When Maresciallo Tommaso Nardulli arrived connected the country astatine astir eight, Signora Sattaflora had Betta Ansaldo covered with a achromatic embroidered linen expanse from the dowry she had prepared implicit the years for the girl she had ne'er had. Carla Sattaflora had known Betta since she was a small girl, and it had astir felt similar giving her 1 past gift.
Marisa Ansaldo had collapsed and idiosyncratic had shouted retired to telephone an ambulance. But close astatine that infinitesimal Giovanni Di Lillo, a household doc who had retired implicit 20 years earlier, had happened to beryllium passing by during his greeting law on the coast. The aged doc had taken Marisa’s pulse and ordered for her to beryllium enactment successful a car and taken home; determination was nary cure for despair. “Just permission her alone,” helium had muttered arsenic helium headed backmost home, exhausted by each the suffering helium had had to carnivore witnesser to. So Mauro and his begetter had helped Marisa to her feet, sat her successful their car, and taken her home. They had recovered Signora Balestrieri connected the threshold, the doorway unfastened wide. Seeing her girl successful that state, babbling nonsense and hardly capable to stand, Letizia had goggled with the watery eyes of a sickly aged lady. “What happened?” she had asked successful a whisper.
Mauro and Giulio Sattaflora had exchanged a hesitant glance, fearing different stroke. Then Giulio had plucked up his courage. “Betta was successful an accident, Signora Balestrieri,” helium had whispered gingerly arsenic helium held his breath. “I’m truthful sorry.”
Against each expectations, Letizia had conscionable clenched her jaws and tightened her lips. “Put her connected the sofa, please,” she had muttered, showing them the mode with her stick. Then she had seen them retired with a curt thank-you portion they offered to assistance successful immoderate mode that mightiness beryllium required and overstressed their sympathies.
Stelvio, connected the different hand, was inactive sitting adjacent to his daughter, connected the sand. From clip to time, the bravest among the onlookers walked up to him to inquire if helium needed anything, if helium wanted a solid of water. Stelvio ever simply shook his head, a faraway look connected his face.
Maresciallo Nardulli was shocked to perceive that the dormant miss was Stelvio Ansaldo’s daughter: implicit the past 10 years, helium and Stelvio had been playing bocce each summer. The decease of a young pistillate was ever a tragedy, of course, but having to witnesser a person beryllium adjacent to that achromatic expanse was much than helium felt helium could bear. That morning, helium was wearing his formal azygous due to the fact that helium was owed astatine a ceremonial successful Civitavecchia aboriginal that day. Blaming the heat, helium took his overgarment disconnected successful irritation and handed it to his workfellow to enactment successful the car. He adjacent took the liberty of loosening his tie, the challenging grimace connected his look openly daring anyone to accidental thing astir it.
Stepping up of his 2 subordinates, helium went down to the beach, toward Stelvio and his daughter. He dilatory walked astir the sheet, incapable to find the courageousness to assistance it, past helium crouched adjacent to Stelvio and enactment an limb astir his shoulders. Having failed to find thing to say, helium acceptable astir the task of being a carabiniere, particularly thankless astatine a clip similar that.
When his colleagues Bazzi and Faragna caught up with him, helium stood up and ordered them to transportation retired the preliminary investigation, past helium headed toward the tiny assemblage of onlookers that were lasting nether the bar’s pergola, sheltering from the sun: contempt it being inactive partially overcast, it was already getting rather hot.
“Who recovered her?” Maresciallo Nardulli asked.
Mauro Sattaflora, who had travel backmost from the Ansaldos’ house, raised his manus arsenic if helium were successful school.
“So, archer me,” Nardulli ordered, wiping his cervix with his handkerchief.
“She was implicit there,” Mauro said, pointing toward the fence.
Nardulli looked toward the airy bluish fence, past astatine the sheet. “You moved her?” helium asked, his dependable sounding much amazed than annoyed.
“Her begetter . . .” Giulio Sattaflora rushed to explain.
Nardulli knitted his heavy eyebrows astatine the apical of his nose, turning toward the sea. “And however did she get each the mode up to the fence?” “I don’t deliberation she drowned, sir,” Mauro said expertly.
“What bash you mean, she didn’t drown?” Half an hr earlier, backmost astatine the station, Faragna had reported that the switchboard had a pistillate connected the enactment who lived close other Le Dune: she was screaming similar a huffy happening that a miss had jumped into the oversea and that the assemblage was present connected the beach. The maresciallo turned astir and looked astatine the expanse arsenic if helium was seeing it for the archetypal time. Bazzi was holding it up with 2 fingers, studying the assemblage intently.
Nardulli raised his manus to his forehead, past saw Faragna heading toward him briskly, unconcerned with the soil getting into his formal shoes. Faragna motioned to Nardulli to measurement to 1 broadside and spoke into his receptor with circumspection. “Maresciallo, she surely didn’t drown,” helium whispered.
They exchanged a meaningful glance.
Nardulli looked astatine Stelvio Ansaldo again. “I’ll ringing the magistrate,” helium said, his look gray. “You marque each these radical determination along. Including the father.” And, cursing nether his breath, helium went backmost up toward the road, leaving down the astir compromised transgression country helium had ever seen successful his life.
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From All That Is Left of Life by Roberta Recchia. Copyright © 2024 by Roberta Recchia. English connection copyright © 2025 by Antonella Lettieri. Reprinted by support of Scribner, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, LLC.
English (US) ·