IM10 August Heat (2008) Read Online Free

more decent. As it seemed empty, he continued back to their house.
    “Nothing?”
    “Nothing.”
    Laura threw herself into Livia’s arms and started crying.
    “See? Didn’t I tell you this house was cursed?”
    “Calm down, Laura, for heaven’s sake!” her husband shouted.
    The only result this obtained was to make Laura cry even harder.
    “What can we do?” Livia asked.
    Guido made up his mind.
    “I’m going to call Emilio, the mayor.”
    “Why the mayor?”
    “I’ll have him send the usual squad. Or maybe some patrolmen. The more of us there are, the better. Don’t you think?”
    “Wait.Wouldn’t it be better to call Salvo?”
    “Maybe you’re right.”
     
     
     
    Twenty minutes later, Salvo pulled up in a squad car driven by Gallo, who had raced there as if he was at Indianapolis.
    Stepping out of the car, the inspector looked a bit haggard, pale, and aggrieved, but that was how he always looked after a ride with Gallo.
    Livia, Guido, and Laura then proceeded to tell him what had happened, all at the same time, so that what little Montalbano was able to understand he grasped only by concentrating very hard. Then they stopped and waited for his answer—which was sure to be decisive—with the same expectation as pilgrims seeking grace from Our Lady of Lourdes.
    “Could I have a glass of water?” was his anxiously awaited reply.
    He needed to collect himself, either because of the tremendous heat or to recover from Gallo’s prowess behind the wheel. While Guido went to get the water, the two women stared at him in disappointment.
    “Where do you think he could be?” asked Livia.
    “How should I know, Livia? I’m not a magician! Now we’ll see what we can do. But stay calm, you two.All this agitation distracts me.”
    Guido handed him the water, and Montalbano drank it down.
    “Could you please tell me what we’re doing out here in the sun?” he asked. “Getting sunstroke? Let’s go inside. You come too, Gallo.”
    Gallo got out of the car and they all obediently followed the inspector.
    But, for whatever reason, the minute they were in the living room, Laura’s nerves gave out again. First she let out a shrill wail that sounded like a fire truck’s siren, then started weeping uncontrollably. She’d had a sudden revelation.
    “He’s been kidnapped!”
    “Try to be reasonable, Laura,” said Guido, trying to call her back to her senses.
    “But who would have kidnapped him?” Livia asked.
    “How should I know? Gypsies! Albanians! Bedouins! I can feel that my poor little boy has been kidnapped!”
    Montalbano had a wicked thought. If someone had in fact kidnapped a holy terror like Bruno, they would surely return him by the end of the day. Instead, he asked Laura:
    “And why do you think they also kidnapped Ruggero?”
    Gallo jumped out of his chair. He knew that one child had disappeared because the inspector had told him so; but after getting there he’d remained in the car and hadn’t heard any of the things the others had told Montalbano. And now it came out that two were missing? He looked questioningly at his superior.
    “Don’t worry, he’s a cat.”
    The idea of the cat had a miraculous effect. Laura seemed to calm down a little. Montalbano was opening his mouth to say what they needed to do when Livia tensed in her chair, goggled her eyes, and said in a flat voice:
    “Oh my God, oh my God . . .”
    They all looked at her, then turned their eyes in the direction she was looking.
    In the living room doorway sat Ruggero the cat, calm and serene, licking his chops.
    Laura let out another sirenlike wail and started screaming again.
    “Can’t you see that it’s true? The cat is here and Bruno is not! He’s been kidnapped! He’s been kidnapped!”
    Then she fainted.
    Guido and Montalbano picked her up, carried her into the bedroom, and laid her down on the bed. Livia busied herself making cold compresses for Laura’s forehead and put a bottle of vinegar under her nose.