The Mascherari: A Novel of Venice Read Online Free Page B

night.  Five. It seems four men and a young woman attended an evening banquet and none of them returned home.”
    “How is this possible?”
    “Most unusual, wouldn’t you say? I suspect you like these coincidences.  But this is not a game of chance. La Serenissima is at stake.”
    He sighed before lowering his voice.  I felt his tight grip on my arm as he reached across.
    “Antonio, honor me with this one favor, I beg of you. I know that inquisitor work is your strength even if you’ve long tired of it.  I can count upon your attention to detail and your remarkable intuition to advance this case considerably. What am I saying? Just…do be careful of those voices in your head. That is all I ask.”
    “You say the matter is obscure, what do you mean?”
    Almoro seemed pained.  I knew that there was much more.
    “Early this morning, the signori di notte presented their report. They have made three depositions.”
    Almoro stood.
    “The first such deposition is that a certain, Rolandino Vitturi, Giacomo’s primary trade partner, has been arrested for the murder of Giacomo Contarini.”
    “Rolandino?”  The dark man’s aghast voice echoed in my mind.
    “The second–please do not interrupt, Antonio–is that Giacomo’s young daughter was also found dead beside her father’s cadaver. We posit strangulation, but the Contarini family has refused that her body be defiled to test for organ poisoning.  No matter what the physicians discover, Rolandino is being accused of both murders. As for the other three deaths...”
    He interrupted himself before turning to me again, his gaze more stern than before.
    “There is a certain madness in this case, Antonio. Something is not right and the Consiglio will stop at nothing to reach the heart of it. With your help, I hope.”
    I reflected.
    “What is the third deposition?”
    “They have found the other three bodies– two brokers, brothers I am told, and a young negotiator with a promising career. I can make no sense of these findings. Evidence thus far leads us to suspect both Giacomo and Rolandino.  The disorderly circumstances of these murders, the locations where the bodies were found and the state of the cadavers–all of it is here, in the files.”
    There was a fleeting annoyance in his voice. I suspected that Almoro knew something of the case that unsettled him, something he refused to share.
    I took to my inquisitor role without a moment’s reflection. Now that I recall, it was something Almoro had always suspected I would do.
    “What are your intuitions, Signore?” I asked Almoro.
    “If it was just for the murder of Giacomo and his daughter I could give you my impression.”
    “Please.”
    “As his primary investor and partner, Rolandino stands to inherit Giacomo’s trade. Giacomo’s wife has her own dowry, an astounding sum of four thousand ducats, which Giacomo’s estates will repay, as per the terms of their marriage contract. Their son inherits the rest. Those are the terms, look into the accounts. Evolving from this and upon first observing the case, I say Rolandino is guilty. He murders the father and is found out by the daughter whom he murders in turn, to conceal his crime.”
    “Simple explanation.”
    “It is too simple. I told you, if it were just Giacomo and his daughter, Rolandino would be my first suspicion, yes. But the problem, Antonio, is that there are too many dead bodies and nothing to account for their deaths. That is your task, now, avogadore . Remember, keep me informed of all your discoveries.”
    And at this, he lapsed into silence and looked upon his desk, bracing himself against saying more. I took this as a cue and departed, promising to inspect the files as soon as time permitted.
    Stepping out of the Palazzo Ducale, still immersed in thought, I found myself standing in the middle of the Piazza, amid raucous laughter and discordant lute tunes. All round, the childish rituals of Carnivale were set in motion.
    My