The Patience of the Spider Read Online Free

impounded a motorbike?
To tell me? Pardon my French, but I dont give a fuck!
    Chief, you kin speak whichever langwitch ya like wit-
tout beckin my pardin, though, beckin ypardin, it sounds a lot
to me like a talian, Catarella said respectfully.
    And furthermore, Im not on duty, Im still convalescing!
    I know, Chief, but it wasnt neither the Customs or the
Canabirreri that had the seizure.
    Well, then who was it?
    Ass just it, Chief. Nobody knows. Annass why they tol
me to call you poissonally in poisson.
    Listen, is Fazio there?
    No, sir, hes at the scene.
    How about Inspector Augello?
    Him too.
    So whos left there at the station?
    For the moment, Chief, s jes me holdin down the fort.
Mr. Inspector Augello axed me to do is doody for im, so ass
what Im doin.
    Good God! A danger to be avoided as quickly as possible.
Catarella was capable of triggering a nuclear war with a simple
purse-snatching. But was it possible Fazio and Augello
would go to all this trouble for a routine seizure of a motorbike?
And why did they have Catarella call him?
    Listen, I want you to do something. Get ahold of Fazio
and tell him to phone me at once here in Marinella.
    He hung up.
    What is this, Termini Station? said a voice behind him.
    He turned around. It was Livia, eyes flashing with anger.
When shed got up shed slipped on Montalbanos shirt from
the day before instead of her dressing gown. Seeing her thus
attired, the inspector felt an overwhelming desire to embrace
her. But he held himself back, knowing that Fazio would be
calling at any moment.
    Livia, please, my job . . .
    You should do your job at the station. And only when
youre on active duty.
    Youre right, Livia. Now come on, go back to bed.
    Bed? Im awake now, thanks to you! Im going to go
make some coffee, she said.
    The telephone rang.
    Fazio, would you be so kind as to tell me what the fuck is
going on? Montalbano asked in a loud voice, since there was
no longer any need for precaution. Livia was not only awake,
but pissed off.
    Stop using obscenities! Livia screamed from the kitchen.
    Didnt Catarella tell you?
    Catarella didnt tell me a goddamn thing
    Are you going to stop or not? yelled Livia.
    all he told me was something about a motorbike being
seized, but not by the Carabinieri or the Customs police. Why
the fuck
    Knock it off, I said!
    are you guys bothering me with this stuff? Go see if it
was the traffic police!
    No, Chief. If anything was seized, it was the girl who
owned the motorbike.
    I dont understand.
    Theres been a kidnapping, Chief.
    A kidnapping? In Vig?
    Tell me where you are and Ill come right over, he said
without thinking.
    Chief, its too complicated to find your way out here. If
its all right with you, a squad carll be at your place in about
an hour. That way you wont have to tire yourself out by
driving.
    Okay.
    He went in the kitchen. Livia had put the coffeepot on the
burner and was now spreading the tablecloth over the small
kitchen table. To smooth it out, she had to bend all the way
forward, so that the inspectors shirt she was wearing became
too short.
    Montalbano couldnt restrain himself. He took two steps
forward and embraced her tightly from behind.
    Whats got into you? Livia asked. Come on, let go!
What are you trying to do?
    Guess.
    You might hurt yo
    The coffee rose in the pot. Nobody turned off the flame.
The coffee burned. The flame remained lit. The coffee started
boiling. Nobody bothered with it. The coffee spilled out of
the pot, extinguishing the flame on the burner. The gas continued
to flow.
    Doesnt it smell strangely of gas? Livia asked languidly a
bit later, freeing herself from the inspectors embrace.
    I dont think so, said Montalbano, whose nostrils were
filled with the scent of her skin.
    Oh my God! Livia exclaimed, running to turn off the
gas.
    Montalbano had scarcely twently minutes to shower and
shave. His coffeea fresh pot had been made in the