It'll be easier to tell them