Viper - Michael Morley [34]
‘That makes sense if it’s after the dismemberment,’ said Jack. ‘Burning pieces of a corpse is easier than burning a whole body. Not many people have the space and privacy to light a giant bonfire and burn an entire corpse.’
‘Or the time,’ added Massimo.
Sylvia was now in sync with their thinking. ‘Another explanation. One that fits with the cream ends to that burned bone, is that the fire was not only pre-dismemberment, it was also ante-mortem.’
Jack nodded. ‘You’ve got it. That’s the next assumption. In fact, the most likely one. I suspect the killer set her on fire while she was still alive. Perhaps he even wanted to watch her burn to death. And if that’s the case, then the guy you’re hunting is not just a killer – he’s a sadist and a serial killer.’
‘Bad combination,’ said Massimo.
Sylvia glanced down at the pictures of bone. Less than a week ago she’d taken charge of a low-level inquiry. Now, all of a sudden, it was turning into a manhunt for a serial killer – and, by the looks of it, one of the worst Italy had ever seen.
23
Casa di famiglia dei Valsi, Camaldoli
The two six-year-old boys sat cross-legged in the corner of the lounge. White, black and red Lego was spread all around them. Small hands and big imaginations built space shuttles and heroic astronauts.
The mothers of Enzo Valsi and Umberto Covella sat at the opposite end of the room. Coffee, cigarettes and the criminal world of the Camorra were their playthings.
Tatiana Covella was two years older than Gina, and her husband Nico ten years older than Bruno but ten times less successful – as she kept telling him. Nico was still a guaglione, a guapo; one of the guys that bosses like Bruno would send to do their dirty work.
‘The problem with Nico,’ explained Tatiana, passing a lit cigarette to her hostess, ‘is that he is troppo spavaldo. He is always happy with whatever he has, but sometimes, you know, he is just, just a…’ Her hands grabbed at the air as though trying to pluck the right word from somewhere.
‘Pagliaccio,’ offered Gina with a straight face.
They both burst our laughing. ‘All men are clowns,’ said her friend, ‘but Nico, he is so gullheaded and macho. He is interested only in fucking me, not making our life better in any way.’
Gina looked across at the children. Umberto was banging the two astronauts together in some imaginary intergalactic battle. Enzo was stealing pieces from his pile to finish the side of the space station. ‘I wish that, just once, Bruno would be a little more romantic,’ said Gina, not meaning to. The thought had just tumbled out, and was now lying there for her friend to see.
‘Give it time. When men are locked up, it messes with their minds. Bruno wasn’t just in jail. Nico says prigione di massima sicurezza is awful. The isolation, the brutality…’
Gina laughed. ‘Not for Bruno. My father saw to it that he was no more in maximum security than you and me sitting here in this lounge. No one stood in his way. A hand was never raised against him.’
‘Still – prison – it poisons minds. It’s not natural to be locked up, you must give him time.’
‘He doesn’t want time,’ she snapped. ‘What he wants is nothing to do with me. He’s said as much.’
‘He doesn’t mean that. He’s just confused.’
‘Ha! Bruno, confused? Have you heard yourself?’
The sharpness in her friend’s voice silenced Tatiana. Tra moglie e marito non mettere dito, she told herself. Never interfere between husband and wife. But curiosity is a terrible thing and she ached to know more. She lit a cigarette for herself. ‘Have you – you know? Sex – have you at least tried?’
Gina looked sad. ‘I’ve tried. He hasn’t. He doesn’t want to come near me. Says I’m fat and I disgust him.’
‘Fuck him! Figlio di puttana!’
Gina smiled at her friend’s support. She was embarrassed, but it was good to get it off her chest, have someone to talk to about it. ‘I don’t know what to do. I’m not a weak woman. At least, I certainly don’t think I am –’
‘Of course you’re not, don’t be stupid.’ Tatiana thought for a second. ‘Has he got someone else?’
Gina shot her a knowing look.